City Council President Liz Breadon released a list of committee assignments and chairman posts on Tuesday.
The Ways and Means Committee, which controls the Council’s budgetary process, went to District 6 Councillor Ben Weber, who is seen as closely allied with Mayor Wu. Vice chair of that committee is District 3 Councillor John Fitzgerald, who is also chair of Post-Audit and Public Health, Homelessness and Recovery.
The Government Operations committee chair is Gabriella Coletta-Zapata, also a Wu ally, who will serve as Breadon’s vice president. Ruthzee Louijeune is vice chair of that committee and will lead Arts, Culture, and Tourism, along with a panel on the census and redistricting.
Planning Development and Transportation will be chaired by District 8 Councillor Sharon Durkan with the vice chairmanship in the hands of FitzGerald.
Henry Santana was assigned to lead a panel on public safety and criminal justice and another focused on veterans and military affairs.
District 4 Councillor Brian Worrell, who came one vote shy of winning the presidency last week, will head Labor and Economic Development, which now includes the work of the former Committee on Small Business and Professional Licensure. He also heads Environmental Justice, Resiliency and Parks.
“They weren’t first choice,” Worrell said of his assignments. “But I’m hoping to dive into the work with labor and workforce development.”
He has previously championed issues of business opportunity, helping expand liquor the availability of liquor licenses in underserved communities and expanding access to workforce development.
“It is in line with a lot of the work we’ve done in this office,” he said of his new committee position.
At-large Councillor Julia Mejia, who is heading Education, noted that none of top committee assignments — Government Operations, Ways and Means, and Planning and Development — went to councillors of color.
“None of the electeds of color were assigned to chair any of the top three most powerful committees,” said Mejia, referring to Ways & Means, Government Operations, and Planning, Development & Transportation. “Given the current political climate, especially at the federal level, we must continue to center racial equity in the distribution of power and responsibilities at the local level.”
District 2 Councillor Ed Flynn, who was appointed chair of City Services, agreed. “I think that’s a mistake,” he said. “I think there should have been opportunities for a city councillor of color to be on Ways and Means, especially as we go into a challenging budgetary process.”
In a statement, Breadon said: “As Boston continues to change, the Boston City Council must evolve with it. These committee assignments reflect a commitment to clearer oversight and stronger collaboration. By realigning responsibilities and creating new committees where needed, we’re positioning the Council to better address the everyday needs of our neighborhoods. Now it’s time to get to work for the people of Boston.”
The council is expected to vote on the committee assignments and approve its rules for the session during a meeting on Wed., Jan. 28.
The full list of assignments is here:
