Pictured: Judge Toiya Taylor presided at a community swearing-in ceremony for Councillor Culpepper on Jan. 10 in Roxbury. The kids shown— Oliver, Bridgette, and Lucas— belong to Culpepper’s Pleasant Hill Baptist Church congregation. Yawu Miller photo
On Monday of last week, District 7 City Councillor Miniard Culpepper, as the eldest member of the Council, presided over a contentious meeting during which the body elected incumbent Liz Breadon as its president.
Then on Saturday, Culpepper was joined by several of his Council colleagues for a community inauguration celebration held at the Thelma Burns Building in Grove Hall.
He thanked the other candidates who ran in the 11-way race for the District 7 seat last year, including three who were present at the event: Samuel Hurtado, Mavrick Afonso, and Said Abdikarim.
“It could have been any one of us up here by just a few votes,” he said.
Joining Culpepper for the celebration were city councillors Brian Worrell, Ed Flynn, John FitzGerald, Sharon Durkhan, Julia Mejia, Erin Murphy, and Ruthzee Louijeune. Also present were Suffolk County Register of Probate Stephanie Everett, Suffolk County Clerk of Superior Court Maura Hennigan, state Sen. Liz Miranda and state Rep. Christopher Worrell. In addition, former District 7 councillor Kim Janey, who served as mayor after the departure of Mayor Marty Walsh in 2021, was on hand for the event.
The council’s new session got off to a tense start last week, with a vote for the presidency that saw Culpepper and five of his colleagues backing Worrell, who had wrangled commitments from a slate of councillors for his candidacy, but saw his support erode after a last-minute push by councillors loyal to Mayor Michelle Wu to elect District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon, who won by a 7-6 vote.
Speaking at the inaugural celebration, supporter Richard Taylor said Culpepper showed positive leadership during the debate and subsequent vote.
“I think he’s off to a good start,” he said. “He spoke persuasively and clearly about the strengths of Councillor Worrell. He’s grounded in this community.”
Nation of Islam Minister Randy Muhammad, who heads Muhammad’s Mosque No. 11 in Grove Hall, said he’s looking forward to Culpepper’s representation in City Hall.
“We need to have more Black men in positions of leadership in our community to represent and be a voice for the people and represent our concerns in City Hall,” he said.
Muhammad said he hopes Culpepper will find solutions to the racial wealth gap between Black and white Bostonians. “We need to raise the level of wealth in Black Boston,” he said.
Taylor, who served as an advisor to Culpepper on the campaign trail, said Culpepper will set his agenda based on input from his constituents.
“He’s grounded in the community,” Taylor said. “He’ll do some listening sessions and build his agenda from there.”
Speaking from the stage, Culpepper encouraged his new constituents to remain engaged in the political process.
“We’ve got some battles to fight and win,” he said. “We’ve got some decisions to make for District 7. But it’s not about me. It’s about we.”
Janey, too, encouraged the audience to remain active in the work of the Council. “Our work is just beginning,” she said. “Don’t let the election make you think that things are over. Miniard needs you now more than ever. Our community needs you no more than ever.”
