Former state Rep. Charlotte Golar Richie, who represented the Fifth Suffolk district in the 1990s and later served as the city of Boston’s chief of Housing under Mayor Tom Menino, was honored by her neighbors and fellow members of the Ward 15 Democratic Committee last Saturday evening (Jan. 19) at First Parish Dorchester’s hall with a potluck dinner and party

First elected in 1995, the 66-year-old Richie served two full terms in the House of Representatives, including a stint as chairperson of the Legislature’s Committee on Housing and Urban Development. She left state government to run Boston’s Dept. of Neighborhood Development. She has since served as a member of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and was a candidate for mayor of Boston in 2013.

"Charlotte is the type of person who's never done anything for her own benefit,” said Edward Cook, who co-chairs the Ward 15 Democratic committee. “She's all about service.”

When Richie and her husband Winston— both former Peace Corps volunteers— and their two young daughters moved to Dorchester’s Meetinghouse Hill in the early 1990s, the couple quickly became active in civic affairs. Cook was one of the people who urged her to run for state representative.

Pictured in First Parish Dorchester’s Rev. Allen hall on Saturday, Jan.18: (l-r) Rep. Christopher Worrell, City Councillor John FitzGerald, Edward Cook, Hon. Charlotte Golar Richie, Errin Davis and City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. Harriet Gaye photo

“There’s something notable about Ward 15 because you are a model of diverse community working together,” Richie said. “It’s very, very important to really hold that up, too. Some of our neighborhoods are still kind of monolithic. We’re very diverse here and I think people work together, like each other, partner together.”

Cook explained: “People like that rarely get acknowledged in my experience, so giving her an award and this kind of recognition from the people who know her best and have known her the longest, it just seems to me a very appropriate thing to do.”

Three current elected officials with Dorchester ties— City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, state Rep. Chris Worrell, and City Councillor John FitzGerald— were among those who stopped by the potluck dinner to salute the honoree. The councillors brought along a citation designating January 18, 2025, as Charlotte Golar Richie day in Boston. Rep. Worrell presented her with flowers.

“Charlotte Golar Richie has been a steadfast public servant, visionary, leader, and passionate advocate for social justice, affordable housing, equity, dedicating her life, uplifting communities in the city of Boston and Beyond,” Louijeune said, reading from the citation.

Errin Davis, who lives in Dorchester and was one of many people mentored by Richie, presented her with a “lifetime achievement award” after the dinner. Davis recalled how Richie helped her secure a scholarship as a young woman.

“Being able to see a Black woman lead was always life-changing for me,” Davis said.

Richie spent several years of her career focusing on public policy and housing insecurity. She developed a passage of $296 billion bond bill for affordable housing in Massachusetts. Additionally, she organized the 5th Suffolk District Advisory Committee, in which residents met at her house to discuss housing, transportation and other policy matters to help guide her decisions while in office.

“You heard your name in a legendary status, when we talked about the Reps in the House then and now to be able to be here as the son of someone you served with,” said Councillor FitzGerald, referring to his father, the late Rep. Kevin W. FitzGerald. “Giving you flowers for all you've done for the city, I think it's a great story in the history of Boston and just what the city can do for each other, in terms of people, and what we look like who we are and bringing people together.”

At the end of the ceremony, Richie thanked all those in attendance with special recognition to Ward 15: “I love you all and I will share this memory, this evening, for the rest of my life.”