Julia for Boston

The budget process continues…

Stay tuned!

Tune in now to watch the Boston City Council meeting as Councilors take action on the FY27 budget.

We're getting closer and closer to Money Moves Boston! Food and refreshments will be provided as we spend the evening learning about economic empowerment, career development, home ownership, and more. Be sure to register for the event through the link in our bio.

🗓️ Friday, June 12th
⏱️ 5pm - 9pm
📍 Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building

☕ TEA TIME: Budget Edition
With only 7 hours and 38 minutes of deliberation spread across four days, City Councilors were expected to vote on a $4 billion budget without having a meaningful voice in the budget amendment process.

Instead of rubber-stamping a budget that did not fully reflect the will of the people, community members showed up and made their voices impossible to ignore.

Shout out to the young people, the Better Budget Alliance, advocates, organizers, and residents who packed the chamber and demanded
accountability. Together, we blocked the Council from rushing forward without addressing the concerns raised by community.

This is what democracy looks like. The people have the power.

Now the work continues. We need real working sessions, real deliberation, and a real opportunity for Councilors to do our job before we're asked to take a vote.
The fight for a People's Budget isn't over.
ThePeopleHaveThePower

Real-time update: City Councilors just received an updated amendment packet with only one hour to review the proposed changes, including where funding shifts and reductions are being made to address nearly $20 million in budget cuts.

Tune in live at 4:30 PM on YouTube.com/BostonCityCouncil to follow the discussion and see how this process continues to unfold.

Team Mejia Day in a Life.

I love seeing my team step into their power. BPS and recent college graduate Beatrix is our Goverment and Community Affairs Director!! Check her out!!

Reflection:
After my first two terms, I made a conscious decision to rethink how I staffed my office. I wanted to create opportunities for people who may not have traditional experience, advanced degrees, strong professional networks, or easy access to government careers.

Today, my team reflects the communities we serve—a multigenerational mix of people with diverse lived experiences. We have grandparents, recent college graduates, high school students, individuals without high school diplomas, and team members whose first language is not English.

While I deeply value education and professional expertise, I also believe talent, leadership, resilience, and lived experience matter just as much. Too often, young people and/or under educated residents with limited resources are overlooked, despite having so much to contribute.

Building pathways into government isn't just about who already has access it's about opening doors for those who deserve a chance. Watching people grow, develop their skills, and find their voice in public service is one of the most rewarding parts of this work.

This Memorial Day, we honor and remember the lives lost in service to our country. We hold close the families, loved ones, and communities who continue to carry that sacrifice with them every day.

Let's be clear. The Boston City Council has the power to adopt, reject and/or amend the Mayor’s budget.

Some of us pushed for a motion to take a vote to reject the Mayor’s budget and send it back while there was still time for the Council to exercise its amendment powers and negotiate a budget that better reflected what we heard from residents across the city.

Instead of doing the hard work of asserting our legislative authority, the Council rejected that approach. Rather than engaging in a serious debate about whether this budget meets the moment, opponents relied on the same fear-mongering arguments that Mayor Wu herself criticized when she served on the City Council and challenged mayoral budgets she believed fell short.

Community members called on us to use every tool available to fight for a budget that better reflects their needs. Yet, instead of listening to those voices, we upheld the status quo.

Now there are efforts to rewrite the narrative and claim that we didn't want to do our job. Our job is not to defend the administration. Our job is to listen to the people, advocate for their priorities, and use the power entrusted to us to deliver results.

The question isn't whether we held hearings. The question is whether we what we heard translated to using our power when it mattered most.