Boston Metropolis Council at-large race: Julia Mejia

Politics

“Having grown-up low-income with an undocumented mom affords me the empathy vital to maneuver with urgency across the points our residents face.”

Julia Mejia is working for an at-large seat on the Boston Metropolis Council. She has served on the council since 2019.

Discover out extra about Julia Mejia on her marketing campaign web site and social media.

The next responses have been calmly edited for readability.

What’s the largest challenge going through Boston residents in the meanwhile and what do you imagine the Metropolis Council ought to do to handle this?

The largest challenge going through Boston residents is undoubtedly housing and the price of dwelling. Our communities are being displaced at an alarming fee. On the Council, we’ve a accountability to push for stronger accountability from builders and metropolis businesses to make sure that reasonably priced housing commitments are literally met. We should additionally develop tenant protections, discover hire management, and put money into pathways to homeownership that enable working households to construct generational wealth.

I additionally imagine {that a} lack of transparency and accessibility in metropolis authorities is a serious challenge. Too usually, residents really feel shut out of the decision-making course of. If folks have been capable of extra simply specific their considerations, entry info, and see how their enter shapes coverage, we might have the ability to transfer the needle on all points in a constructive path.

What makes you stand out from the opposite candidates on this race?

Not like the opposite candidates on this race, I refuse to simply accept or give political endorsements. This can be a precept I maintain as a result of I imagine elected officers ought to be accountable solely to the folks they serve — to not different politicians or political energy brokers. I even have lived the realities that many Bostonians face. Having grown-up low-income with an undocumented mom affords me the empathy vital to maneuver with urgency across the points our residents face.

Furthermore, I’m the one candidate who has served as an At-Giant Councilor underneath the primary Trump administration and in the course of the top of COVID-19. Governing in these uniquely troubling occasions has ready me nicely for what’s to return within the subsequent three years underneath a hostile federal authorities.

Lastly, out of all of the incumbents, I’ve efficiently handed probably the most laws. In my 5 years on the Council, I’ve both led or co-sponsored over 20 items of laws. Some that I’m most pleased with embody establishing the Workplace of Black Male Development and the Workplace of Cultural Affairs, co-sponsoring and passing Ranked Selection Voting in Boston, and our Language Entry Ordinance (mandating the Metropolis to launch all communications in Boston’s high 11 languages concurrently English).

Do you suppose the general public has misplaced religion within the Metropolis Council in recent times? In that case, what do you suppose ought to be completed to enhance the council’s public picture?

I feel that many communities in Boston by no means had religion within the Metropolis Council, or in authorities as a complete. A long time of low voter turnout in communities of colour make that painfully clear. As a group candidate, I hear repeatedly from residents who really feel their votes don’t matter as a result of regardless of limitless marketing campaign guarantees, their day-to-day struggles stay unchanged.

Restoring belief in authorities begins with political will and the braveness to really ship for the folks. Too usually, politics prioritizes alliances with energy brokers over the wants of residents. I reject that “business-as-usual” strategy. I don’t give or settle for political endorsements as a result of my solely allegiance is to the folks I serve. That independence permits me to talk reality to energy and stay totally accountable to the communities which were ignored for much too lengthy.