Gabriela Coletta Zapata

District 1 Councilor

Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata focuses on protecting essential neighborhood services, funding affordable housing, and expanding youth employment programs. She prefers targeted rules over broad bans, often stepping in to refine transit and zoning proposals. In committee hearings, she regularly questions city departments to ensure new policies are legally sound and practically benefit residents.

⚡ gabriela coletta zapata stance snapshot

Policy Priorities

•

Housing Affordability:Pushed for a 2% real estate transfer fee on high-value property sales to create a new funding source for affordable housing, arguing the measure protects everyday homeowners while generating revenue from wealthy developers.

•

Youth Programs:Supported reviving the Red Shirts youth employment program and codifying the Office of Youth Engagement and Advancement to ensure consistent jobs and city representation for young residents.

•

Neighborhood Protections:Defended her district from external burdens, including firmly opposing plans to use Charlestown as a parking solution for a proposed Everett stadium and objecting to $1.4 million in budget cuts to the Boston Transportation Department.

⚡ key discussions

Areas of Council Debate

•

Food Delivery Moped Bans:Opposed a blanket ban on mopeds and e-bikes for third-party food delivery (Docket 0325), arguing that the city should focus on regulating specific driver behavior rather than enacting overly broad bans.

•

City Performance Audits:Objected to a proposal for an independent performance audit of city operations (Docket 0781), arguing the resolution confused financial and operational audits and would take years to deliver findings, rendering it ineffective for addressing current budget challenges.

Represented:

Downtown / North End / South End Charlestown East Boston

Wards:Ward 1: 1-14 · Ward 2: 1-8 · Ward 3: 1-4, 6, 11, 13

Policy Deep-Dive

Policy Stances

Deep Dive on Issues Page →

Tenant Protections & Anti-Displacement

August 5, 2026

Position Summary

Councilor Coletta Zapata actively supports ordinances that strengthen tenant protections, aiming to curb displacement and improve unsafe living conditions like mold and broken systems, which she views as a consequence of the current housing market imbalance.

Public Housing Operations & Oversight

August 5, 2026

Position Summary

The councilor demands rigorous accountability and transparency for municipal housing voucher expenditures, consistently seeking clarification on funding allocations, the number of vouchers, and the operational status of project-based voucher programs.

Housing for Vulnerable Populations & Equity

August 5, 2026

Position Summary

Councilor Coletta Zapata prioritizes linguistic equity, consistently advocating for the maintenance and level-funding of ESOL and language access services within the municipal budget to ensure critical housing and support resources are accessible to non-native speakers.

Homelessness Prevention & Emergency Services

August 5, 2026

Position Summary

The councilor championed and strongly supported the establishment of the Boston Emergency Relief Fund to provide a first-of-its-kind standardized process for crisis support, emphasizing its role in aiding residents during their most critical times.

Contact

EmailGabriela.Coletta@boston.gov

Phone617-635-3200

OfficeBoston City Hall 5th Floor Boston , MA 02201 United States

First Elected2022

Official Boston.gov Profile ↗

Recent Council Activity

This amendment restores funding that many of us discussed extensively throughout the budget process... Specifically, this amendment restores funding for immigrant legal services, EASOL programming, which is a huge need in my district, language access, and community-based grants administered through the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement.

View Meeting Debate

$1.4 million from the Boston Transportation Department in particular is a really tough cut um for my district.

View Meeting Debate

Charlestown is not a parking solution for the proposed Everett Stadium. The City of Boston has already negotiated an agreement with the Kraft Group that sets clear expectations around transportation and parking...

View Meeting Debate

I would hope there's a protocol because when you have a protocol, it's not subjective on who should or who shouldn't be. When you have a protocol, everyone gets included based on that protocol.

View Meeting Debate

Okay, so that they have 320,000 left for the year, so it's over a 50% budget reduction. That's tough.

View Meeting Debate

Contested Votes

August 26, 2026Voted No

Resolution in support of an investigation by the Massachusetts Secretary of State into incorrect ballots distributed during early voting in Boston and maintaining state receivership of Boston Election Department through the 2028 election

Docket #1616

Legislation They Sponsored

252 of 252 dockets sponsored or co-sponsored

Issue Area

▼

Role

▼

Status

▼

Docket	Title	Role	Status
#1641	Resolution recognizing local business Blue Caboose	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1640	Resolution recognizing historic Bova’s Bakery	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1639	Resolution in memory of Erica Tiny Martinez	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1638	Resolution recognizing Domenico Susi	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1637	Resolution in memory of Ellen T. Doris O’Rourke	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1636	Resolution recognizing Juan Carlos Ferrufino	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1635	Resolution recognizing Andrea Ilse	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1633	Resolution recognizing Joanne Hayes Rines	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1632	Resolution recognizing Pomona Eastie	Co-Sponsor	Passed
#1631	Resolution recognizing Ivan Viruta Giraldo	Co-Sponsor	Passed

Committee Involvement

Chair (1)

• Government Operations

Vice Chair (2)

Member (9)