Gabriela Coletta Zapata

District 1 Councilor

Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata protects daily neighborhood services, expands youth programs, and ensures strict legal oversight over city operations. She demands consistent funding for local transportation and immigrant services and prefers writing specific rules to solve city problems rather than passing blanket bans.

⚡ gabriela coletta zapata stance snapshot

Policy Priorities

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Neighborhood Services:Demanded the city restore funding for immigrant legal services and opposed $1.4 million in cuts to the Boston Transportation Department, warning that hiring freezes hurt basic city operations like trash collection in the North End.

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Housing and Real Estate:Supported a 2 percent real estate transfer fee on properties over $2 million, designing the rule to target high-value real estate transactions without affecting most homeowners.

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Youth Programs:Pushed the city to revive the Red Shirts youth employment program and requested surveys of Boston Public Schools students to align city job training with the actual interests of young people.

⚡ key discussions

Areas of Council Debate

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Independent Performance Audits:Opposed a resolution to conduct an independent performance audit of city operations (Docket #0781), arguing that the proposal confused financial audits with operational ones and would deliver findings too late to fix current budget problems.

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Blanket Moped Bans:Objected to an outright ban on mopeds and e-bikes for third-party food delivery (Docket #0325), arguing the city council should regulate specific unsafe behaviors instead of banning the vehicles entirely.

Represented:

Charlestown East Boston Downtown / North End / South End

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

October 8, 2026

Position Summary

Councilor Coletta Zapata actively supports ordinances that strengthen tenant protections, aiming to curb displacement and improve unsafe living conditions, and has raised concerns over loopholes in existing housing regulations being used to evade their protective intent.

Public Housing Operations & Oversight

October 8, 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

October 8, 2026

Position Summary

Councilor Coletta Zapata prioritizes linguistic equity and the reinforcement of safety nets for vulnerable families, advocating for consistent funding for translation and support services while strongly opposing steep budget reductions for community programs.

Homelessness Prevention & Emergency Services

October 8, 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

Technology is going to continue evolving and our oversight has to evolve with it. So I'm proud again to join Councilor Weber in introducing this ordinance.

View Meeting Debate

I want to stick with my decision to keep it in environment because I think environment I don't need I don't have to justify my decision, but, um, if you wish to, uh, appeal the decision of the Chair...

View Meeting Debate

My goal is to potentially convert it into a contingent framework should the um, the lawsuit be successful. And I don't know of and this is my my next question to you. I don't know beyond the um, the legislation that I think it is in committee right now to regulate this. I don't know if the state's ready to promulgate any rules.

View Meeting Debate

Not only will we be able to serve more people, potentially getting more people off the waitlist, there's going to be a cost savings there of what was it, $700,000 for the program. And there's also going to be less trucks on the street on a weekly basis.

View Meeting Debate

No matter what we're doing, we could always strengthen our safety net for our kids.

View Meeting Debate

Contested Votes

September 23, 2026Voted Yes

Support Temporary Suspension Of State Gas Tax

Docket #1828

August 26, 2026Voted No

Resolution supporting investigation into incorrect early voting ballots and state receivership

Docket #1616

Legislation They Sponsored

314 of 314 dockets sponsored or co-sponsored

Issue Area

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Role

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Status

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Docket	Title	Issue Area	Role	Status
#1930	Resolution Recognizing the Twenty Fifth Anniversary of Opening Our Doors Day		Sponsor	Passed
#1929	Resolution Recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day		Sponsor	Passed
#1928	Resolution Recognizing Fire Prevention Week		Sponsor	Passed
#1927	Resolution Recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month		Sponsor	Passed
#1926	Resolution Recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month		Sponsor	Passed
#1925	Resolution Urging Emergency Shelter for Displaced Haitian Temporary Protected Status Holders	Housing	Sponsor	Passed
#1924	Resolution Honoring Bishop John M. Borders III Upon Retirement		Sponsor	Passed
#1923	Resolution Supporting the Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act	Governance & Oversight	Sponsor	Passed
#1922	Resolution Supporting Bizgrow Central and Inclusive Small Business Growth	Workforce and Economic Development	Sponsor	Passed
#1921	Resolution Urging Mass General Brigham to Negotiate in Good Faith	Workforce and Economic Development	Sponsor	Passed

Committee Involvement

Chair (1)

• Government Operations

Vice Chair (2)

Member (9)