BOSTON — Happy Cardi B Day, Boston. Yep, you read that correctly.
Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting made one thing official: today, April 2nd, is Cardi B Day in the City of Boston. It also voted to fly the flag of Senegal at City Hall Plaza tomorrow. It discussed barriers to gender-affirming healthcare, pool conditions, and fair housing.
What it did not do — or what it was not allowed to do — was discuss a financial audit of a city that is $100 million in the red. Or ask why BPS couldn't scrape together baseball caps for a high school varsity team on opening day. Sharon Durkan made sure of that.
Councilor Sharon Durkan and Mayor Michelle Wu. On Wednesday, Durkan blocked a financial audit before it could be spoken aloud.
Two emergency orders. One no.
Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn arrived at Wednesday's meeting with two emergency orders they wanted added to the agenda. The first called for an independent performance audit of city finances and Boston Public Schools. The second called for a hearing to ensure BPS student-athletes actually have the equipment they need to play.
The second order was prompted by something that had Boston fuming: community members had to scramble over the weekend to buy baseball caps for the Excel High School varsity team after BPS couldn't provide them in time for opening day. The school district froze hiring and spending in January to close a $53 million budget gap. It still couldn't come up with hats. Meanwhile, the city is spending $135 million in taxpayer money to rebuild White Stadium for a private women's soccer team.
They filed late — after the Monday noon deadline — which under council rules requires unanimous consent from all 13 members to be added to the agenda.
Durkan said no. Twice. Before either order could be read into the record by the city clerk.
No docket number. No debate. No vote. Officially, they never existed.
Councilor Ed Flynn (left) and Councilor Erin Murphy (right) address the floor Wednesday. Their emergency orders for a financial audit were blocked before the city clerk could read them aloud.
One objection. Zero consistency.
Boston City Council declared Cardi B Day on Wednesday and voted to fly Senegal's flag at City Hall Plaza on Friday. A financial audit of the city's $100 million deficit did not make the agenda. Cardi B photo: Cardi B/Instagram via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Senegal flag: U.S. Navy/Public Domain.
The resolution declaring Cardi B Day — offered by Councilor Julia Mejia — was also filed the day of the meeting, April 1. Same rule. Same timing. Durkan raised no objection. It passed.
The Senegal flag resolution, offered by Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, was filed March 30 and properly noticed.
The audit was not. Neither was Cardi B Day. One sailed through. One never got spoken aloud.
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Murphy did not hide her frustration. "We passed a resolution declaring a day for Cardi B in Boston," she told the Boston Herald. "But when it comes to asking serious questions about city finances or ensuring student-athletes have the basic equipment and support they need, those efforts are blocked before they can even be heard. We should be embarrassed by that."
Flynn told the Herald: "Matters of local importance on a city budget deficit over $100 million and Boston Public Schools not having athletic equipment were blocked by a council colleague simply due to politics."
Durkan said nothing during the meeting to explain her objection. Her spokesperson told the Herald afterward that she didn't believe the measures "warranted emergency action" but felt they "merit discussion if properly noticed on the docket."
The audit orders never received docket numbers. They do not appear in the official record.
But she had plenty to say about the gas tax
Durkan was not silent on Wednesday. She just chose her words carefully.
When Councilor Miniard Culpepper put forward a resolution urging Governor Healey to suspend the state gas tax, Durkan voted no. Culpepper's argument was direct: the gas tax falls hardest on low-income residents and communities of color who cannot absorb the cost at the pump. "I do not believe in legislative resolutions driving policy," she said from the chamber. "This resolution holds no concrete legislative power as the authority rests with the state legislature."
She called the gas tax "a complex and unresolved issue" and said it was not "smart to essentially put this very complex issue on the agenda without context."
In May 2024, this same council voted 11-2 to pass a non-binding resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza — a foreign conflict over which the Boston City Council has exactly zero legislative authority. Durkan voted yes. No concerns about legislative limits. No warnings about context. The same council has also rebranded Thanksgiving as a "National Day of Mourning" and declared a day for a rapper. Durkan raised no objections to any of it. She only discovers the limits of council authority when the resolution is something she wants to kill.
Durkan, it seems, has no problem with Bostonians paying more. She just has a problem with anyone checking where the money goes.
Councilor Sharon Durkan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
One vote. That's all it takes.
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Under Boston City Council rules, any single member can block a late-file order by withholding consent. One person. No explanation required.
On Wednesday, that person was Durkan — one of Mayor Wu's closest and most reliable allies on the 13-member Council. Durkan came to the council as a Wu aide and won her seat with Wu's endorsement. Critics have long questioned whether she has ever broken from the mayor on anything that counts. Her record speaks for itself — a rubber stamp with a council title, doing the work Wu cannot do from City Hall.
This is not the first time Durkan has used that single vote to bury something residents wanted heard. Last August, Councilor Ed Flynn filed a resolution to declare Mass & Cass — Boston's open-air drug market, where needles, dealers, and crime had spilled into the South End and surrounding neighborhoods — a public safety and public health emergency. Durkan objected. The resolution was sent to committee. It never came back to a full council vote.
Over 120 residents packed a public hearing that September, with another hundred in the lobby. Mass Daily News was in the room. One restaurant owner said she had depleted her 401(k) trying to keep her business alive. A resident described a stranger repeatedly breaking into her home and defecating in the living room.
Councilor Murphy called it out publicly. "Sharon uses her ability to object as a tool to shut down conversation," she said, "particularly on issues that may be politically inconvenient for the administration." The Boston Globe's editorial board ran a piece headlined: "From Mass. and Cass to school bus safety — Wu allies on the council do her bidding."
Wednesday was not an anomaly. It was the pattern.
The numbers
Boston Public Schools is trying to close a $53 million deficit before June 30. The city itself faces a separate $48.4 million shortfall, driven by record snow removal costs and public safety overtime. The CFO informed the Council of that gap in a letter Monday — the same day as the filing deadline, and the reason Murphy and Flynn filed late.
Combined: over $100 million.
Murphy and Flynn can refile next week, properly noticed.
Meanwhile, Senegal's flag goes up at City Hall Plaza on Friday. The city is still $100 million in the hole. BPS student-athletes still don't have their equipment. And a financial audit of any of it never made it to the floor.
Some issues, it turns out, are just too local for this council.
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