Ed Flynn (politician)

Flynn was elected to the Boston City Council's 2nd district seat in 2017 being vacated by outgoing Councilmember Bill Linehan. He defeated LGBTQ activist Mike Kelley by over three percentage points to win election.[1]

During the campaign, Flynn was considered the front-runner.[6] Among those who endorsed his candidacy were Congressman Stephen F. Lynch,[7] City Councilor Bill Linehan,[6] City Councilor Michael F. Flaherty, and State Representative Nick Collins.[7] He was also endorsed by a number of trade unions.[7]

Among the issues that Flynn pledged would be a priority for him if he was elected was domestic violence. He invoked the work his mother had done as the city's first lady to support survivors of domestic violence, promising to continue her work.[4]

In mid-October 2017, Councilor Bill Linehan made a resignation from the seat that Flynn was seeking to succeed him in, which is when Linehan also gave his endorsement of Flynn's candidacy to succeed him.[6]

After joining the City Council, Flynn stopped working as a probation officer at the Suffolk Superior Court.[5]

Having been elected to fill a vacant seat, Flynn took office after the vote had been certified, beginning his tenure during the 2015–2018 Boston City Council term, as opposed to taking his seat months later at the start of the new 2018–21 Boston City Council term.

Flynn is only the second individual to hold the council's 2nd district seat since it was established in 1984.[1]

In December 2018, the Boston City Council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance that Flynn authored with Lydia Edwards that extended the period of repayment for back taxes by low-income elder residents, and forgave interest.[8]

Flynn was reelected in 2019.[3]

In 2021, Flynn voted against legislation that was passed by the City Council which restricted the use of rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray by the Boston Police Department.[9]

Flynn was reelected to his city council seat in 2021.[3]

On the Boston City Council, its president is elected by a vote of its members. The campaign process of those seeking the presidency generally occurs behind closed doors, with the contenders privately lobbying and negotiating with members of the council for their votes.[10] Initially, after the new council had been elected, rumors initially arose that Kenzie Bok had secured the backing of enough City Council members to be elected the City Council's president for its 2022–23 term. It has been reported by the press that sources have said was initially the case, but that Flynn (who had initially pledged to support Bok for president) and two additional councilors decided to withdraw their backing of her candidacy, and partnered with a coalition of newly elected freshman City Council members to support Flynn to serve as the president, giving Flynn sufficient support to win the presidency.[11]

On December 1, 2021, Flynn announced in a press release that he had secured guarantees of support from enough council members that he was confident he would be voted by the city council to serve as its president of the Boston City Council during its 2022–23 term. WGBH-TV reported that numerous sources had informed them that Flynn had indeed received support from enough councilors to win the position. It was reported that the councilors who had rival efforts for the council presidency had been Ricardo Arroyo and Kenzie Bok. It was noted that it was possible that councilors could potentially shift their support before the January vote. However, upon Flynn's apparent success in securing sufficient backing to become council president, Arroyo released a statement that acted as an informal concession of sorts, giving strong praise to Flynn's kindness and work ethic, and declaring that he looked forward, "to seeing how he utilizes those great qualities in this leadership role."[10] Flynn ultimately was elected unanimously to the council presidency in the formal vote.[5]

Political reporter Saraya Wintersmith of WGBH-TV opined that, while the position of City Council president was mostly a symbolic post, it was poised to take more political importance than usual in the Boston City Council's 2022–23 term, with the council set to receive greater power in the city's budgeting process and poised to play a role in determining new appointees to seats on the Boston School Committee.[10]

Flynn (right) in 2022 at Boston's 22nd Annual Street Festival with Mayor Michelle Wu (left) and Congressman Stephen Lynch (center)

Flynn was one of four council members that voted against the redistricting map for City Council districts that the council passed and Mayor Michelle Wu passed into law in November 2022.[12] Flynn had desired to keep all of South Boston and the South End in the boundaries of his own district, which the new map does not do.[13] Flynn had attempted to delay the adoption of a new redistricting map, and proposed to instead have an independent panel draw the new map.[14] The redistricting process had been contentious.[15]

As council president, Flynn suspended Councilman Ricardo Arroyo from his committee chairmanships after it was reported in the Boston Globe that Arroyo had been investigated for sexual assault in 2005 and 2007 without being charged for a crime.[16]

In August 2022, ahead of month-long closure of a key segment of the MBTA Orange Line, Flynn and several other city councilors wrote a letter to the MBTA that requested the operation of shuttle bus service to Chinatown during the closure. He expressed worry that the MBTA was not including Chinatown in its plan for alternate transit during the closure.[17]