'Immature' and 'out of control': How an inside baseball feud is roiling the Boston City Council

Boston City Council tensions have escalated between Councilors Erin Murphy and Sharon Durkan over procedural blocking of late-file measures. Council rules require measures to be filed by Monday at 10 a.m. to be placed on the Wednesday agenda. During weekly meetings, councilors may suspend the rules to consider late-file matters, but unanimous consent is required, allowing any single councilor to block them. Murphy alleges Durkan has repeatedly blocked her late-file matters since early April, delaying work and harming public trust. Durkan argues suspending rules should be limited to emergencies and raises concerns about compliance with open meeting law and transparency. She also claims Murphy relies on late-file measures disproportionately in 2025 and 2026.

"Council rules dictate that measures need to be filed by Monday at 10 a.m. for them to be added to the Wednesday agenda. During the meeting, councilors can suspend the rules and bring forth late-file matters that did not make the Monday deadline. But unanimous consent is needed to do so, meaning these late-file measures can be easily blocked by a single councilor."

"According to Murphy, Durkan has made a concerted effort since the beginning of April to selectively block her late-file matters. This repeated "obstruction" has forced the council to delay important work while damaging the public perception of the council's integrity, Murphy said."

"Durkan said she is concerned about compliance with the state's open meeting law and believes that suspending the rules for late-file matters should be reserved for emergencies. The regular filing of late-file matters discredits the council's transparency, as it does not allow constituents to voice their opinions before an item is taken up by the body, she added."

""Unfortunately I think she really likes using this tool, and she really likes making news and it not being publicly noted," Durkan said of Murphy. When asked about this, Murphy said that she views any "overreliance" of late-files as a point of prid"

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