Elizabeth A. "Liz" Breadon is a Democratic member of the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

who serves the

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part ...

and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

neighborhoods (District 9) of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Having emigrated from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, physical therapist she was the first openly LGBTQ woman elected to Boston City Council.

Early life and education

Breadon grew up in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

, during

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. She attended Ulster University to study

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

. She later worked at the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

. Breadon later attended the defunct Teleosis Homeopathic School in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

to study

Homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...

Career

Breadon immigrated to Boston in 1995 and worked for Boston Medical Center,

The Home for Little Wanderers The Home for Little Wanderers is a private non-profit child and family service agency. It has been part of the Massachusetts landscape for more than 200 years, making it the oldest agency of its kind in the nation and one of the largest in New Eng ...

, and Perkins School for the Blind. She has a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from

Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a university. Its ...

. Prior to her election to the Boston City Council, she ran a

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...

business from 2011 to 2020, where she claimed to be board certified in Classical Homeopathy, a

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

system of

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

City Council

After coming in second in a seven-way primary to fill the District 9 seat of retiring incumbent

Mark Ciommo Mark Ciommo (born November 19, 1956) is a Boston teacher and politician, who formerly served as a member of the Boston City Council representing District 9 (Allston–Brighton). Early years Ciommo was raised in Allston-Brighton by Louise Rufo, ...

, Breadon won the 2019 general municipal election with 58.5% of the vote. As head of the City Council's Redistricting Committee, Breadon was involved in the controversial

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

of the City Council districts that occurred after the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

. She sponsored the original "Unity Map" that arose from the redistricting process and passed the city council despite opposition from four

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

politically moderate

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

members of the City Council, including Council President Ed Flynn, whose district was one of two that were at the center of the controversy surrounding the map.The map's controversy surrounded changes district 6 and district 7's boundaries. The map was passed into law in November 2022 after being signed by Mayor

Michelle Wu Michelle Wu ( zh, t=吳弭, first=t; born January 14, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the mayor of Boston, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts since 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. However, the map was ultimately prohibited by preliminary

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

from being used in the

2023 Boston City Council election The 2023 Boston City Council election was held on November 7, 2023, with primaries occurring on September 12, 2023. All thirteen councillors from the nine districts and four councillors at-large were up for election. Elections in Boston are of ...

after a ruling by Federal Judge Patti Saris. After the judicial ruling, City Council President Flynn tasked Councilor

Ruthzee Louijeune Ruthzee Louijeune (born 1987) is an American politician and lawyer serving as president of the Boston City Council. She has been an at-large member of the Boston City Council since January 2022, and has served as the council's president since Jan ...

, head of the Boston City Council's Civil Rights Committee, to oversee the process of drawing a map to be used in the 2023 Boston City Council election instead of Breadon. The resulting map was adopted by the council in a 10–2 vote and signed into law by Mayor Wu. In June 2023, Breadon was the only white member of the City Council to vote in support of a budget that the City Council approved 7–5. The six other votes in support came from councilors who are

persons of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

, and all of the votes against the budget came from the remaining white city councilors.. Mayor Wu thereafter

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed a number of amendments included in the budget.

Personal life

Breadon lives in the Oak Square area of

with her spouse, Mary McCarthy.

Election results

2021

2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breadon, Liz Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Northern Ireland emigrants to the United States Boston City Council members Women city councillors in Massachusetts Alumni of Ulster University Simmons University alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians