Ruthzee Louijeune

Ruthzee Louijeune (born 1987) is an American politician and lawyer serving as at-large member of the Boston City Council. She was elected in 2021, and took office in January 2022. She is the first Haitian-American to serve on the council.

Ruthzee Louijeune
Member Boston City Council at-large
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded byAnnissa Essaibi George
Personal details
Born1987 (age 35–36)
Boston, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Harvard Law School (JD)
Harvard Kennedy School (MPA)

Early life and education

Louijeuene is the daughter of immigrants to the United States from Haiti.[1]

Louijeune was born in 1987 in Boston. was raised in the Hyde Park and Mattapan neighborhoods.[2] She attended Charles H. Taylor Elementary School, and graduated from Boston Latin School in 2004.[1] During high school, she interned in the office of State Representative Marie St. Fleur as part of the Ward Fellowship Program.[1]

Louijeuene moved to New York City in order to attended Columbia University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2008.[2][3] After earning her undergraduate degree, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she attended Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School, earning a master's degree in public policy and a Juris Doctor in 2014.[2][1][3][4] At Harvard Law School, she was a student attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.[5][6][7][8]

Louijeuene worked as an attorney for Perkins Coie.[9]

Louijeuene has her own legal firm, through which she conducts consulting and works on affordable homeownership agreements in Boston.[1]

Louijeune served as senior counsel the Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.[1]

Louijeune has been involved as a volunteer with the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, representing low-income individuals in the housing court.[10][1][11][12] In her work with them, she has fought against eviction and to promote homeownership.[1] She has worked with them in their efforts to increase homeownership opprountities in Boston for first-generation home buyers.[12] She is considered to be a housing advocate.[12]

Boston City Council

Louijeune was elected to Boston City Council in November 2021. As a first-time candidate Louijeune had a strong showing in the 2021 election, finishing third behind incumbent council members Michael F. Flaherty and Julia Mejia.[13][14] She is the first Haitian-American to serve on the council.[13] She took office in January 2022.

In late-2022, Louijeune proposed have been an amendment to have the city regulate beekeeping.[15] In late-2022, Louijeune played a key role in the passage of a 20% pay increase for members of the Boston Council, which was vetoed by Mayor Michelle Wu. Wu supported an 11% increase, which had been the recommendation of Boston’s compensation advisory board, but opposed a 20% increase.[16]

Personal life

Louijeuen lives in Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood.[1]

Electoral history
2021 Boston City Council at-large election
Candidate Primary election[17] General election[18]
Votes % Votes %
Michael F. Flaherty (incumbent) 41,299 15.0 62,242 17.4
Julia Mejia (incumbent) 38,765 14.1 61,709 17.3
Ruthzee Louijeune 33,425 12.2 54,601 15.3
Erin Murphy 22,835 8.3 42,831 12.0
David Halbert 16,921 6.2 42,561 11.9
Carla Monteiro 18,844 6.9 39,648 11.1
Bridget Nee-Walsh 15,118 5.5 27,424 7.7
Althea Garrison 16,810 6.1 24,194 7.0
Kelly Bates 12,735 4.6  
Alexander Gray 11,263 4.1  
Jon Spillane 11,155 4.1  
Said Abdikarim 7,725 2.8  
Domingos DaRosa 7,139 2.6  
Donnie Palmer Jr. 6,823 2.5  
Roy Owens Sr. 5,223 1.9  
James Colimon 4,671 1.7  
Nick Vance 3,943 1.4  
Write-ins 845 0.3 1,350 0.4
Total 274,694 100 359,294 100

References
  1. Kilgannon, Maddie (March 16, 2021). "Mattapan native Ruthzee Louijeune joins at-large council race | Dorchester Reporter". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  2. Shimano, Mihiro (September 7, 2021). "Ruthzee Louijeune". Boston.com. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  3. "Ruthzee Louijeune". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  4. "Ruthzee Louijeune". WGBH. 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  5. "Ruthzee Louijeune". WGBH. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. "City Council Candidate Loved Campus and Harlem". Columbia College Today. June 22, 2021. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  7. "Meet the Candidate". Ruthzee Louijeune for Boston City Council At-Large. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  8. Zeder, Jeri (August 17, 2011). "Law on the Home Front". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  9. McDonald, Danny (August 23, 2021). "Ruthzee Louijeune releases TV ad, in rare move for a Boston city council candidate - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  10. Ta, Ha (March 24, 2021). "City council race: Ruthzee Louijeune running for at-large seat". The Scope. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  11. Ratto, Isabella (October 14, 2021). "Built in Boston, City Council candidate Ruthzee Louijeune hopes to build better for the next generation". The Huntington News. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  12. Ta, Ha (March 24, 2021). "City council race: Ruthzee Louijeune running for at-large seat". The Scope. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  13. "Ruthzee Louijeune secures at-large spot on council". The Bay State Banner. November 3, 2021. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  14. "Louijeune wins solid 3rd-place finish; first Haitian American to join council | Dorchester Reporter". www.dotnews.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  15. McCourt, Clara (October 4, 2022). "New proposal could regulate Boston beekeeping". www.boston.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  16. Wintersmith, Saraya (October 17, 2022). "Mayor vetoes Boston City Council's 20% pay hike". WGBH. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  17. "Unofficial Election Results". Boston.gov. October 3, 2016. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  18. Waller, John (November 2, 2021). "2021 Boston City Council election results". Boston.Com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
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