MBTA General Manager Summons
At a glance
- What: Docket No. 1968, Culpepper's order to summon the MBTA general manager Phillip Eng (also interim state transportation secretary) to appear before the Civil Rights, Racial Equity and Immigrant Advancement Committee, and to supply official crash data for Blue Hill Avenue and comparable corridors such as Columbus Avenue.
- Where it stands: passed on suspension of the rules on October 21, 2026 on a roll call: 8 yes, 2 no (Coletta Zapata and Durkan) and 3 present (FitzGerald, Pepén and Weber). No hearing date was given.
- Background: the general manager was invited to the October 14 field hearing on rapid transit equity (Civil rights and rapid transit equity in Boston) and neither attended nor sent a statement, while the city administration sent a written statement.
The debate
- For: Culpepper, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell and Flynn (who said he had voted against a summons for a postal inspector but would back Culpepper). Mejia and Culpepper stressed that an official hearing puts answers on the record in a way community meetings do not, and Culpepper cited Chapter 233 of the General Laws on summoning state bodies. Murphy said administration officials often fail to appear at her hearings and the Council gives up power when it does not use the summons.
- Against: Pepén said the general manager has met him and residents on three occasions and his team responds to requests. Durkan said the summons power should be used selectively, doubted the general manager would appear, and used the word "mockery"; Culpepper and Mejia objected, citing the civil rights stakes, and Durkan replied that her view reflected differing approaches to transportation rather than the committee involved.
- Abstaining: FitzGerald said he would vote present out of caution; Pepén and Weber were also recorded as present. Durkan and Coletta Zapata voted no (the minutes settle what the captions left unclear).
- The presiding officer said she would vote yes out of respect for the committee chair.
Related: Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan, Orange Line extension along Blue Hill Avenue.
Official minutes record
From the official minutes of the October 21, 2026 City Council meeting, which are the authority on motions and votes; the captions are less exact on tallies.
- Docket No. 1968, an order for a summons for Phillip Eng, General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Interim Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth, to appear before the Committee on Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Immigrant Advancement. Sponsors listed: Culpepper, Breadon, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Santana and Worrell.
- On Culpepper's motion the rules were suspended and the order passed: yeas 8 (Breadon, Culpepper, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Santana, Worrell), nays 2 (Coletta Zapata, Durkan), present 3 (FitzGerald, Pepén, Weber).
- The minutes resolve two points the captions left unclear: the second no vote was Coletta Zapata, and Louijeune voted yes.
Sources
- 2026-10-21 - City Council (captioned recording)
- Minutes, October 21, 2026: https://boston.legistar1.com/boston/meetings/2026/10/14268_M_City_Council_26-10-21_Meeting_Minutes.pdf
Discussion time
About 30 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 - City Council | 30 |
Log
- 2026-10-21 - City Council - Debate and 8-2-3 roll call on the summons; passed. Official minutes: passed 8 yes, 2 no (Coletta Zapata, Durkan), 3 present (FitzGerald, Pepén, Weber).