Winthrop Town Council votes 5-3 to join MBTA 3A exemption lawsuit

WINTHROP -- April 14, 2026, Winthrop Town Council votes 5-3 at special meeting to pursue intervention in MBTA 3A exemption lawsuit. The council, meeting April 14 in the Harvey Hearing Room at a session called by Councilors Costigan, Romano, Reardon, and Finn, approved an amended motion asking Town Manager Tony Reno to seek the town's intervention alongside plaintiffs in docket 2484CV02351A, a Suffolk Superior Court case filed by the Winthrop Says No to 3A committee against the state's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The town attorney cautioned that the intervention process alone would take at least four months and risk "spreading your assets so thinly" across three simultaneous legal proceedings, noting Winthrop already has active counterclaims against the state Attorney General that include constitutional challenges under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Ethics questions raised by resident Erin Barcellus, citing Councilor Costigan's status as a named plaintiff and a family member of Vice President Swope's also being named, were addressed by both officials through pre-filed disclosures with the town clerk. Councilors Milano, Dimes, and Council President Latieri voted against; Councilor Tassaneri did not record a vote.