By Adam Swift
The town council will not authorize Town Manager Tony Marino to join in a lawsuit that was filed in 2024 that would provide an exemption to the MBTA 3A Communities Act law.
Tuesday night, the council voted 4-4 on a motion by Council Vice President Suzanne Swope to authorize Marino and the town to join the lawsuit. The Winthrop Says No to 3A Committee and local attorney Diana Viens filed the original lawsuit in 2024, but on Tuesday, Viens said the committee filed an emergency motion to stay enforcement of the MBTA zoning law and pause the Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s enforcement lawsuit against Winthrop until the exemption case is decided.
Earlier this month, Campbell filed an enforcement action against Winthrop and eight other communities that have failed to comply with 3A.
“If the Court grants this motion, Winthrop cannot be penalized or forced into compliance—and cannot be subjected to the Attorney General’s enforcement action—while the exemption case is pending,” Viens stated.
On Tuesday night, Swope and Councilors Pat Costigan, Joe Romano, and Paul Reardon voted to have the town join the exemption case. Council President Jim Letterie, Kim Dimes, Kurt Millar, and Max Tassinari voted not to join the case. The motion needed a majority vote, and the Precinct 6 council seat remains vacant.
The vote upset some residents who spoke during the public speaking portion of the meeting, noting that Letterie has previously voted against a 3A compliance plan for the town while Dimes and Millar voiced their opposition to the 3A law. Tassinari is the lone current member of the council who was both on the council and voted to support the Planning Board’s 3A compliance plan when it came before it.
Letterie, Dimes, and Millar all stated that they were opposed to the 3A Communities Act, but that they did not necessarily believe that joining the exemption case with the Winthrop Says No to 3A Committee was the best avenue for the town. Swope initially introduced the motion to join the lawsuit at the council’s meeting on Jan. 20, but Dimes used her executive privilege to table the motion to a future meeting so she could get more information about it.
According to Viens, the Winthrop Says No exemption argues that Winthrop would suffer irreversible harm if forced to rezone now—costly planning, loss of local control, public safety risks, and environmental impacts that cannot be undone later. The emergency motion filed Tuesday also claims that the state housing agency failed to follow required legal procedures when residents initially formally requested an exemption.
“Given Winthrop’s extreme density and unique constraints, we have a strong likelihood of success on the merits,” Viens stated, adding that pausing enforcement causes no harm to the state, but allowing enforcement to proceed now would seriously harm Winthrop.
Swope mentioned the discord the 3A debate has caused among residents and officials in the town when speaking on her motion.
“We find ourselves in a bad situation up top and we find ourselves squabbling down below on this and we create such discord,” said Swope. “In the end, regardless of how we decide on what else we can do in the town of Winthrop, I’m hoping we can find an exemption. We need to be exempt from this law, and I will fight to the end and even if we go down, we go down fighting.”
Costigan noted the many factors he said make 3A a bad law for Winthrop.
“An exemption case would put us out of our misery as it relates to this bad law, and all this is is an exemption; it is equivalent to us … paper complying,” said Costigan. “This is a permanent paper compliance with all the writing and all the legalities that would protect us.”
Romano said he believes the exemption case is still the best way forward for the town.
“I haven’t seen any other alternatives,” he said. “My understanding is that the attorney has been working pro bono and I don’t understand all this talk that it is going to cost the town additional funds.”
Reardon said he believed it was incumbent upon the town to pursue every avenue, such as the exemption case, with the state.
Tassinari said he believed the exemption case from Winthrop Says No would not prevail in the courts, just as exemption cases in other communities have failed.
“I’m not inclined to have the town manager and the town attorney dedicate their time and our tax dollars to fighting this case,” said Tassinari. “If there are other avenues that the town attorney comes up with, then we should explore those avenues at that time, but I don’t think that this is the one.”
Marino stated that town attorney Jim Cipoletta has been in contact with the attorney general’s office and will be advising the Town Council on the next steps for the town against the AG’s complaint.
“After a discussion with the Town Council President several weeks ago, I reached out to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) about meeting with Secretary Augustus and representatives from the AG’s office,” Marino stated. “We anticipate that the meeting will take place before the next Town Council meeting on February 17, 2026. EOHLC has indicated they are willing to discuss potential compliance paths for Winthrop.”
Millar noted that his position on the 3A law has not changed.
“I have not changed my thoughts or views; I am against 3A,” said Millar. “I have said this multiple times when people have questioned me, the thing I wanted to do was to make sure I got additional information on this. The town can’t just jump on a lawsuit; there are more steps that go along with this and I’m not sure that people are clear that there is more to go along with this.”
Millar noted that the courts have dismissed many lawsuits where municipalities have signed on with committees.
“My vote is not based on somebody flipping me, my vote is based on getting additional information,” said Millar. “I have spoken twice on the phone with Attorney Viens … I reached out to friends to try to get more information for a better understanding.”
Dimes said she also wanted to make clear that her position on 3A has not changed.
“I believe this law to be a massive overreach by the state and its one-size-fits-all nature does not fit Winthrop’s many challenges,” said Dimes. “I absolutely support an exemption for Winthrop, and I believe we should continue pursuing,”
Dimes said the town should move forward with a new exemption case drawn up by the town attorney.
“The current exemption case is from 2024; there are parts of it that have already been ruled that the law is constitutional and that it is not an unfunded mandate; that has already been ruled on and it is in this exemption case, it is obsolete language,” said Dimes. “I think we need to start new and we start altogether.”
Dimes said her vote reflected her responsibility as a councilor to make decisions based on facts, law, and community welfare.
“I’m against 3A on the control issue,” said Letterie, noting that the town is already building housing units. “Whatever happens down the road, and whatever comes to fruition, because one way or another it is going to come to fruition … it’s not going to go on forever … it will end. I would much rather that my case be in a federal court rather than in a state court because I think the courts are a little stacked against us.
“I do believe the prudence of entering a 2024 case at this time is probably a little ill advised where we have a meeting with the EOHLC along with representative Turco and others,” continued Letterie. “I don’t know if the town should be looking to fight in this venue. I do think the town needs to continue to fight … I’ve made those comments clear to the town manager and the town attorney; but in a prudent way … and we take our responsibility seriously for the 19,000-plus people who live here.”
Letterie said he believes that there will ultimately be a compromise with the state on 3A.
“I want to be able to fight another day in this; I am continuing to do everything I can to prevent 3A from coming to Winthrop, however I want to do it in a prudent way,” said Letterie. “I do not think that this specific suit is the right way to go right now.”