Four of Chelsea’s eleven city councillors did not attend the special meeting the council held on August 17 to approve the warrant for the September 1 state primary. The minutes, which are on tonight’s agenda for acceptance, record Giovanni Recupero, Tanairi Garcia, Manuel Teshe and Kelly Garcia as absent. The meeting opened at 7:01 p.m., passed its two items 7 to 0 with four absent, and adjourned at 7:24.
Both items were routine. One approved the election warrant. The other granted the exemption from the state conflict-of-interest law that lets city and school employees work the polls for pay. Neither needed more than six votes. But four absences is the most at any council meeting this year, and the minutes the city has published so far allow a full accounting.
The record, meeting by meeting
The table covers every 2026 council meeting for which minutes have appeared in a council packet. It reflects the roll call at the start of each meeting as recorded by the Clerk. The minutes do not record reasons for absences, and a councillor marked late may have missed only a few minutes.
| Meeting | Absent | Arrived late |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 5 (inauguration) | T. Garcia | |
| Jan. 28 | Hines | |
| Feb. 9 | Recupero | |
| Mar. 2 | Recupero, 7:10 | |
| Mar. 3 (special) | Teshe, Brown | DeJesus, 6:38 |
| Mar. 9 | Hines, Teshe | Recupero, 7:15 |
| Mar. 23 | Hines, Teshe, DeJesus | Recupero, 7:15 |
| Apr. 6 | ||
| Apr. 27 | Teshe | Hines, 7:08 |
| May 4 | T. Garcia, Brown | |
| June 8 | K. Garcia, 7:22; Teshe, 7:35 | |
| June 22 (special, 6 p.m.) | Teshe, DeJesus | Taylor, 6:02; Recupero, 6:06; Brown, 6:07 |
| June 22 (regular) | ||
| Aug. 17 (special) | Recupero, T. Garcia, Teshe, K. Garcia |
Across those 14 meetings, Manuel Teshe of District 7 was absent six times and late once. Deron Hines and Tanairi Garcia were each absent three times. Giovanni Recupero was absent twice and late three times. Norieliz DeJesus and Calvin Brown were each absent twice and late once. Kelly Garcia was absent once and late once. Todd Taylor was late once. Council President Roberto Jimenez-Rivera, Lisa Santagate and Leo Robinson have a clean sheet.
The June 22 swearing-in
The special meeting on June 22 was called for 6 p.m. so the council could witness Fire Chief John Quatieri swear in a new deputy chief, a captain, a lieutenant and seven firefighters before the regular meeting at 7. Teshe and DeJesus did not attend. Taylor, Recupero and Brown arrived between 6:02 and 6:07. The ceremony was over by 6:24.
The scanned minutes of the January 12 meeting do not include a legible attendance table, so it is left out. Minutes are accepted by the council without discussion, weeks or months after the fact. The August 17 minutes are on tonight’s agenda under item 26M15.