Ricardo Arroyo

The Boston City Council earlier this month approved the creation of the Office of Cultural Affairs, which would center its work on Boston residents who are Latin American, Caribbean, and Asian and Pacific Islanders.

With two of Boston City Council's most left-leaning members having lost their seats in preliminary balloting, some are questioning whether the Council’s progressive streak will continue into the next term with a body that could no longer have a majority of people of color.

When voters in Roxbury and parts of the South End and Fenway go to the polls for the city’s Sept. 12 preliminary, there will be no shortage of choices in four City Council districts.

Three Boston city councilors of color have proposed the city create an office of Latino and Caribbean affairs to address the public health and welfare needs of those ethnic groups.

Michael Flaherty’s sudden announcement that he would not seek re-election to the City Council — little more than a week after signatures were due — has cast a spotlight on the race for the four at-large seats on the 13-member body.

At-large Councilor Michael Flaherty took the stand Tuesday, testifying for the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Council’s redistricting map.

Citing public health concerns as well as persistent issues with litter, Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who represents the city’s 5th District, is ordering a public hearing to discuss the potential benefits of a citywide ban on single-serving or miniature alcohol bottles — known popularly as “nips.”

The Boston City Council on March 8 passed Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent stabilization proposal 11-2, with District 3 Councilor Frank  Baker and at-large Councilor Erin Murphy voting “no.”

With several outbursts and more than an hour and a half spent in recess, city councilors voted on redistricting last Wednesday, passing newly drawn district lines based on the so-called unity map advanced by the NAACP, Mijente, Chinese Progressive Association and other groups representing communities of color.

A longstanding racial divide on the City Council has moved to center stage as the 13 members of the body debate the redrawing of the city’s nine council districts.

A redistricting map supported by voting rights advocates sparked fierce pushback from white City Councilors Monday during a heated hearing in City Hall’s Iannella Chamber.

District 5 City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo and District 7 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson released a redistricting map that they say keeps most of the city’s neighborhoods whole and increase opportunities for Black Latino and Asian candidates to win seats on the council.