The Boston Ballot Commission dismissed a residency challenge against City Councilor Kendra Lara, finding that the four objectors failed to prove that she lives outside of the district she represents.
The unanimous ruling from the four commissioners allows Lara to move forward with her candidacy for District 6 councilor.
The hearing was held just weeks before the Sept. 12 preliminary election, where Lara will face two challengers at a time when she’s also facing motor vehicle charges related to a June 30 car crash.
“I think the ruling is exactly what is to be expected,” Lara told reporters following a Tuesday hearing at Boston Municipal Court, adding that she felt the evidence presented by the objectors lacked substance.
“I think these laws are in place to protect our constituents,” she said, “and this is just a moment where they were exploited for political gain. I’m glad that the Ballot Commission and judge both ruled in favor.”
Lara’s residency was challenged by four residents — Rasheed Walters, Anthony Strong, Kerry Kastor and Jeanne Black — ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline on July 13. A fifth challenge was filed by Stephen Morris after the deadline, and therefore, his objection and testimony was not considered at Tuesday’s hearing.
Lara has said in prior interviews with the Herald that she lives at 46 Saint Rose St. in Jamaica Plain, a multi-family home that she moved to in February after living at 161 South Huntington Ave. for six years. She gave similar testimony on Tuesday.
The Boston Ballot Commission found that the objectors failed to establish a “burden of proof” that Lara lives, or has lived for a period of time, outside her district, based upon the “preponderance of evidence” that was submitted, said Chief Justice Roberto Ronquillo Jr., who presided over the day’s hearing, which lasted roughly an hour-and-a-half.
“Both addresses are within the district,” said Commissioner Ellen Rooney. “I did not see anything that substantially proved that she did not live in the district.”
Strong, a firefighter with the Boston Fire Department, tried to establish in his testimony that documents pertaining to Lara’s address point to a gap in residency, between the time she lived at 161 South Huntington Ave. and 46 Saint Rose St., both of which are in Jamaica Plain.
This raised questions about whether Lara was living in District 6 during that time, he said. The submitted documents, including Lara’s lease agreement and utility bills, established that she was living on Saint Rose Street for five months, Strong said, rather than 12 consecutive months, which is what the city requires for councilors to appear on the ballot, Strong said.
“We’re alleging that we don’t know where she lives,” Strong said during the hearing. “There’s a possibility she’s not telling the truth.”
Strong also pointed to questions about Lara’s name change. When she first ran for city councilor, Lara used the last name Hicks, and different identifying documents list different names, he said.
Lara told the court she went through an ugly divorce, which ended in part with her ex-husband barring her from using his last name, Hicks. She now goes by her maiden name, Lara, in her capacity as a city councilor, she said.
She also testified that she was previously required to submit proof of residency for her son to attend the Boston Public Schools, and when she was living at 161 South Huntington Ave., an income-restricted complex through the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Given that she is also facing scrutiny for allegations that came to light after a June 30 crash, Lara said the residency challenge felt like it was “politically motivated.” Lara allegedly drove an unregistered and uninsured car into a Centre Street home on Jamaica Plain.
Police documents and state driving record also shows that she has not had a valid driver’s license in a decade, and her 7-year-old son was not in a required car seat when he was injured in the crash.
“I think that, obviously, the timing just before an election and given everything else that’s going on, just feels politically motivated,” Lara said. “I think that, as an elected official, I really am living out some of my worst moments really publicly. My hope is that what I have presented to my constituents in the last two years is weighed heavier than my worst day.”
Walters and Morris denied Lara’s allegations that their residency challenge was politically motivated, saying that it was about holding an elected official to the appropriate standard.
Morris said there’s been a lot of speculation that Lara does not live in her district, saying he never sees her at her listed address, and has heard that she’s been staying with a friend in Somerville.
“This is not political,” Walters said. “We pay her salary. She represents us. It’s all about figuring out if she is upholding the standards that have been laid out for anybody running for office. It’s to find out if she lives where she said she lives.”