The Boston City Council has an opportunity for a major do-over, and it’s a chance it must not miss.
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn pushed again this week to establish an ethics committee for oversight of the body. His bid, as he put it, would “help restore credibility” with the public in light of Tania Fernandes Anderson’s plan to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.
It was a good, sound move.
And a proposal Flynn shouldn’t have had to make twice.
Flynn’s first go-round came late last year, after he pushed for an ethics committee for internal oversight of the council. That was just after Fernandes Anderson had been charged with corruption.
“Elected officials placed in positions of public trust should demonstrate the highest standards of positive leadership, respect the rules and ethics,” Flynn said before the January vote which shot down his measure. The proposal was in response to more than just the charges against Fernandes Anderson. Those charges, he said, “follow a series of legal and ethical lapses by members of the Boston City Council over the last several years.”
Boston voters know all about those legal and ethical lapses, and each one eroded the reputation of the council bit by bit. One would think the body would welcome a chance to show Bostonians that it takes ethical behavior seriously.
Flynn made some tweaks before hoisting the flag again this week, calling for a new format that would create a mostly-external “oversight committee on compliance and accountability.”
“Although the City Council voted against ethics reform in January, it is critical that we revisit this conversation and discuss the creation of an oversight board again, made up of non-affiliated, relevant and outside experts to help restore credibility with the people of Boston,” Flynn said.
“This body has lost its credibility.”
To the point that it’s no longer a shock when a councilor is found to have hired relatives and given them raises, represented relatives involved in city lawsuits, or driven with a suspended license. Voters are expected to move on after the fine and performative apology are paid.
“We must acknowledge that the public has lost faith in the Boston City Council and we must act accordingly,” he said. “The status quo, my friends, is no longer an option.”
Not if the council wants an engaged electorate to believe that councilors are doing the peoples business in City Hall, and not greasing the skids for themselves in the hopes they’ll get away with shady dealings, or at worst, be found out and lose a few grand in fines.
Boston voters deserve more.
Flynn said potential committee membership would include the City Council president, a retired Massachusetts or federal judge, a representative from the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, and Boston residents. That sounds like a smart lineup.
“All I know is that the longer we wait and do nothing, the more we are damaged as a body and continue to lose credibility throughout the city with Boston residents,” he said. “We are damaged and we don’t want to recognize or deal with it.”
That’s not easy to admit, but it’s important that Flynn did. Because it’s something that residents feel, and that sentiment can only lead to even smaller voter turnout and disengagement with the democratic process.
Don’t blow this chance, councilors.
