A Boston City Council resolution that called for the body to take a stance on disgraced Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson’s continued employment in the wake of her guilty plea on federal corruption charges was blocked, thus preventing any action on the matter.
Fernandes Anderson, who pleaded guilty to two federal corruption charges on Monday and later stated her intention to keep her $120,000 job through most of June, was a no-show at the City Council meeting Wednesday. She cited a “family emergency,” in a letter she filed that was read into the record by the city clerk.
Soon after, City Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn moved to introduce a late-file “emergency resolution in support of ethical leadership and a Council vote on the status of Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson.”
The resolution states that Fernandes Anderson’s guilty plea to “multiple charges stemming from misconduct in office” now “affirms those charges and further compromises the Council’s ability to function with credibility and accountability.”
“Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Boston City Council urges immediate action to formally address the matter of Councilor Fernandes Anderson’s continued service, and calls on this body to move forward with a vote reflecting the Council’s position on her status,” the resolution states.
The resolution, after it was read into the record by the city clerk, was blocked from the agenda by Councilor Julia Mejia, a fellow progressive Democrat and occasional ally of Fernandes Anderson. Mejia’s objection prevented any debate, and potential vote, on the matter, per Council rules.
A lengthy recess prior to the resolution prompted speculation among the sponsors, Murphy and Flynn, that there was private discussion during that time among some of the other councilors, including Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, about a decision to move forward with blocking the late-file measure.
Mejia said that was not the case, and that she did so independently.
“I don’t want anyone to think it was because of you that I decided to pull it, because I didn’t even know it was happening,” Mejia said, while directing her comments at Louijeune. “I decided to speak against it because not all individuals are in this chamber, and we’re talking about something that’s in reference to a colleague.
“Out of respect for that process, I think that’s a conversation that either needs to go to a hearing or we need to have while all councilors are present,” she added.
Murphy and Flynn, speaking separately afterwards, said there seemed to be discussion among some of their colleagues about how to go about blocking the resolution during a recess that was called late in the meeting.
“I think this was a discussion that the City Council did not want to engage in today for various reasons,” Flynn said. “It’s election year and I think elected officials don’t want to do or say anything that’s controversial or that could impact their upcoming election.
“But that’s not what residents want,” he added. “Residents don’t care if it impacts us politically or not. Residents want us to do what’s best for the residents of the city of Boston.”
Murphy said she also saw the decision to block their resolution as resistance from other councilors to take a stance on Fernandes Anderson’s job status.
“When people don’t want to take a stand, I think that says a lot about an important issue,” Murphy said. “The residents want to know where we stand on it. This would have been an opportunity to go on the record of where we stand on this behavior that is unacceptable.”
Murphy said she plans to file the resolution as a regular-agenda item for next week’s meeting. If a councilor chooses to block it then, it would be automatically referred to a committee for a hearing, per Council rules.
“The fact that the Council president hasn’t already brought it forward for a vote, I think, speaks volumes that they don’t want to take a stand,” Murphy said.
Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to two federal corruption charges tied to a $7,000 kickback scheme carried out at City Hall.
Councilors can only be removed from the body after sentencing takes place. The court has set Fernandes Anderson’s sentencing date for July 29.
The U.S. Attorney’s office, as part of a plea deal reached with Fernandes Anderson, recommended that she be sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution.
The judge warned Fernandes Anderson Monday that she is under no obligation to accept that recommendation, and can opt to impose a harsher punishment.
Mayor Michelle Wu and five city councilors, including Flynn, Louijeune and Murphy, swiftly called for Fernandes Anderson’s resignation, after she was federally indicted and arrested last Dec. 6.
Since that time, Fernandes Anderson has been paid roughly $50,769 for 22 weeks of work, including this week, at a biweekly rate of $4,615, before taxes, according to figures provided to the Herald by a city councilor who gets paid the same rate.
Fernandes Anderson said Monday that she plans to officially resign some time in June, after the mayor’s proposed $4.8 billion city budget goes through the City Council process. The Council has to approve the budget by June 30, for it to take effect on July 1, the start of the next fiscal year.
“I think it’s inappropriate after you engage in federal charges to engage in discussions about the budget,” Flynn said. “I think once you enter a guilty plea and you acknowledge that you are in fact guilty of accepting cash, that it almost disqualifies you from engaging in serious debates about the city budget.”
Fernandes Anderson had first stated her intention to resign early last month, after her guilty plea and plea deal became public in a federal court filing.
“It really hasn’t been about me,” Fernandes Anderson told reporters outside the courthouse Monday. “I was trying to resign immediately and my advisory council advised that District 7 doesn’t deserve not to have a vote in the budget. … It looks like in June, after we get the budget out of the way.”
If Fernandes Anderson were to stay on through the month of June, she would be paid for at least another seven weeks. That would amount to roughly $16,153, bringing her total pay after her indictment and arrest to about $66,922, or more than half of the $120,000 annual salary for councilors.
Fernandes Anderson would have had to resign Wednesday for her departure to trigger a special election for her Roxbury-centric District 7 seat, as required by the city charter.
Her Council seat will thus remain vacant until after the November election, when and if she resigns this year.