Boston City Council set to debate removal of disgraced Tania Fernandes Anderson

The Boston City Council will take up a resolution this week that calls for disgraced Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson s removal from the body in the wake of her guilty plea to two federal corruption charges tied to a City Hall kickback scheme Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn plan to introduce a non-binding resolution at Wednesday s meeting that calls for the Council to formally address the matter of Fernandes Anderson s continued organization after her federal conviction last week Murphy and Flynn sought to introduce the measure as a late file at last week s meeting but it was blocked by Councilor Julia Mejia an occasional ally of Fernandes Anderson preventing it from being added to the agenda for manageable action This week it s part of regular business that is up for discussion The residents want to know where we stand on it Murphy revealed after the resolution was blocked last week This would have been an opportunity to go on the record of where we stand on this behavior that is unacceptable Flynn announced Monday that the Council has lost the moral high ground needed during this critical time He commented comprehensive ethics modification is needed for the body to regain several credibility with city residents Mejia reported last week that she objected to the late-file measure because Fernandes Anderson who represents Roxbury-centric District and cited a family urgency in an absence letter was not present for the discussion Fernandes Anderson like the other councilors is paid a salary 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 Mejia noted at the time Out of respect for that process I think that s a conversation that either demands to go to a hearing or we need to have it while all councilors are present Fernandes Anderson who had pled guilty to and was therefore convicted on two federal corruption charges two days prior was the only councilor not present for last Wednesday s meeting The charges are tied to a kickback scheme Fernandes Anderson carried out at City Hall in June per the indictment Shortly after entering her plea Fernandes Anderson advised reporters outside the Boston federal courthouse that she intended to officially resign next month after the City Council budget process which typically wraps with a vote in late June Council President Ruthzee Louijeune filed a communication for this week s meeting that sought guidance on a procedural City Council rule that was used in the past to remove a councilor convicted of federal felony charges Rule A of the Boston City Council rules states that t he council president shall automatically refer a matter to the council upon a felony conviction of any member by the state or federal court Louijeune wrote to City Clerk Alex Geourntas on Monday Given that this rule preceded the Supreme Judicial Court s decision in Turner v City of Boston Mass which states the City Council does not have the authority under the city charter or any state law to remove a member from the body I petitioned the city s corporation counsel for their interpretation of the rule Louijeune s letter was referencing Chuck Turner the last Boston city councilor investigated by the feds Turner was convicted in October by a federal jury following a -day trial and sentenced to three years in jail for pocketing a bribe from an informant who claimed to be seeking a liquor license Turner sued the city for after being booted off the City Council in following the conviction and settled for three years later after the courts ruled that the Council violated its own rules because under state law elected executives can only be removed from the body after sentencing not conviction Adam Cederbaum the city s corporation counsel wrote in a letter to Louijeune that the Supreme Judicial Court held that Rule A was procedural only and created no substantive authority to remove a councilor Further the court noted the Legislature has specified that an individual holding general office is automatically removed from office only when he or she is sentenced to prison on a felony conviction Cederbaum wrote In this instance Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to two of six corruption charges that had been leveled against her in a December federal indictment as part of a plea deal with the U S Attorney s office that dismissed the other four charges and saw the councilor waive her right to a jury trial U S District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled Fernandes Anderson s sentencing for July and last week warned the councilor that she could opt to impose a harsher penalty than what prosecutors recommended in the plea plea deal U S Attorney Leah Foley recommended that the second-term councilor be sentenced to a year and a day in prison and ordered to pay in restitution As in the Turner development the relevant statutes and incident law do not permit the City Council to remove Councilor Fernandes Anderson from the Council prior to her being sentenced to prison which as of the date of this memorandum has not occurred Cederbaum wrote However the Council may take other administrative action such as removal from committees as happened without issue in the Turner matter Fernandes Anderson was removed from all Council committees by Louijeune after her plea deal became general in federal court filings in early April Whether the Council president s Rule A referral to the Council will necessitate further action by the body was unclear Louijeune did not respond to the Herald s requests for comment on Monday Related Articles Battenfeld Back to the Future with Frank Baker Boston Mayor Wu says Hub won t give into fear amid threatened federal funding cuts Frank Baker is officially running for Boston City Council after past -year stint I am back Tania watch Fernandes Anderson a no-show as Boston City Council blocks debate on her job status Josh Kraft unveils plan to revamp Boston Community Schools says Michelle Wu has failed district Murphy acknowledged that the law is clear on the matter in terms of councilors being removed only after sentencing but insists that it is still fundamental for council members to make their stance on Fernandes Anderson s job status known by voting on the resolution she and Flynn have put forward The resolution I filed wasn t about forcing anyone out Murphy mentioned after it was blocked last week It was about taking a stand We pass non-binding resolutions all the time from global conflicts to international sanctions Why is it suddenly not our place when it involves general trust here at home The people of Boston are watching They re asking why a councilor who pled guilty to federal corruption charges is still voting on city plan and collecting a inhabitants salary We owe them more than silence Louijeune Flynn Murphy and two other councilors called for Fernandes Anderson s resignation upon her indictment and arrest last December