Disgraced Boston city councilor's guilty plea leaves colleagues scrambling to restore trust

Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson’s guilty plea to federal corruption charges is another strike against a Council that has been tarred by ethical and legal lapses of late and left her colleagues scrambling to restore the public’s trust.

Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said Monday that she was “committed” to working to “strengthen faith” in local city government, while another councilor, Ed Flynn, said the corruption probe that has hung over the body for months is further evidence that it needs ethics oversight reform.

“Elected officials are accountable to their constituency and are expected to hold public trust in the highest regard,” Louijeune said in a statement. “The residents of District 7 deserve principled and trustworthy representation, and I am deeply disappointed that this standard was not met.

“As president of the Boston City Council and as at-large city councilor, I remain committed to working with our residents to strengthen faith in our local government and ensure that District 7 is represented with competence and care, both during this period and upon Councilor Fernandes Anderson’s resignation.”

With the fall elections approaching for City Council, Louijeune issued a warning to anyone seeking a seat on the body.

“It is my sincere hope that anyone seeking to serve on the Boston City Council recognizes the weight of that responsibility and approaches the role with honor and integrity,” Louijeune said.

Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty Monday to two federal corruption charges that were tied to a $7,000 kickback scheme she carried out in City Hall two years ago. She was federally indicted and arrested last December on six charges, four of which were dismissed as part of a plea deal she reached with the feds last month

The U.S. Attorney’s office recommended that she be sentenced to a year and a day in prison and be ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution, but a federal judge can opt to impose a harsher sentence on July 29, when Fernandes Anderson’s scheduling will take place.

Fernandes Anderson previously paid a $5,000 fine for a state ethics violation for hiring two immediate family members to her Council staff, giving them raises and in the case of her sister, a bonus. She was also hit in past months with campaign finance violations.

Her brush with the law follows ethical and legal lapses made by other councilors in recent years. Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara became the first incumbents to lose a primary in roughly four decades, after their own lapses, in September 2023.

It’s that recent checkered history that has Councilor Flynn calling for ethics reform. After seeing his past internal ethics committee push killed by the Council in January, he’s shifting gears to proposing a majority-external oversight committee that would “ensure the Boston City Council is compliant on all rules and ethics matters,” per a hearing order he introduced last month.

“The Boston City Council cannot move forward without implementing ethics reform,” Flynn said in a statement after his colleague’s guilty plea. “Now is the time for positive leadership, accountability, transparency and ethics reform. The status quo is no longer an option.”

Councilor-at-Large Erin Murphy, who joined Louijeune, Flynn and two other councilors in swiftly calling for Fernandes Anderson’s resignation after her indictment and arrest last December, said her colleague’s guilty plea should be acknowledged as a “turning point” for the Council and community.

“The legal proceedings have underscored serious breaches of public trust, and with her resignation, we can now begin the essential process of healing and restoring confidence in our local government,” Murphy said in a statement. “District 7 deserves steadfast and ethical representation — leadership that prioritizes the needs and voices of its residents without distraction.

“This chapter has been a painful one, but it also presents an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the principles of transparency, accountability, and service,” Murphy added. “The work of rebuilding trust begins now.”

Mayor Michelle Wu, who also called for Fernandes Anderson’s resignation upon her arrest and indictment, said her administration was working to ensure that “the residents of District 7 have support and have direct connection to whatever they may need.”

“It’s just a really unfortunate situation and I think we’re all saddened to see things unfold, but I’ve made my views clear on this and we’re going to continue to work to support the community,” Wu told reporters Monday at an unrelated event.

Fernandes Anderson said last month after her plea deal and guilty plea was filed in federal court, and thus made public, that she intended to resign. She told reporters outside the federal courthouse that she was eying late June, after the city budget is approved by the Council, for her departure.

When asked what she would tell her constituents, after she pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from taxpayers, she said, “To my constituents, I love you.

“I love you dearly, and you know that I do. I’ll do my best to remain focused.”

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