For progressives, Boston city councilors becoming awkward embarrassment
From ethics findings to car crash, it’s been one bad turn after another
WHAT COULD BE the best of times for Boston progressives looks like the worst of times when it comes to the behavior and public image of elected officials championing their causes.
The clear leftward shift of Boston city politics should have progressive activists feeling good about their fortunes and the prospects for driving change on big policy issues. Instead, they’ve been put back on their heels by shocking revelations about the driving record of one progressive city councilor and the ethical failings of two others.
The most jarring episode involves City Councilor Kendra Lara, who crashed a car last month into a house near the middle of the busy Jamaica Plain business district along Centre Street.
It turns out Lara has not had a driver’s license since it was suspended 10 years ago. What’s more, police said she was flying through the busy district at more than 50 miles per hour in an unregistered, uninsured car, with her 7-year-old son not properly restrained in the backseat.
It’s almost enough to make people forget about state Ethics Commission findings against two of Lara’s colleagues who form part of the council’s left-wing bloc with her.
Last month, City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, a lawyer, agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for violating state conflict of interest laws by representing his brother, Felix, a former city councilor and city official, in a lawsuit involving the city while Ricardo Arroyo was a Boston municipal official. He is also facing questions about interactions with then-US Attorney Rachael Rollins, who improperly got involved with his failed run last year for district attorney.
Meanwhile, the Ethics Commission on Tuesday announced a disposition agreement with City Councilor Tania Anderson, who agreed to pay a $5,000 fine for violating ethics laws by putting her sister and son on her city council office payroll.
Lara, a first-term councilor who describes herself as a socialist, represents Jamaica Plain, probably the most left-leaning section of the city. A Black Dominican-American, she’s the first person of color to represent the district.
Two years ago, progressives rallied behind her campaign. Now, some say she’s hurting the causes they care about.
“It puts progressives in a very bad light,” said Anne Rousseau, co-chair of Jamaica Plain Progressives. Rousseau has committed years to grassroots work for progressive candidates and causes, including a $500 donation to Lara in March, and is indignant over her behavior.
“You put your shoe leather and your money behind a candidate, you do what you can for them. You feel they represent the same values you do, and policy-wise she did,” Rousseau said of Lara. “But you have your own personal accountability and judgments in the world. I’m still kind of shocked she would continue driving without a license, and the audacity of taking an unregistered, unlicensed car and parking it at City Hall – it’s all kind of mind boggling to me.”
Lara has said she “wants to be fully accountable for my mistake.” But she pleaded not guilty to the raft of charges against her at her arraignment last week.
Two years ago, JP Progressives endorsed Lara. For this year’s election cycle, the group held a candidate forum prior to the June 30 crash for the district council race, where Lara faces two challengers. It has now scheduled another forum for next week to hear from the candidates before making an endorsement decision.
“I’m sure we’re going to ask some tough questions,” said Rousseau.
“I’m just surprised she’s still running,” Rousseau said of Lara. “If I were her, I would gracefully bow out of the race. I don’t see how she can be reelected, and it’s sad. I like her very much as a person.”
Rousseau said the string of charges against progressive officials is dispiriting and seem like they were entirely avoidable.
“I’m not a lawyer,” she said of the case involving Arroyo and his brother. “But if I got a paycheck from the city, I would know better than to represent someone pursuing the city.”
What JP Progressives will do in the council race is up in the air, but at least one left-leaning group is sticking with Lara. The local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America announced yesterday that Lara is one of three Boston area candidates the group is backing this fall.
A spokesperson for the group didn’t address the question when asked whether Lara’s crash and the charges she now faces are grounds for any concern, saying only that she “has done an amazing job as a representative for District Six.”
“I know people committed to voting for both incumbents because they value the work they’ve done and think they are superior to their challengers,” the activist said. “But they don’t really want to do stuff for the race.”