Tania Fernandes Anderson had the perfect venue within reach for her Boston City Council “last stand” Wednesday. She could have held court in the City Hall bathroom, the one in which, according to federal prosecutors, she was handed $7,000 cash in a kickback scheme.

The theme of the gathering could have been “accountability,” something that was starkly missing from the Council meeting in chambers.

If anyone in attendance at the meeting didn’t know of the corruption and theft case against Fernandes Anderson, they would have assumed that the District 7 councilor was riding off in a blaze of glory. Fernandes Anderson provided a last hurrah laundry list of issues she tackled for her constituents.

All of whom she let down when she finagled the finances to come out $7,000 richer.

But the elephant in the room was never acknowledged, not by Fernandes Anderson, not by anyone. Ignoring the reason Fernandes Anderson won’t be back to join her former colleagues made for some moments of head-smacking irony and sheer gall.

“I came into this world the same way I leave it, in service, in the spirit of accountability, in the name of dignity, and always, always in the belief that real power rests with the people,” Fernandes Anderson said in her farewell speech. “To my constituents in District 7, thank you. … You are the reason I fought.”

The spirit of what?

She continued: “Because, let’s be honest, the system is set up to accommodate politeness, not truth. It tolerates performance, not integrity, and anyone who dares to step outside of that theater risks being ostracized or worse.”

The system does more than tolerate integrity; it’s why Fernandes Anderson was arrested and faces prison when she’s sentenced on July 29.

At the very least, Fernandes Anderson owes an apology to her constituents and to her fellow councilors. That act would come from a place of integrity.

The councilor is hardly an outlier among Massachusetts politicians in stepping over the crime line.

When disgraced former Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi pleaded for leniency before a judge in 2011 ahead of sentencing, he said “I have brought dishonor to the office I held — a pain I will never be able to soothe.” DiMasi was convicted of pocketing $65,000 in bribes.

Former Speaker of the House Tom Finneran was sentenced in federal court in 2007 after being convicted of obstructing justice for providing misleading testimony. Not a proud moment, but at least he acknowledged it: “I shamed myself. I shamed my family. I apologize to my constituents. I apologize to the people of Massachusetts.”

District 7 deserves an apology.

So does the City Council, though some of her colleagues were firmly on Team Ignore the Obvious.

Councilor Liz Breadon took the floor. “I just want to acknowledge the contribution and the example in many ways that  Fernandes Anderson has made to us.”

She’s been an example, certainly, of what happens when a public servant lines their pockets in a shady deal. Corruption shouldn’t be glossed over. That, too, is an insult to voters.

District 7 will get a new councilor, hopefully someone who understands the needs and concerns of constituents and fights the good fight for them. One who understands that the strength of one’s convictions doesn’t refer to a pending federal sentence.

Editorial cartoon by Steve Kelley (Creators Syndicate)