Boston Mayor Michelle Wu doubles down on indicted City Councilor Fernandes Anderson’s standing

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has doubled down on her concerns over Tania Fernandes Anderson’s standing on the City Council amid federal public corruption charges, saying that the scandal is distracting.

While the mayor, council president and four other councilors have called for Fernandes Anderson’s resignation, the District 7 councilor remains on the $115,000 job and has vowed that she is still committed to her work.

Wu briefly spoke Friday about Fernandes Anderson on WBUR’s Boston Public Radio – the midday talk show that the city’s NPR station has announced it will cancel next week following layoffs amid a financial crisis.

“I made my position clear,” Wu said, “and it comes from a place of recognizing how much our public officials’ effectiveness is tied to the ability for residents and the general public to have confidence and trust in their actions. It’s a very high standard that we all sign up for and look to uphold every day.

“There’s important work that’s happening at the city level, there’s so much work that’s needed to happen at the city level,” the mayor added. “I will continue to work with the council president and the council as a whole to move forward the issues that we need to address for residents.

“I think there are many ways in which a focus on something that can be seen as taking up attention or energy really can distract from the necessary steps that need to be taken,” she concluded. “We are going to stay focused on continuing to move the city forward and working wherever we can with the council and other levels of government especially as we prepare for the next four years.”

Wu’s comments came exactly a week after the feds indicted Fernandes Anderson last Friday for an alleged bonus kickback scheme carried out in a City Hall bathroom, in June 2023. The councilor is accused of pocketing $7,000 of a $13,000 bonus she doled out to a relative she hired as a paid council staff member.

Fernandes Anderson spoke publicly on Wednesday for the first time since her arrest and indictment, saying she could still effectively serve her constituents. She declined to comment on any questions related to the investigation, even when asked if she was innocent.

“I’m asking for a respectful relationship,” Fernandes Anderson said. “Moving forward, I am a professional and I’m going to be focused. I fortunately have had a whole lot of experience being resilient in terms of someone working multiple jobs to take care of my family, and I am going to do just that.”

Wu, Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, and Councilors Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Sharon Durkan, Ed Flynn, and Erin Murphy all urged Fernandes Anderson to resign in the hours following her indictment last Friday.

“Like any member of the community, Councilor Fernandes Anderson has a right to a fair legal process,” Wu said in a statement the day of. “But the serious nature of these charges undermines the public trust and will prevent her from effectively serving the city. I urge Councilor Fernandes Anderson to resign.”

Fernandes Anderson, whose district includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of the South End, added Wednesday that she has spoken with the mayor’s administration, and “made myself very clear that I would like collaboration. I do not want to be blocked in any way.”

At least two Bostonians – Said Ahmed and Said Abdikarim – have declared they’re running for the City Council’s District 7 seat, a post held Fernandes Anderson, who is in her second two-year term.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous post CMC Metals (CVE:CMB) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?
Next post Biden’s commutation in ‘kids for cash’ scandal angers some Pennsylvania families