The Boston City Council, tarred by federal public corruption charges leveled against Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, overwhelmingly defeated a measure that sought to establish an ethics committee for internal oversight of the body.

The City Council voted, 8-3, with Fernandes Anderson voting ‘present,’ to defeat a resolution “in support” of a new Council subcommittee that would have aimed to “provide more oversight and transparency on potential violations” on the council.

“Elected officials placed in positions of public trust should demonstrate the highest standards of positive leadership, respect the rules and ethics,” Councilor Ed Flynn, who proposed the ethics committee, said prior to Wednesday’s vote.

Flynn, while not referring directly to Fernandes Anderson when pushing for passage of his resolution this week, made mention of the federal kickback allegations leveled against his colleague when first announcing his intention to seek creation of an ethics committee.

Last month, Flynn, along with joining four of his colleagues in calling for Fernandes Anderson’s resignation, said he saw the creation of such a committee as a necessity. The charges lodged against the councilor, he said on the day they were revealed by the feds, “follow a series of legal and ethical lapses by members of the Boston City Council over the last several years.”

Fernandes Anderson was indicted by the feds last month on six public corruption charges that allege she pocketed $7,000 of a $13,000 bonus she doled out to one of her Council staffers. The money was allegedly kicked back to the councilor in an exchange with the staffer that took place in a City Hall bathroom in June 2023.

There is precedent for ethics committees at the Massachusetts State House and the U.S. Congress, along with the New York City Council on the municipal level, Flynn said, when making his case to his colleagues.

Flynn’s argument didn’t sway the majority of his colleagues, however, with only fellow moderate councilors John FitzGerald and Erin Murphy voting in favor of the resolution.

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Councilors who opposed the measure expressed uneasiness with other members having the authority to investigate and take action against their colleagues, by way of sitting on an internal ethics committee.

“I caution that internal city council committees with councilors themselves holding the reins may teeter on weaponization, which is, of course, the antithesis of the purpose of this committee,” Councilor Gabriela Coletta said.

Other opposition centered around a feeling that committee creation falls within the purview of the Council president, Ruthzee Louijeune, and that the proposed committee would be duplicative of the role of the State Ethics Commission, which provides independent oversight of the Council.

“I do believe that it is well-intentioned, but we are a small body of 13 members that could very easily be manipulated,” Louijeune said. “I think it’s really important that anything regarding ethics remains independent, so we maintain the public trust and we hold it in high regard.”