City Council to consider formation of oversight committee to regain ‘credibility’

Politics

After his effort to create an ethics committee was derailed, Councilor Ed Flynn has pivoted to push for an oversight committee that would include independent outsiders.

In the wake of Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson’s decision to plead guilty to federal public corruption charges, there is a push among some of her colleagues on the Boston City Council to create a new oversight committee. Such a committee would include multiple outside parties and work to monitor ethics concerns and potential rules violations. 

The effort is being led by Councilor Ed Flynn, who has also advocated multiple times for the creation of an ethics committee. An outside oversight committee would be an important step toward improving the conduct of councilors, and also toward winning back trust with residents, Flynn argued. 

“This body has lost its credibility,” Flynn said during a City Council meeting Wednesday. “We must acknowledge that the public has lost faith in the Boston City Council, and we must act accordingly. The status quo, my friends, is no longer an option.”

Flynn filed an order for a hearing so that officials can explore the idea further. Councilors Erin Murphy and John FitzGerald added their names to the order, and it was referred to the Committee for Rules and Administration. 

In 2023, unrelated controversies surrounding former councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara dominated public discourse surrounding the City Council. Flynn began voicing concerns about ethical lapses and the public’s perception of the body as a whole. Both Arroyo and Lara were ousted in preliminary elections. 

Then, last December, Fernandes Anderson was arrested and accused of orchestrating a kickback scheme that allegedly involved a secret cash handoff in a City Hall bathroom. She announced last week that she would plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. Fernandes Anderson also said she would resign, but has yet to officially do so. 

In the months between Fernandes Anderson’s arrest and her guilty plea, Flynn advocated for an ethics committee made up of council members. But the proposal received a tepid response from most of Flynn’s colleagues and was eventually shot down.

Multiple councilors said that they supported Flynn’s intention but worried that an ethics committee made up of councilors would be susceptible to politicization and actually decrease public trust further because it would show that the council is policing itself.

“I still don’t feel qualified to sit as judge and jury against you, my colleagues,” Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said at the time. 

So Flynn appears to have pivoted. His new proposal indicates that an oversight committee could include many outside, theoretically impartial parties. In the hearing order, Flynn floated the idea of including a retired judge, a representative from the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, and residents on an oversight committee. He also expressed support for the inclusion of the City Council president. 

“Although the City Council voted against ethics reform in January, it is critical that we revisit this conversation,” Flynn said.  

Councilors and staff are currently required to attend annual training sessions led by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. At least two sessions are planned for 2025. But, according to Flynn, this is not enough to offset a “series of legal and ethical lapses” over the past few years. 

Flynn suggested that an oversight committee would meet quarterly to discuss conflict of interest matters, investigate alleged rules violations, and propose reforms.