Progressive councilors facing challengers

Election could erode Council’s progressivism

Yawu Miller

Yawu Miller is the former senior editor of the Bay State Banner. He has written for the Banner since 1988.... VIEW BIO

Michael Flaherty’s sudden announcement that he would not seek re-election to the City Council — little more than a week after signatures were due — has cast a spotlight on the race for the four at-large seats on the 13-member body.

With candidates in at-large and district races bringing a broad spectrum of ideologies — from a pair opposed to vaccines to a democratic socialist — the ideological balance of the council could shift radically when the new members are seated next year.

In the at-large race, Henry Santana, an aide to Mayor Michelle Wu, has raised $24,547 since May and has staked out progressive positions on issues. Toward the other end of the political spectrum, iron worker Bridget Nee-Walsh told the Boston Herald she has the same political leanings as Flaherty, who staked out more conservative-leaning positions on the council. He opposed cuts to the police budget and changes to the exam school admissions criteria and supported putting police officers in schools.

In district races, incumbents Ricardo Arroyo, Kendra Lara and Tania Fernandes Anderson — three of the most progressive members of the body — are facing challengers. In the seven-way race for the open District 3 seat in Dorchester — soon to be vacated by incumbent Frank Baker — democratic socialist Joel Richards is anchoring the left wing and has raised just under $50,000. While he announced back in December, he’s up against two well-financed candidates: John FitzGerald, who raised more than $73,000 in six weeks, and Matt Patton, who has raised more than $46,000 since he announced at the end of May. FitzGerald has been endorsed by former Mayor Martin Walsh.

“District 3 has the largest field of candidates,” notes political strategist Kristen Halbert. “It has a range from leftist to conservative. That is the primary to watch to see how people are leaning.”

This year’s election comes after years of progressive gains on the council, which for decades was dominated by conservative-leaning politicians. With so many seats in play, progressives say they are intent on consolidating those gains.

“Right to the City Vote has worked for 10-plus years to build a progressive majority and representative democracy on the Boston City Council, and we will continue to do that,” said Armani White, RTCV’s chair. “We will endorse candidates that align with our platform and work to elect them.”

The current iteration of the council is the first in which people of color and women make up a majority of the body that for decades was dominated by a majority of Irish American men. The body has staked out increasingly progressive positions, including supporting rent control and curtailing the Boston Police Department’s surveillance powers.

This year’s council races are taking place as two of the most progressive councilors — Arroyo and  Lara — are under fire for their conduct during their time in office.

Last year, the Boston Globe ran a series of stories alleging Arroyo was twice investigated for sexual assault as a teenager. In the first case, during which Arroyo was never interviewed by police, officers determined at the time that the girl’s accusation was “unfounded.” Speaking about the second instance cited by the Globe, the victim said through an attorney after her case was publicly revealed that Arroyo was not named as a suspect in her assault and had nothing to do with it.

This year, Arroyo appeared in reports by the Department of Justice asserting that former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins leaked news of an investigation into Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden to a reporter. Arroyo, who was running for the district attorney seat, communicated with Rollins via text message, seeking campaign advice and support, according to the DOJ. 

After the DOJ alleged that Rollins violated federal law in leaking the news and seeking to support Arroyo’s candidacy, she resigned from the U.S. Attorney’s office. Arroyo did not appear to violate any laws in his exchanges with Rollins.

Most recently, Arroyo paid a $3,000 fine to the state Ethics Commission for continuing to represent his brother in a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city after he had been elected a city councilor, a violation of state ethics laws.

Arroyo withdrew from his brother’s case after he was informed of the conflict of interest.

He’s now facing challenges from Enrique Pepen, an aide to Mayor Michelle Wu; Boston police officer Jose Ruiz; and Haitian community activist Jean-Claude Sanon.

Lara came under fire last week after she crashed a friend’s car into the front porch of a home on Centre Street in West Roxbury. Lara was driving with a suspended license, her son was not in a booster seat as required by state law, and her friend’s car had an expired registration and was not insured, according to police.

Lara is facing challenges from West Roxbury resident William King, an IT manager for a real estate firm, and Jamaica Plain attorney Benjamin Weber.

For much of the last year, a quartet of conservative-leaning Irish American councilors — Flaherty, Baker, Council President Ed Flynn and at-large Councilor Erin Murphy — have clashed with the more progressive and centrist councilors over issues including calls to install metal detectors and post uniformed police officers in schools.

The four councilors opposed the body’s redistricting map, and two — Flaherty and Baker — contributed funds to a lawsuit that overturned the map.

With Baker and Flaherty leaving the council at the end of the year, the future orientation of the council will depend heavily on which of the seven candidates prevails in District 3 and which of the five at-large challengers makes the cut.

“For the last decade, we’ve increasingly had councilors who see the urgent issues we’re facing and look to move the city forward with real policy shifts,” said Rachel Poliner, a founding organizer of the group Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale. “My fear is we’ll lose that.”

Early on in the electoral season, Arroyo and Lara appear vulnerable.

Flynn, who has clashed with Arroyo and Lara frequently over the last year, admonished both in a press statement last week after their respective cases received negative media coverage.

Halbert said the conflicts on the council will likely be the greatest challenge for all the incumbents.

“The biggest challenge for every candidate is to show that they can rise above the current narrative of the dysfunction on the council,” she said. “It’s not a time to be running on ‘me.’ It has to be ‘us.’ You have to be able to work in coalitions to tackle the challenges facing the city.”