The president of the Boston City Council says recent “ethical and legal failures” by his colleagues are drawing “negative attention” to the body and distracting from the work it is doing.
Ed Flynn addressed Councilmember Kendra Lara’s crash into a Jamaica Plain home last week, in which she was allegedly driving with a revoked license, and Councilmember Ricardo Arroyo’s recent admission of an ethics violation for representing his brother in a sexual harassment lawsuit after he was elected.
“We’re not up to that high bar that we should be meeting,” Flynn told NBC10 Boston on Wednesday after releasing the statement.
Lara’s car accident on Friday sent her 7-year-old son to the hospital. Both were expected to be okay, but Lara faces possible charges, according to a Boston Police Department incident report in which her name was redacted. In addition to allegedly driving with a revoked license, she is charged with using a car without insurance or registration and failing to put her son in the back seat without a booster seat.
Police said a 51A report was filed with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, a step taken if a person is accused of child abuse or neglect.
Lara has not been detained and can request a hearing before an administrative magistrate. If probable cause is found at the hearing, the case will be set for an arraignment.
Flynn said many city residents have contacted him with concerns about it. He stressed that he was glad no one was seriously hurt, but said the allegations, along with the conflict of interest that Arroyo admitted last week“continue to draw negative attention to the institution of the Boston City Hall and distract our city from focusing on the people issue.”
He added that Bostonians want mature and responsible elected representatives who “demonstrate the ability to follow the same ground rules and standards as the people they serve when placing us in positions of public trust.” The tweet the post shared referred to “concerning ethical and legal lapses.”
