You Go, Girl! First Illegal Alien Muslim City Councilor Heads to Prison on Corruption Charges

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Tania Fernandes Anderson has already made history in all kinds of ways, and this irrepressible trailblazer just keeps on making more. Anderson has amassed an impressive list of firsts to put alongside her name: she is the first former illegal migrant to win a seat on the Boston City Council. As she hails from Cape Verde, she is also the first African-born member of the Boston City Council, and the first Muslim to serve on the Boston City Council. This intrepid breaker of glass ceilings is not, however, the first convicted felon to serve on the Boston City Council; there were others before her. But that doesn’t make her remarkable achievements any less impressive, now, does it?

The problem now is that Anderson appears reluctant to get out of the way. Boston’s ABC affiliate, WCVB 5, reported Thursday that Fernandes Anderson “signed a plea agreement in connection with an alleged kickback scheme.” She is pleading guilty to “taking a $7,000 kickback from a relative she hired at Boston City Hall,” and if that isn’t tawdry enough for you, “the cash exchange happened in a city hall bathroom.”

Fernandes Anderson has promised to resign, and even “issued a written statement in which she asked for forgiveness from her constituents.” Her resignation, however, has not been forthcoming. In fact, she even showed up for a city council meeting on Wednesday, and now some of her colleagues are fed up. Councilor at-Large Erin Murphy declared on Thursday: “I’m not waiting. The residents of District 7 deserve leadership and a voice at City Hall. I’ve filed a resolution to make sure we’re ready to move swiftly and schedule a special election as soon as the law allows.”

Can Boston hold an election for a city council seat that is currently filled? WCVB says no: “While she remains a Boston city councilor and is still collecting a paycheck from the city, a special election can’t be scheduled until she officially resigns.” And nothing is requiring Fernandes Anderson to resign. There doesn’t even seem to be any specific law preventing Fernandes Anderson from continuing to serve on the city council while also serving the year in prison to which she is likely to be sentenced. (She also has to return the seven grand, plus $6,000 more in a fine.)

Her fellow councilors, however, are anxious to be rid of her. Murphy said: “Elected officials are entrusted with representing the public honestly and ethically, not abusing their power for personal gain. Such actions erode public trust and perpetuate the damaging belief that our City Council is unworthy of the confidence of those we serve. Boston deserves better.” Sure it does, but if Bostonians were smart (and let’s face it, most of them are leftists), they’ll reexamine the reasons why they got into this fix in the first place, so as to avoid making the same mistakes again.

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