BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson admitted to violating a conflict of interest law and agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty over her hiring of both her sister and son for roles on her city council staff, according to the State Ethics Commission.
The commission announced on Tuesday that Anderson signed a Disposition Agreement admitting to the violations, which first started, in-part, after her 2021 election to the Boston City Council, when she appointed her sister as her Director of Constituent Services. The District 7 councilor also took part in the vote approve the appointment, following her swearing-in on Jan. 3, 2022.
The ethics commission described in a news release how Fernandes Anderson initially set her sister’s annual salary at $65,000 before increasing it to $70,000 in June 2022, in addition to awarding her a $7,000 bonus.
That same month, state officials said the councilor appointed her son as a full-time office manager with a salary of $52,000. Eleven days after taking part in the city council vote to approve his appointment, the councilor then increased that salary to $70,000, as well.
“Fernandes Anderson’s actions as a Boston City Councilor concerning the appointment and compensation of her sister and son violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against municipal employees participating in their official capacity in matters in which they know members of their immediate family have a financial interest,” the State Ethics Commission said.
According to the commission, Fernandes Anderson later ended the employment of both her sister and son on Aug. 31, 2022.
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