On Tuesday, Jan. 26, an online public hearing was held by the Boston City Council to discuss a home-rule petition that would eliminate a possible special election for the position of Mayor of Boston. The hearing demonstrated broad support for the petition following controversy regarding a potential conflict of interest within the Council in regard to the petition. 

The possibility of a special election exists because the current mayor of Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh, has been nominated to serve as Secretary of Labor for President Biden’s cabinet. If Mayor Walsh is confirmed to this position and resigns from his post as Mayor of Boston before March 5, a Boston city charter provision requires a special election this summer. However, the city is already scheduled to hold a regular fall election for the position, and the race for the Mayor’s seat has already begun.

In response to the possibility of having to hold so many possible elections for the position of Mayor in one year, Councilor Ricardo Arroyo sponsored this proposal to waive the provision of the charter that requires a special election following Mayor Walsh’s departure. 

“Having multiple elections for the office of mayor in the same year in the midst of a pandemic is a serious threat to the health of our residents and communities,” stated Councilor Arroyo, according to CommonWealth Magazine. “It will certainly contribute to the disenfranchisement of people of color, the disabled, and low-income communities, and would be wasteful and a costly expenditure for the city at a time when our revenues are down.”

At Tuesday’s hearing, the Council heard widespread support for the petition from residents, activists, and also from City Councilors.

However, there has been discussion about whether a conflict of interest exists regarding whether City Councilors Andrea Campbell and Michelle Wu, who have already announced their candidacy for Mayor, and City Council President Kim Janey—who would become acting mayor should Mayor Walsh leave—should be allowed to vote on this petition. 

The controversy arose the week prior, when City Councilor Lydia Edwards sought legal advice about how the Council should proceed with the matter of the possible cancellation of the special election. 

The internal memo that came as a result of Councilor Edwards’s inquiry concluded that Councilors Wu and Campbell should be barred from voting on the proposal to override the special election. 

“The Councilors that have already announced that they are running for Mayor could benefit from changes to the current special election requirements as well as the Councilor that will serve as Acting Mayor,” stated the memo, according to the Boston Herald. 

Councilor Arroyo immediately challenged the accuracy of the memo by saying he was told by the State Ethics Commission that home-rule petitions are exempt from the conflict of interest provisions, according to state law.  

Councilor Edwards is now in agreement that no conflict of interest exists in regards to whether or not her fellow Councilors should vote on this issue.  Boston.com reports that Councilor Edwards now favors the petition. 

As of Tuesday, the petition had six supporters; the Council is made up of 13 members. Both Councilors Wu and Campbell indicated that they will vote in favor of the petition. 

City Council President Janey—who has not officially announced her candidacy for mayor, but is currently considering running for a full term—is also in support of the petition. According to Boston.com, political observers have hypothesized that Councilor Janey would benefit from the cancellation of the special election if she were to run for mayor, as it would increase the amount of time she would act as mayor.

Another committee meeting to finalize the language of the petition was scheduled for that Friday. Councilor Edwards stated that the petition would be complete and ready to go to the full Council for a vote on Wednesday, Feb. 3.