Boston city councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson violated conflict of interest law by hiring two family members, state finds

Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has admitted to violating the state’s conflict of interest law by hiring her sister and son to paid positions on her staff, and agreed to pay a $5,000 fine.

The State Ethics Commission said Tuesday that Fernandes Anderson appointed her sister and son to full-time positions in 2022, her first year on the City Council. She also chose to increase their salaries, and in the case of her sister, award a $7,000 bonus.

“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 Ethics Commission said in a statement.

According to the Commission, Fernandes Anderson appointed her sister as full-time director of constituent services soon after her November 2021 election to the City Council. She participated in the Council’s vote to approve the appointment following her Jan. 3, 2022 swearing-in.

Fernandes Anderson set her sister’s salary at $65,000. She awarded her sister a raise in June 2022, increasing her salary to $70,000 and tacking on a $7,000 bonus, the Ethics Commission said.

In June 2022, Fernandes Anderson appointed her son as her full-time office manager at an annual salary of $52,000. She participated in the Council’s July 15 vote to approve the appointment. Eleven days later, the councilor increased her son’s salary to $70,000, the Commission said.

Fernandes Anderson ended her family members’ employment on Aug. 31, 2022. The Ethics Commission initiated a preliminary inquiry on Nov. 17, 2022, and concluded that inquiry on March 1, 2023, finding “reasonable cause” to believe that Fernandes Anderson had violated the conflict of interest law.

The State Ethics Commission and Fernandes Anderson entered into a disposition agreement on Tuesday, in which the councilor admitted to the violation and agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty.

The penalty follows a $3,000 fine another city councilor, Ricardo Arroyo, agreed to pay for an unrelated ethics violation, where he continued to represent his brother in a 2018 sexual harassment lawsuit after he was elected to the City Council.