Editorial: Arroyo should resign from City Council

Ricard Arroyo, it’s time to go.

For the good of his fellow City Councilors, and for the good of the city, Arroyo needs to step down from his position as District 5 councilor.

He could have resigned last month in the wake of the Suffolk DA election scandal.

That was when Department of Justice’s Inspector General and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel reports found then-U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins tried to influence the race for Suffolk County District Attorney in 2022 by leaking negative information about interim D.A. Kevin Hayden, in a bid to help Arroyo, her preferred successor to the office.

In an interview with WBUR, At-Large City Councilor Erin Murphy said “I’m requesting that he does do the right thing and step down. This definitely steps outside of the normal back-stabbing, rumor-spreading type things that can and do happen in elections and politics.”

Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesperson Paul Diego Craney echoed the sentiment. Arroyo “has no business being on the city council, and being a ‘public servant’ for his people,” he said.

Arroyo didn’t budge, saying in a statement that “neither of these reports allege any wrongdoing on my part.”

He can’t make that point today, not after admitting that he violated the state’s conflict of interest law by continuing to represent his brother Felix in a 2018 civil suit after he was first elected to the council.

The State Ethics Commission made the announcement Tuesday, and Arroyo agreed to pay a $3,000 penalty.

“At least three of the depositions [Ricardo] Arroyo conducted occurred after he was sworn into office as a Boston City Councilor,” the signed agreement with the State Ethics Commission said. “One of the depositions Arroyo conducted while serving as city councilor was of a city of Boston employee and another was of a city contractor.”

Zachary Lown, a lawyer for Ricardo Arroyo, said nothing Arroyo did as an attorney on the lawsuit “negatively impacted the city or its interests, Arroyo’s client and the city are co-defendants, nor did the City ever express any concern to Councilor Arroyo about his legal representation.”

How can it not impact the city when a member of its council violates a state ethics law? A $3,000 fine does not build back eroded trust on the part of constituents, nor does it encourage confidence in his judgement going forward.

City council members don’t have to be Boy Scouts, but complying with state laws is not a high bar to reach. We may disagree with some councilors’ politics, we may take issue with their policies and agendas, but the unifying thread should be conduct that commands respect.

The city deserves representatives with integrity – that’s the foundation, or should be, of the work they do for Boston. Above all, constituents deserve councilors they can trust.

That trust has been breached, and while it’s a plus that Arroyo admitted to his wrongdoing and will pay a fee, that doesn’t go far enough.

Ricardo Arroyo should take the high road and resign.