Boston City Council votes to spike special election if Fernandes Anderson resigns

Embattled Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson still says she will resign following her agreement to plead to federal corruption charges, but it won't be for a few more weeks. The timing would rid the city of a requirement to hold a special election to fill her seat.

Despite her assurances, the council voted Friday to send a home rule petition to the state that would allow the city to waive the special election, leaving Fernandes Anderson's District 7 seat vacant until after the November election.

The key date is May 8. Should Fernandes Anderson vacate her position before then, Boston would, under state law, need to organize a special contest. That wouldn't happen until at least early August, according to Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. The district would then vote again in the preliminary (if needed) and general elections, scheduled for September and November.

Spiking that special election requires a home rule petition, which asks the state Legislature to consent to the change. Friday's council meeting focused on a recommendation to ask the state to waive the special election in this case.

" This is doing what I think is in the best interest of District 7, of everyone involved and of the city," Louijeune said in support of the home rule petition.

Speaking at the meeting Friday, Fernandes Anderson said none of this would be needed, because she won't resign before May 8. She's due back in court on May 5. Prosecutors will ask a judge to sentence her to a year in prison plus monetary damages and other conditions.

" This has become just a matter of people grandstanding," Fernandes Anderson said. "I spoke directly with you and I told you that there was no need for this filing, and yet you guys are sitting here having a conversation on something that is completely moot."

Fernandes Anderson was initially arrested by federal authorities in December and accused of stealing thousands of public dollars in a kickback scheme with a family member she employed.

Councilors John Fitzgerald, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy voted against the home rule petition. Each spoke in favor of keeping a special election in place.

Mayor Michelle Wu must sign the petition before it goes to Beacon Hill. That gives state legislators little time to consider and vote on the measure before that May 8 deadline.