Boston city councilor, awaiting federal sentencing, will step down July 4

Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who last month pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges, said Thursday she submitted her letter of resignation and would step down July 4.

"It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve you, my neighbors, my community, my people," she wrote in a statement. "Every policy I wrote, every budget line I fought for, every block I walked was rooted in love and loyalty to you."

The Roxbury-based district councilor pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft involving federal funds for her role in orchestrating a kickback scheme.

According to the federal indictment, Fernandes Anderson hired a relative on to her staff, and then paid her a "supersize bonus" on the condition she later give thousands of dollars back to the councilor. Fernandes Anderson accepted $7,000 cash in a city hall bathroom in the summer of 2023, prosecutors said.

Fernandes Anderson is due to be sentenced at the end of July.

She previously said she planned to resign after voting on the annual budget. The council unanimously approved the $4.8 billion budget earlier this month, and Mayor Wu signed it this week.

"While my chapter as your councilor ends, my service to this community continues in new forms," Fernandes Anderson said in a social media post. "I leave you not with an end, but with the tools to keep going, stronger and together."