Boston - DCF takes custody of four children found in unsanitary apartment with alcohol, drugs, sex toys and a dead body

June 21, 2023

DCF takes custody of four children found in apartment with alcohol, drugs, sex toys, Healey says

Four children who were found in a disturbing South Boston apartment alongside a dead man…

www.bostonherald.com

Four children who were found in a disturbing South Boston apartment alongside a dead man over the weekend have been taken into state custody as officials investigate why they were in the presence of alcohol, drugs, and sex toys, Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday.

A Boston Fire Department incident report said first responders found the children, who are 5 to 10 years old, on Saturday morning in “extremely unsanitary conditions” and in a back bedroom where an adult male was in the process of hiding them.

First responders were initially called to the Mary Ellen McCormack Housing complex on Old Colony Avenue on Saturday for a man that went into cardiac arrest.
But when they arrived, firefighters found “drugs, alcohol, [and] sex toys all around the apartment,”
six other adults, “who appeared to be male, were seen in the apartment.” Sources tell the Herald the men were dressed in drag.

“All of the adult parties were being uncooperative and did not provide helpful information. All adults present denied having children inside the apartment,” the incident report said. the incident is still under investigation.

Why were children present and why has this story not appeared in more MSM?

 

[GrandmaBear]

Centered on NOT one thing I meant.

 

[Mel70]

I don't believe this baloney/spin for ONE MOMENT. The ones trying to push it away or under the rug are the ones making the issue of homo and trans b.s.

CPS was involved and took children!

There were was it four men and four children? Something like that. In an apartment. Tell us some things you idiots if you want to put it to rest. How big was this apartment? Was the dead man doing drugs? Were the rest of them? Why were the children there? Whose were they? How long had they been there? Did they live there? Did the four men all live there or was this a party? Ages? Do any of them have records? Any charges? Were any doing illicit drugs? Isn't that an offense? If charged, and they are adults, where is that info and what are the names?

You see how LITTLE they have shared? Not typical. Trying to shove it under the rug.

if it is all innocent then explain the activities and what was found, who lived there, who didn't and why they were there.

I have centered on NOT ONE thing about trans or homo or anything in this post. THE politicians are making it that, the public isn't. WHERE is the general information??

It was stated briefly in an article someone posted the day I commented. It was new information. And I stated, Yeah WTH does that have anything to do with it?. The adults are all degenerates to allow, Not take action against, Or be directly involved in this. Man, Woman, Black, White, Latino, A dumb friggin' Swede. I'm 1/4. Irish, Scottish, German or Danish. There's the rest. A POS IS A POS!!!! It's what the person's actions are. That's really low to say that. It speaks against a whole community of people that we are encouraged to accept for who they are.

 

[Mel70]

Centered on NOT one thing I meant.

What did I do?.

 

[GrandmaBear]

What did I do?.

Nothing. I was correcting the post I made before this one.

 

[GrandmaBear]

It was stated briefly in an article someone posted the day I commented. It was new information. And I stated, Yeah WTH does that have anything to do with it?. The adults are all degenerates to allow, Not take action against, Or be directly involved in this. Man, Woman, Black, White, Latino, A dumb friggin' Swede. I'm 1/4. Irish, Scottish, German or Danish. There's the rest. A POS IS A POS!!!! It's what the person's actions are. That's really low to say that. It speaks against a whole community of people that we are encouraged to accept for who they are.

Exactly but for some reason you can't be a POS in the eyes of the media or some politicians if you are a minority, gay, bi, rich, a celeb, have powerful connections,, etc. They CANNOT talk POS about anyone who isn't white trash I swear.

I have no problem with what "group" some would place them in. All types have pieces of sh*t in their group. Whether artists or politicians, whether black or white, male or female, straight or not, etc.

But LOOK at them try to change the truth because they just can't have that or tell the truth.

This world is a mess.

 

[RoundPeg]

Putting this here because I want to look into the city council meeting and if this was squelched.

Boston City Council will hold hearing after four kids found near corpse, drugs, sex toys

“I filed this hearing order to address what happened at the (Boston Housing Authority) Saturday,” Boston City Councilor-At-Large Erin Murphy told the Herald in a Tuesday text message. “It will come…

www.google.com

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Boston councilor slams colleagues who 'spread stories' about sex toys and drugs in BHA apartment

Lara alleged that "unsubstantiated stories" about an incident in a BHA apartment "stoked homophobic and transphobic rhetoric."

www.boston.com

By Abby Patkin
updated on June 29, 2023 | 3:42 PM

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara has accused several colleagues of spreading “unsubstantiated stories” and stoking “homophobic and transphobic rhetoric” after a recent emergency call to a Boston Housing Authority apartment prompted public scrutiny and “house of horrors” comparisons.

A couple city councilors told news outlets they had heard reports that first responders found drug paraphernalia and sex toys in the South Boston apartment where an adult died on June 17. The Boston Police Department and Mayor Michelle Wu have since disputed rumors about what first responders found at the scene, though police did confirm there were four children in the home at the time.

In a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday, Lara alleged that her colleagues misgendered the deceased — described in a police report as “male to female transgender” — and other adults in the home as “men in wigs.”

“In direct contradiction with the statements of the Boston Police, they’ve miscategorized the conditions of a constituent’s home and spread stories about ‘sex toys and drugs’ that are unsubstantiated to date, furthering the false right-wing narrative that our trans siblings are sexual deviants who our children need protecting from,” Lara wrote, attributing the behavior to three Boston City Council members she did not name.

Controversial Boston City Councilor driving with ‘revoked license’ crashes car with son inside into house

Controversial Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara, 33, crashed her car into a house injuring herself and her 7-year-old son.

nypost.com

By Dana Kennedy
July 1, 2023 5:10pm

A controversial, defund-the-police Boston City Councilor crashed her car into a house, injuring herself and her 7-year-old son.

Kendra Lara, 33, was driving with a “revoked license” in an unregistered car without insurance and an expired inspection sticker and her son, Zaire, was not in a booster seat at the time of the crash, according to a police report obtained by The Post.

Zaire was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital where he received “several stitches” and is expected to be all right, her office said in a statement quoted by the Boston Globe.

Lara was once described as “the first black socialist ever to be elected to the Boston City Council,” and confirmed in a text message that she was involved in a crash Friday, her office said, adding she was with her son in the emergency room. Lara reportedly suffered “some cuts and will probably require some stitches,” her spokesman said.

Lara’s car was totaled in the wreck.

Lara’s spokesman said the councilor was driving when she swerved to avoid hitting another car and crashed through a fence and yard before striking a house.

According to the police report obtained by The Post, Lara was driving an unregistered vehicle and her license had been revoked.

It further alleged that her child was not in a booster seat, which is a violation of state law for children younger than 8 or shorter than 57 inches.

Lara’s name was redacted in the official report but her name was visible in a draft police report obtained by the Boston Herald.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More at link. ~Summer

 

[Mel70]

Nothing. I was correcting the post I made before this one.

O.K. Good. I've had enough of that corner and one crayon.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Controversial Boston City Councilor driving with ‘revoked license’ crashes car with son inside into house

Controversial Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara, 33, crashed her car into a house injuring herself and her 7-year-old son.

nypost.com

By Dana Kennedy
July 1, 2023 5:10pm

A controversial, defund-the-police Boston City Councilor crashed her car into a house, injuring herself and her 7-year-old son.

Kendra Lara, 33, was driving with a “revoked license” in an unregistered car without insurance and an expired inspection sticker and her son, Zaire, was not in a booster seat at the time of the crash, according to a police report obtained by The Post.

Zaire was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital where he received “several stitches” and is expected to be all right, her office said in a statement quoted by the Boston Globe.

Lara was once described as “the first black socialist ever to be elected to the Boston City Council,” and confirmed in a text message that she was involved in a crash Friday, her office said, adding she was with her son in the emergency room. Lara reportedly suffered “some cuts and will probably require some stitches,” her spokesman said.

Lara’s car was totaled in the wreck.

Lara’s spokesman said the councilor was driving when she swerved to avoid hitting another car and crashed through a fence and yard before striking a house.

According to the police report obtained by The Post, Lara was driving an unregistered vehicle and her license had been revoked.

It further alleged that her child was not in a booster seat, which is a violation of state law for children younger than 8 or shorter than 57 inches.

Lara’s name was redacted in the official report but her name was visible in a draft police report obtained by the Boston Herald.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More at link. ~Summer

wow another law abiding politician. not.

did they find or interview the other driver whose car she swerved to avoid.... maybe security cams will help find that person... assuming that's even true.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Putting this here because I want to look into the city council meeting and if this was squelched.

Boston City Council will hold hearing after four kids found near corpse, drugs, sex toys

“I filed this hearing order to address what happened at the (Boston Housing Authority) Saturday,” Boston City Councilor-At-Large Erin Murphy told the Herald in a Tuesday text message. “It will come…

www.google.com

South Boston death investigation, removal of kids from apartment discussed at city council meeting

Elected officials in Boston questioned the conditions of public housing Wednesday after the city’s police and fire departments gave conflicting accounts of an incident at a South Boston apartment. The death of a person from cardiac arrest and the removal of four children from an Old Colony...

www.necn.com

By Staff Reports • Published June 28, 2023​

Elected officials in Boston questioned the conditions of public housing Wednesday after the city's police and fire departments gave conflicting accounts of an incident at a South Boston apartment.

The death of a person from cardiac arrest and the removal of four children from an Old Colony Avenue apartment on June 17 was discussed at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting.

The children were placed in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

What occurred inside the apartment — part of the Boston Housing Authority — remains unclear more than 10 days later, with a public statement from the Boston Police Department conflicting with details from the initial reports of the Boston Fire Department.

<snip>

"I can only hope and trust that the mayor's office and all of these first responders are going to come together in an investigation to get the story straight," City Councilor Erin Murphy told NBC10 Boston after Wednesday's meeting.

<snip>

Kiara, the mother of two of the kids taken from the apartment, spoke with NBC10 Boston Friday.

"They saw several transgender people, who are my friends, and one dead on the floor from cardiac arrest, they just assumed the worst," Kiara said.

At Wednesday's meeting, City Councilor Kendra Lara came to the defense of the LGBTQ+ community, which she believes has been negatively impacted in the wake of the incident. She also thanked first responders for their work that day.

"All first responders made decisions that they thought would protect the safety and wellbeing of that family and that community," she said.

Kiara said Friday that the children were being kept away from the dead body, as police had said in their statement a day earlier. She told NBC10 Boston she "absolutely" believes the Boston Fire Department was lying about the adults being uncooperative.

"Nobody was hiding the kids," she told NBC10 Boston. "We were trying to keep the kids away from the person who was dead on the floor. That's pretty traumatizing."

"The parents and the officers who responded felt it was best for the children to stay in another room with one of the parents and took steps to avoid having the children see the deceased," police said in their statement last week. "Due to the nature of the call, and to ensure appropriate follow up with the families involved, officers did file a 51A with DCF."

Murphy said the children would not have been put into DCF custody if the children were not believed to be in an unsafe situation.

"They had to have had evidence," she said. "A judge is not going to remove children unless there's definite evidence of imminent concern for the safety of those children."

 

[Summer_Breeze]

City Councilor Kendra Lara to appear in court over crash into Jamaica Plain home

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara will appear in court later this month after hitting a Jamaica Plain home in a crash that injured her 7-year-old son, who police say was not secured in a booster seat. The West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court confirmed an open hearing for Lara was...

www.necn.com

By Mike Pescaro and Mary Markos • Published July 7, 2023​

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara will appear in court later this month after hitting a Jamaica Plain home in a crash that injured her 7-year-old son, who police say was not secured in a booster seat.

The West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court confirmed an open hearing for Lara was scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 19. The court did not immediately give any other details.

 

[GrandmaBear]

South Boston death investigation, removal of kids from apartment discussed at city council meeting

Elected officials in Boston questioned the conditions of public housing Wednesday after the city’s police and fire departments gave conflicting accounts of an incident at a South Boston apartment. The death of a person from cardiac arrest and the removal of four children from an Old Colony...

www.necn.com

By Staff Reports • Published June 28, 2023​

Elected officials in Boston questioned the conditions of public housing Wednesday after the city's police and fire departments gave conflicting accounts of an incident at a South Boston apartment.

The death of a person from cardiac arrest and the removal of four children from an Old Colony Avenue apartment on June 17 was discussed at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting.

The children were placed in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

What occurred inside the apartment — part of the Boston Housing Authority — remains unclear more than 10 days later, with a public statement from the Boston Police Department conflicting with details from the initial reports of the Boston Fire Department.

<snip>

"I can only hope and trust that the mayor's office and all of these first responders are going to come together in an investigation to get the story straight," City Councilor Erin Murphy told NBC10 Boston after Wednesday's meeting.

<snip>

Kiara, the mother of two of the kids taken from the apartment, spoke with NBC10 Boston Friday.

"They saw several transgender people, who are my friends, and one dead on the floor from cardiac arrest, they just assumed the worst," Kiara said.

At Wednesday's meeting, City Councilor Kendra Lara came to the defense of the LGBTQ+ community, which she believes has been negatively impacted in the wake of the incident. She also thanked first responders for their work that day.

"All first responders made decisions that they thought would protect the safety and wellbeing of that family and that community," she said.

Kiara said Friday that the children were being kept away from the dead body, as police had said in their statement a day earlier. She told NBC10 Boston she "absolutely" believes the Boston Fire Department was lying about the adults being uncooperative.

"Nobody was hiding the kids," she told NBC10 Boston. "We were trying to keep the kids away from the person who was dead on the floor. That's pretty traumatizing."

"The parents and the officers who responded felt it was best for the children to stay in another room with one of the parents and took steps to avoid having the children see the deceased," police said in their statement last week. "Due to the nature of the call, and to ensure appropriate follow up with the families involved, officers did file a 51A with DCF."

Murphy said the children would not have been put into DCF custody if the children were not believed to be in an unsafe situation.

"They had to have had evidence," she said. "A judge is not going to remove children unless there's definite evidence of imminent concern for the safety of those children."

Well I believe Murphy before Lara. Damn right they wouldn't have taken the kids if no reason. The mother of TWO of the kids I give no credence to whatosever as she has reasons to speak one way or another, she has a horse in the race so to speak--I mean why were they not returned to her immediately or she called in short order? Clearly there is a problem there too as in maybe her kids shouldn't have been where they were.

I see no reason whatsoever the fire department would have to lie at the outset. I see plenty of reason for the others to lie AFTER that and a possible fall out or major news if not shut down quick.

What I suspect will come next since the FD has been quiet since is pressure is being applied to ensure they shut up and/or come out and change their story.

Questioning the conditions of public housing now. Is that going to be the next excuse? Not that I don't believe it has its problems but it did not put how many people in the place with how many kids present doing the activities they were likely doing or not cleaning up, keep drugs up, sex toys, etc.

This STINKS and REEKS to high heaven and I think will more so unless the ones willing to push it stay with it and that includes the fire department who is probably being majorly pressured.

 

[GrandmaBear]

City Councilor Kendra Lara to appear in court over crash into Jamaica Plain home

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara will appear in court later this month after hitting a Jamaica Plain home in a crash that injured her 7-year-old son, who police say was not secured in a booster seat. The West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court confirmed an open hearing for Lara was...

www.necn.com

By Mike Pescaro and Mary Markos • Published July 7, 2023​

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara will appear in court later this month after hitting a Jamaica Plain home in a crash that injured her 7-year-old son, who police say was not secured in a booster seat.

The West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court confirmed an open hearing for Lara was scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 19. The court did not immediately give any other details.

On City Council. Child not restrained in a car seat. Unnsured, no driver's license, unregistered vehicle, high speed. She is on CITY COUNCIL. Her son required many stitches.

DCF was reported to.

Funny that we have absolutely NO info on whether this woman was given a sobriety test.

And her name was redacted on the incident report.

I mean who would do that except the PD?

Of course she is going to come down on their side. Not that they aren't run and controlled by powers that be or corrupt.

No one made her crash and no one in the City caused the incident with the kids at the apartment but it seems here that there is a major divide and politics going on in the City of Boston.

She was UNLICENSED. UNINSURED. UNREGISTERED. With a not properly restrained child in the car. Driving at HIGH SPEED. And CAUSED INJURY. No charges though? Say WHAT??? What does anyone think would have happened to the rest of us? AND a city council member!

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara issues apology in wake of crashing into Jamaica Plain home

Kendra Lara says she plans to continue serving on the City Council amid fierce scrutiny from officials and residents after she crashed into a Jamaica Plain home.

www.bostonherald.com

By LANCE REYNOLDS | lreynolds@bostonherald.com |
PUBLISHED: July 8, 2023 at 11:19 a.m. | UPDATED: July 8, 2023 at 6:15 p.m.

Kendra Lara says she plans to continue serving on the City Council amid fierce scrutiny from officials and residents after she crashed into a Jamaica Plain home.

“We’re all accountable for our actions, and I’m no different, so I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone, especially the people of D6,” Lara said in a Saturday morning tweet, accompanied with an open letter. “As your Councilor, I will continue to steward our collective vision at City Hall and work hard to earn and maintain your trust.”

The statement comes more than a week after Lara drove what she described as a “friend’s car” into a Centre Street home in Jamaica Plain on June 30. A Boston Police report alleges that the vehicle was unregistered and that Lara’s license was revoked.

<snip>

Lara, however, did not describe what specific actions she was apologizing for, writing “On June 30, Zaire and I were involved in a car accident on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain while driving a friend’s car.”

“I am grateful for my family, friends and neighbors who have been by our side and provided the support Zaire and I needed to focus on our recovery,” she wrote.

The councilor’s first public comment after the incident also comes following a Herald report Friday that City Council President Ed Flynn has called for a review of employee parking procedures at Boston City Hall. Flynn outlined his request in a letter to Boston Property Management Department Commissioner Eamon Shelton, and plans to meet with members of that department next week to discuss a potential review, according to documents obtained by the Herald.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

The discovery of a dead body in Southie led to 4 kids entering DCF custody and is now the front line of a Boston culture war - The Boston Globe

It is still not clear how the woman died. However, the death — and the public safety response to it — touched off a bitter political spat that in some ways mirrors the culture war that continues to unfold across the country.

www.bostonglobe.com

By Danny McDonald Globe Staff,
Updated July 7, 2023, 7:13 p.m.

It was a coterie of local political talent: a sitting congressman, state senator and state representative, at least three councilors, and various other housing, police, and City Hall luminaries.

On a sunny day late last month, the group toured the oldest public housing development in New England: the Mary Ellen McCormack in South Boston. The week before, inside one of its apartments, a trans woman was found dead after someone in the home reported she was not breathing. The death and the condition of the apartment prompted the state to take four children from the unit into custody.

<snip>

It is still not clear how the woman died. However, the death — and the public safety response to it — touched off a bitter political spat that in some ways mirrors the culture war that continues to unfold across the country.

<snip>

Reports on the incident filed by public safety officials raise as many questions as provide answers.

For instance, two Boston police reports state the victim’s friends called police when they noticed the woman was not breathing. When police responded around 11 a.m., Boston firefighters and paramedics were already on the scene trying to help the woman, according to the reports. A detective processed the scene. By 1 p.m., the woman’s body was being taken to the medical examiner’s office.

But those two police reports do not mention the presence of children, other adults, or the condition of the unit. They also don’t feature details that have cropped up in various media reports about the death, namely the presence of drugs and sex toys in the apartment.

The next day, a police officer filed a 51a report with the Department of Children and Families. Such a report typically signals suspected child abuse or neglect. The officer only cited the “conditions of the home.” That report did not include the number of children for which the 51a was filed.

Boston police recently denied a Globe request for body camera footage from that day, saying its release would be “an unwarranted invasion of privacy” and harmful to the ongoing investigation.

<snip>

Meanwhile, Boston Fire Department’s Ladder 18 responded to the scene, arriving at 11:17 a.m., according to a department report. EMS was already there. (A Globe public records request for the EMS report from the incident is pending.)

The fire department report said there were six adults in the apartment, which at the time “was in extreme unsanitary conditions.” Firefighters found four children in the back bedroom being hidden by a man, according to the report. Firefighters estimated the youngest of the children to be 5 years old.

“All the adult parties were being uncooperative and did not provide helpful information,” the fire department report read. “All adults present denied having children inside the apartment.”

Firefighters also filed a 51a with DCF that day, the report shows. That report does not mention drugs, drug paraphernalia, or sex toys.

 

[RoundPeg]

So, this is a politically motivated mess.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I think there is a lot of political mess in here and hints of it from day one and one side trying to do what to the other, but political or not, the car crash lady couldn't have that be an issue IF it had not happened and NO ONE seems to have named her when happened, tested her, investigated, charged her or anything. I'm also thinking unlikely the political sides or one of them killed the person found dead, etc. Are they and will they try to use the situation for each side or cover it on one and blame by the other, oh for sure, that's what happens. Any political hot button case yep. Race, gender, sexual orientation...

But strip that all away and BOTH THE PD AND THE FD did reports to CPS or DCF or whichever... THEN I am guessing someone stepped in or many powers that be. My thought is most cops and firemen aren't necessarily politically fighting but they SURE as heck have powers that be and imo more so the PD that will say shut your mouth, twist it, cover it. BUT both reported to child services isn't that what I read? And then the clout and spin, etc. came in.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lose preliminary elections in wake of scandals

The District 5 and 6 councilors are the first incumbents to lose a preliminary election in at least four decades.

www.boston.com

By Susannah Sudborough
updated on September 13, 2023

In a firm rebuke of two legislators whose progressive records have been marred by scandal, Boston City Councilors Riccardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lost the preliminary elections for their seats Tuesday.

The Sept. 12 preliminary elections determined which candidates would move on to the Nov. 7 general election, with the top two vote-getters making the next ballot.

In District 5, Arroyo’s district, former Boston official Enrique Pepén garnered the most support with over 40% of the vote, followed by Boston Police Officer José Ruiz, who raked in over 30%, according to unofficial election results. Arroyo came in third with over 18% of the vote.

In District 6, Lara’s district, labor lawyer Ben Weber came out on top with over 42% of the vote, followed by an IT director William King who came in second with over 37% of the vote, according to the unofficial results. Lara finished third with over 20% of the vote.

<snip>
Both Lara, a first-term councilor from Jamaica Plain, and Arroyo, a second-term councilor from Hyde Park, conceded their races at their election night parties Tuesday night, The Boston Globe reported. They are the first incumbents to be knocked out of the race during a preliminary election in at least four decades.

“When you fight the system, sometimes the system fights back, and today we lost this battle,” Lara said Tuesday night, according to Politico reporter Lisa Kashinsky.

<snip>
Lara’s troubles came in June when she crashed someone else’s car into a Jamaica Plain house while her son was in the back seat. Her son was injured, and Boston police charged her with several offenses, including negligent operation and assault and battery on a child with injury. They also accused her of driving at least 53 mph in a 25 mph zone, a claim which she now disputes.

Lara apologized for the incident and pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the incident revealed that she’d been without a driver’s license for years and had been driving to City Hall while serving as a councilor. Lara faced backlash from several other city councilors for this, including one who called for her resignation.

 

[Mel70]

Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lose preliminary elections in wake of scandals

The District 5 and 6 councilors are the first incumbents to lose a preliminary election in at least four decades.

www.boston.com

By Susannah Sudborough
updated on September 13, 2023

In a firm rebuke of two legislators whose progressive records have been marred by scandal, Boston City Councilors Riccardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lost the preliminary elections for their seats Tuesday.

The Sept. 12 preliminary elections determined which candidates would move on to the Nov. 7 general election, with the top two vote-getters making the next ballot.

In District 5, Arroyo’s district, former Boston official Enrique Pepén garnered the most support with over 40% of the vote, followed by Boston Police Officer José Ruiz, who raked in over 30%, according to unofficial election results. Arroyo came in third with over 18% of the vote.

In District 6, Lara’s district, labor lawyer Ben Weber came out on top with over 42% of the vote, followed by an IT director William King who came in second with over 37% of the vote, according to the unofficial results. Lara finished third with over 20% of the vote.

<snip>
Both Lara, a first-term councilor from Jamaica Plain, and Arroyo, a second-term councilor from Hyde Park, conceded their races at their election night parties Tuesday night, The Boston Globe reported. They are the first incumbents to be knocked out of the race during a preliminary election in at least four decades.

“When you fight the system, sometimes the system fights back, and today we lost this battle,” Lara said Tuesday night, according to Politico reporter Lisa Kashinsky.

<snip>
Lara’s troubles came in June when she crashed someone else’s car into a Jamaica Plain house while her son was in the back seat. Her son was injured, and Boston police charged her with several offenses, including negligent operation and assault and battery on a child with injury. They also accused her of driving at least 53 mph in a 25 mph zone, a claim which she now disputes.

Lara apologized for the incident and pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the incident revealed that she’d been without a driver’s license for years and had been driving to City Hall while serving as a councilor. Lara faced backlash from several other city councilors for this, including one who called for her resignation.

Yeah "Lara". I'm surprised anyone voted for you. No drivers license for years. It seems you think rules and laws don't apply to you. Or you were really busy. Smh.

 

[Mel70]

Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lose preliminary elections in wake of scandals

The District 5 and 6 councilors are the first incumbents to lose a preliminary election in at least four decades.

www.boston.com

By Susannah Sudborough
updated on September 13, 2023

In a firm rebuke of two legislators whose progressive records have been marred by scandal, Boston City Councilors Riccardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lost the preliminary elections for their seats Tuesday.

The Sept. 12 preliminary elections determined which candidates would move on to the Nov. 7 general election, with the top two vote-getters making the next ballot.

In District 5, Arroyo’s district, former Boston official Enrique Pepén garnered the most support with over 40% of the vote, followed by Boston Police Officer José Ruiz, who raked in over 30%, according to unofficial election results. Arroyo came in third with over 18% of the vote.

In District 6, Lara’s district, labor lawyer Ben Weber came out on top with over 42% of the vote, followed by an IT director William King who came in second with over 37% of the vote, according to the unofficial results. Lara finished third with over 20% of the vote.

<snip>
Both Lara, a first-term councilor from Jamaica Plain, and Arroyo, a second-term councilor from Hyde Park, conceded their races at their election night parties Tuesday night, The Boston Globe reported. They are the first incumbents to be knocked out of the race during a preliminary election in at least four decades.

“When you fight the system, sometimes the system fights back, and today we lost this battle,” Lara said Tuesday night, according to Politico reporter Lisa Kashinsky.

<snip>
Lara’s troubles came in June when she crashed someone else’s car into a Jamaica Plain house while her son was in the back seat. Her son was injured, and Boston police charged her with several offenses, including negligent operation and assault and battery on a child with injury. They also accused her of driving at least 53 mph in a 25 mph zone, a claim which she now disputes.

Lara apologized for the incident and pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the incident revealed that she’d been without a driver’s license for years and had been driving to City Hall while serving as a councilor. Lara faced backlash from several other city councilors for this, including one who called for her resignation.

O.K. I was was just pondering the one part. She plead not guilty. But apologized. Huh?. People who are guilty plea not guilty all the time. But apologizing?.