Boston City Council backs controversial measure to waive special election for District 7
The Boston City Council has emphatically backed a plan to waive a special election for the seat currently held by District 7 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who is expected to plead guilty to federal corruption charges on May 5 and to resign from the council at an as-yet-unspecified date.
Before it can take effect, the home rule petition — which passed 9-3 on Friday — needs to be signed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and then passed by the Massachusetts Legislature. Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under Boston’s city charter , Fernandes Anderson’s anticipated resignation would ordinarily trigger a special election if she leaves office more than 180 days before the next regularly scheduled election, or prior to May 8. Because a large number of candidates are vying to replace Fernandes Anderson, that special election would, theoretically, include both a special preliminary election to winnow the field down to two finalists and a special general election to determine the winner.
District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon, who cosponsored the proposal with Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, noted that the winner of that hypothetical special election would have to defend their seat almost immediately in the regular preliminary election scheduled for Sept. 9, which will be followed by a regular general election on Nov. 4.
https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2025-04-18/boston-city-council-backs-controversial-measure-to-waive-special-election-for-district-7
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