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Tensions rise in City Council after call for investigation into misconduct is blocked
Some of Council President Ruthzee Louijeune's colleagues accused her of selectively applying rules about what is in the purview of the City Council.
Drama descended on Boston City Hall last month when two staffers were fired after allegedly being involved in a domestic incident that also led to allegations of misconduct against one of Mayor Michelle Wu’s top cabinet chiefs. An attempt by some members of the Boston City Council this week to call for an independent investigation of the matter was blocked.
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Discussion among councilors then devolved into an argument over whether some rules are being selectively applied in order to stymie debate about controversial topics like this one.
The incident in question involves Marwa Khudaynazar, the former chief of staff at the city’s Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, and her boyfriend, Chulan Huang, a former neighborhood liaison for the city. Both were arrested after police responded to an altercation between the two. They were fired after an internal human resources investigation.
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Khudaynazar claims that she was fired to protect Segun Idowu, the city’s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion and a powerful player in the Wu administration. She says that Idowu retained a hotel room and propositioned her to join him there, but that she refused. When Huang found out, an argument began that turned violent, according to a police report.
Idowu says that Khudaynazar’s allegations are political in nature and denies any wrongdoing. He was not involved with their termination, and there have been no allegations of sexual harassment regarding the matter, according to the city.
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Still, the Wu administration announced earlier this month that it would facilitate an external investigation into the allegations of misconduct against Idowu.
‘Selective application’ of City Council rules
But some on the City Council say that this is not an adequate response. Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy filed a resolution calling for “a fully independent, third-party investigation.” Although the city hired an external law firm to conduct a review of the incident, this investigation would still be “partially overseen and interacted with” by the Wu administration, Flynn and Murphy said in their resolution.
The resolution had been blocked before, but it was on the agenda for this week’s council meeting. Murphy appeared to anticipate that it could be blocked again.
“Too often, those who don’t want to take hard votes dismiss efforts like this as political games. This is not just lazy in my opinion, it’s a way to avoid accountability and shift blame,” she said as she introduced the measure.
Before the meeting, Council President Ruthzee Louijeune filed a memo she wrote regarding the application of a City Council rule that dictates what matters fall in the jurisdiction of the body. Louijeune determined that “resolutions and/or hearing orders regarding specific employment action related to an individual’s employment with the City of Boston” are not appropriate for consideration by the City Council.
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Councilor Sharon Durkan said that she agreed with Louijeune’s assessment and objected to the resolution, blocking discussion and forcing Louijeune to refer it to a committee chaired by Councilor Ben Weber. But Louijeune said that her memo would have caused the filing to be ruled out of order anyway, and that she did not intend for the resolution to be referred to a committee at all. Durkan’s move appeared to cause more confusion.
“What is my committee supposed to do with this? I’m not going to schedule a hearing on something that we don’t have jurisdiction to hear,” Weber said.
Murphy took issue with Louijeune’s memo, saying the council president was engaging in “selective application” of the rule and therefore undermining public trust in the City Council.
“I don’t know why some people are just so afraid to have discussions and are so willing to shut down discussions,” Murphy said.
Flynn responded to Weber’s comments with a broader critique of how the City Council handles its business. Too often, resolutions are referred to committees and then effectively die when the chairs of those committees refuse to call hearings in a timely manner. This practice is “unprofessional,” he said.
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“That’s what a chair will do, they’ll just keep it in committee and not have a discussion, forever. There’s a lot of mine that are just sitting and waiting, and I know they won’t have a hearing on it,” Flynn added.
Weber insisted that hearings do not “languish” in his committee. He cited Louijeune’s memo and said that he would not violate the council rules. The actual subject matter of the resolution was not playing a part in his decision not to call a hearing, he said.
Councilor Julia Mejia then said that she does not have a clear understanding of the council’s norms and standards, voicing frustration with Louijeune’s leadership and calling on the council president to be more consistent with her application of the rules.
“You’re the president, you’re the boss of this body. Put us in check and keep us there,” Mejia said to Louijeune.
Louijeune responded by saying that Mejia had relayed similar worries before, which is why she decided to write her memo.
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