Politics

As calls mount for Arroyo resignation, he says he’s not going anywhere

“I’ve done nothing wrong and so, I’m absolutely not resigning,” Arroyo told a TV news outlet.

Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo.

May 19, 2023

3 minutes to read

Facing mounting pressure to resign after two federal reports tied him to U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’s alleged meddling in last year’s Suffolk County district attorney race, Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo has made it clear he has no plans to step down.

Speaking to WHDH outside his home in Hyde Park, Arroyo doubled down on his earlier statement that the recent reports from the Department of Justice inspector general and U.S. Office of Special Counsel do not accuse him of any wrongdoing.

“I’ve done nothing wrong and so, I’m absolutely not resigning,” he told the news outlet.

More on the Rollins reports:

The reports accuse Rollins of serving as a “de facto campaign advisor” to Arroyo and attempting to “sabotage” his opponent, then-Interim Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden. Rollins, the previous district attorney, allegedly leaked sensitive information in an attempt to create the public impression that the DOJ was or would be investigating Hayden, who went on to win the election.

“The report was very clear that I never asked her to do those things and I never knew that these things were happening,” Arroyo told WHDH.

According to the reports, facing news coverage of sexual assault allegations made against him when he was in high school, Arroyo messaged Rollins in August 2022 and said that the announcement of an investigation into Hayden “[w]ould be the best thing I can have happen at this moment.”

“Understood,” Rollins responded. “Keep fighting and campaigning. I’m working on something.”

The revelations about the 2022 Suffolk DA race are among several acts of misconduct Rollins is accused of committing during her time as the state’s top federal prosecutor. She announced her resignation earlier this week and is expected to step down Friday.

Arroyo has also faced calls to resign, with fellow City Councilor Erin Murphy telling Boston.com Thursday, “I believe he should ask himself if he is the person in this moment to meet the needs of the people of District 5 and Boston.”

City Council President Ed Flynn also released a statement addressing the “troubling reports,” though he did not name Arroyo.

“Recent reports and troubling information has once again cast a shadow over the Boston City Council, causing a major distraction during both the budget and redistricting process,” Flynn wrote. “This is hurting our city at a critical time, and the residents of Boston deserve better.”

Please find my statement regarding troubling reports in recent days and their impact on the City of Boston. pic.twitter.com/LsrtFUd1tn
— Ed Flynn 愛德華費連 (@EdforBoston) May 18, 2023

Arroyo told WHDH he hasn’t spoken to fellow city councilors about calls for his resignation, though he suggested those calls may be politically motivated given the City Council’s ongoing redistricting debate.

The conservative-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has also urged Arroyo to resign, sending a letter to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance Thursday requesting an investigation into whether Arroyo broke campaign finance law by allegedly coordinating with Rollins and “receiving something … of significant value” to benefit his campaign.

“Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo issued a statement in which he claimed he did nothing wrong. The evidence being released by federal authorities seems to say otherwise,” MassFiscal spokesperson Paul Diego Craney said in a release. “Arroyo should immediately step down from his position on the Boston City Council.”

He added: “Massachusetts has not seen this level of public corruption in a long time.”

Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters Friday, “This is a sad situation all around,” per WHDH video of the remarks.

With Boston’s municipal election coming up in the fall, she said she would leave it up to voters to decide whether Arroyo should stay in office.

“For elected officials, our number one source of accountability is being on the ballot and putting our views and commitments and positions out to the public,” Wu said.

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