Boston Accountability Network

03/21/2024

We're happy to announce that we've finished our administrative changes and BAN's new website is back online. Click the link in our bio to take a look.

While you're there, check out our newest article on potential campaign finance violations by Boston City Councilors Henry Santana and Enrique Pepen.

A public records request filed by BAN seems to indicate that Boston City Councilors Henry Santana and Enrique Pepen continued to collect city paychecks while actively campaigning for office, violating state law.

01/31/2024

*Today's Meeting

The will hold their weekly meeting today at 12:00. The following images contain the scheduled agenda for this hearing.



You can read our summary of last week's meeting at www.bostonaccountabilitynetwork.com/reports

01/29/2024

Our brief summary of the Boston City Council's weekly meeting for January 24, 2024 is now available. This was the first Council meeting with committee positions assigned and provides insight as to what the legislative focus and temperament of the Council will be for the upcoming year.

Summary and highlights of the Boston City Council's January 24, 2024 meeting that focused on climate resiliency, food trucks, honeybees, grant funding, and set the legislative agenda for the next few months. This meeting is also when formal committee assignments were put into record.

01/28/2024

As BAN prepares for the upcoming week, here is our current FOIA/Records Request tracker.

Let's hope that this upcoming week brings more & from the City of Boston than last.

01/24/2024

The attached images provide our most recent update regarding the lack of transparency & accountability pertaining to the questionable history of Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune's conflict of interest disclosures.

01/22/2024

🚨 Update:

In a curious reversal, the has contacted BAN to provide the filings of former member .

It now appears that the city of Boston is trying to justify their original withholding of this information by claiming that "Statements of Financial Interests" did not fall under the scope of "any and all disclosures" in the request we originally filed.

Yet these forms are required as part of the state's "Financial Disclosure Law." More importantly, the Boston Municipal Code explicitly refers to these forms as "disclosures."

BAN is in contact with the city of Boston to try and determine precisely why these records were withheld.

We have updated our original article to detail these recent developments and have linked access to the disclosure forms available for former Councilor Bok.

01/21/2024

In the wake of Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune’s questionable disclosures, evidence suggests that former City Councilor and current Boston Housing Authority Chief Priscilla "Kenzie" Bok Blew Off Her Own Financial Statements For Years as a Public Official

01/21/2024

:

Evidence obtained by BAN reveals that Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, Boston City Councilor At-Large isn’t the only local politician who has neglected to file their financial conflict of interest disclosures.

Priscilla “Kenzie” Bok, who now heads the Boston Housing Authority after being appointed by Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 has never once filed her disclosures.

Former Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok - District 8 was originally elected to the Council in 2019, which means she owes 4 years of these disclosures. Per the "Boston Municipal Code," these infractions have the potential to carry a fine upwards of $30,000.

This evidence was obtained by the Boston Accountability Network through a public records request specifically seeking all disclosures filed by Bok since she first took office. It was prompted by BAN’s research team after discovering Bok is a board member of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA).

This is precisely the type of information Bok’s conflict of interest forms would have alerted the public of had they ever been filed.

You can read our full coverage and analysis of this incident by clicking the following link, or visiting us at the website listed on our page.

Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our free mailing list to stay up-to-date on BAN’s breaking news and reports, delivered straight to your inbox.

www.bostonaccountabilitynetwork.com/reports/failure-to-disclose

In the wake of Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune’s questionable disclosures, evidence suggests that former City Councilor and current Boston Housing Authority Chief Priscilla "Kenzie" Bok Blew Off Her Own Financial Statements For Years as a Public Official

01/08/2024

On December 6, 2023, Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson invited two Boston Public Schools students to be recognized before the Council.

Unknown to the Boston City Council's other members, the students were there to relay a message that Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn described as "blatantly antisemitic."

One of the students went as far as saying "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" - a phrase the Anti-Defamation League has deemed .

Other Council members report feeling "blindsided" by Councilor Anderson's actions that day.

01/03/2024

On New Year's Day, the new Boston City Council was inaugurated in a ceremony hosted by Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭

What should have been a simple display of solidarity & eagerness to begin their service to Boston's residents may be an indication of the opposite.

Video footage obtained by BAN shows that Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, while physically present, did not actually participate in the ceremony.

More straightforward, Anderson did not utter a single word of her oath of office, as required by the Boston City Charter

We have reached out to Councilor Anderson for comment, as well as newly elected President Ruthzee Louijeune, Boston City Councilor At-Large, and will provide an update when/if one becomes available.

12/31/2023

Boston's Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023:

4. Legal Cases

12/31/2023

To provide more context for #5: Mass & Cass Response video in our countdown series of Boston's Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023, BAN has produced the following video detailing a monthly breakdown of the city's actions at Mass & Cass throughout 2022.

12/31/2023

Boston's Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023:

5. Mass & Cass Response

12/27/2023

BAN has obtained audio recordings from a "swatting" incident that occurred on Christmas Day at the home of Boston's
Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭

Our official statement condemning this act, as well as those recordings are included below:

Boston Police Department (Official)Boston Police Patrolmen's Association

12/26/2023

Boston's Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023:

6. Driving While Elected

12/25/2023

Boston’s Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023:

7. “House of Horrors”

12/25/2023

Boston’s Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023:

8. Anti-Semitic Pride

12/25/2023

Boston’s Top 10 Political Controversies of 2023:

9. “Electeds of Color” Party