Kendra Lara facing Boston residency challenge

With several residents challenging whether City Councilor Kendra Lara actually lives in Boston, the city's election department has scheduled a hearing to discuss the issue.

The Boston Election Department issued a notice about the hearing Wednesday — the same day Lara appeared in court to face charges in a Jamaica Plain car crash that injured her son last month.

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Five people filed objections to Lara's nomination papers, four of which were entered before a 5 p.m. deadline Thursday, prompting the agency to begin scheduling the hearing with the Boston Elections Commission and a senior judge at the Boston Municipal Court. The hearing date hasn't been set.

As she walked into court on Wednesday, Lara didn't answer a reporter's question on whether she lives in the district she represents, as the law requires. NBC10 Boston went to several addresses listed for her last week and couldn't find her.

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Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara appeared in court for two hearings on Wednesday, facing charges for allegedly driving with a revoked license, in an unregistered, uninsured car with an expired inspection sticker that belonged to someone else when she crashed into a house in Jamaica Plain, injuring her son.

Last week, she told The Boston Globe that she "can unequivocally confirm" she lives on Jamaica Plain's Saint Rose Street, amid rumors she didn't live in the district.

Stephen Morris, one of the people who challenged her residency, said Wednesday, "the voters deserve to know where she lives."

Two people who are running to replace Lara, Ben Weber and William King, said Wednesday that District 6 deserves better leadership.

"They want a councilor that's going to deliver for them and not distracted with their own personal failings," King said.

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Lara told reporters Wednesday, before two hearings in the car crash case, that she remains committed to representing the district "in the best way that I can." A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf on the nine charges brought in court.

Asked Wednesday about the Lara situation, Mayor Michelle Wu said she wasn't aware of any violations but that there would be serious consequences if one were proven.

"It is in some ways the most important requirement to serve at the city level," Wu said.

Officer David Murray calculated that Lara had to be going at least 53 miles per hour, based on measurements and field tests. The speed limit on Centre Street is 25 miles per hour.