Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo said his removal from his committee chair assignments and post as council vice president by council president Ed Flynn is unwarranted.
"I don't believe he has the grounds to remove me. I've not...there's nothing that I have actually done on the council or in any way shape or form in my life that would allow him to remove me from the committees," Arroyo said.
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This comes after a Boston Globe report uncovered two sexual assault investigations when Arroyo was a teenager.
In a letter to the city clerk announcing his intentions, Flynn wrote, "in what I believe to be in the best interest of the Boston City Council as a legislative body, I have decided to temporarily readjust committee assignments for the next 60 days. At that time I will reassess this decision with all available information."
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Arroyo said the 60 days are telling as he is chair of the redistricting committee and Flynn's district is likely to become more diverse.
"He made it so blatant that it's for 60 days which is exactly when our new redistricting maps are due. I think it's a very clear political play regarding how the redistricting process is conducted and has very little to do with what you've seen reported in the news."
Arroyo is referring to the Globe reports he was investigated for alleged sexual assault when he was a teenager more than 20 years ago. He was never charged, and a second allegation has been denied by him and the woman who was involved.
Councilor Kendra Lara is standing by her endorsement of Arroyo as he runs for Suffolk District Attorney and said Flynn's move is political.
"I think that the removal of Councilor Arroyo's chairmanship from the redistricting committee are not just actions against Councilman Arroyo. These are actions against the people of the city of Boston and they are against democracy," she said.
NBC10 Boston reached out to the council president Monday but he was not available. On Tuesday, we were told he was out of the office.
