Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara outside court on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
A court hearing next week will look into whether Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara actually lives in the district she represents.
Four people who live in the embattled councilor's district submitted formal objections to Lara's nomination papers on the grounds of residency before a deadline on July 13. A fifth person also filed a challenge to Lara's residency, but officials said it came after the deadline.
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The Boston Ballot Law Commission will hold a hearing on Aug. 1 at 9 a.m., City Clerk Alex Geourntas said in a letter, dated Friday and addressed to Lara and the residents who questioned where she lives. The hearing will be held at Boston Municipal Court's Central Division at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse.
The Boston Election Department announced Wednesday that a hearing would be held for the residency challenges. The same day, Lara appeared in court to face charges in a Jamaica Plain car crash. She did not answer a reporter's question about whether she lives in District 6.
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It has been a tumultuous month for Lara, whose 7-year-old son was injured when she crashed into a Centre Street house on June 30. Police said the boy was not in a booster seat as required by law, and raised questions about whether he was wearing a seat belt. They filed a 51A report with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, alleging neglect.
Lara was not wearing her own seat belt, according to police, who said she was driving an unregistered, uninsured car with a revoked license at the time of the crash. Investigators later determined she had not had a valid driver's license since 2013. Despite this, fellow city councilors told NBC10 Boston they have seen her drive to work.
Police said Lara was driving at least 53 miles per hour, more than double the speed limit, before hitting the house.
Nine charges have been brought against Lara, including permitting injury to a child, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, driving on a suspended license, driving an uninsured vehicle, not putting a child under 8 in a car seat, driving an unregistered motor vehicle and failing to wear a seat belt.
Lara 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 last week, "the voters deserve to know where she lives."
Two people who are running to replace Lara, Ben Weber and William King, said last week 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 last week about the Lara situation, Mayor Michelle Wu said she wasn't aware of any violations, but said there would be serious consequences if one were proven.
