But this time around, as Lara runs for a second term while facing criminal charges over crashing her unregistered and uninsured car into a house in Jamaica Plain while driving with a revoked license, receiving the same backing from two years ago is an open question.
“I haven’t been disappointed in her policies,” said Anne Rousseau, cochair of JP Progressives, who emphasized she was speaking in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the group.
Still, she added, “most recent events are troubling.” (The group will start its endorsement process after an Aug. 8 forum.)
A Black Dominican single mother of a son who has autism, Lara, 33, has called Jamaica Plain home for most of her life. Before being elected, she was an artist and the director of radical philanthropy at the Boston-based organization Resist, which was founded by well-known activist Noam Chomsky.
Lara emerged victorious two years ago in an election that saw her race and personal finances brought to the fore. In the contest, a campaign flier that featured a darker, black-and-white image of Lara sparked controversy and accusations of racism against her opponent, Mary Tamer. Additionally, Lara’s landlord at the time threatened to evict her for allegedly not paying back rent.
On the council, Lara has been known as a progressive’s progressive, and is part of one of the most diverse iterations of the legislative body.
She has championed the road diet in West Roxbury, and has led police reform efforts that include calls for civilian flaggers at construction details.
While some City Hall observers acknowledge that Lara’s voice on the council has been undeniably progressive, they question her impact. For instance, Lara was at first opposed to Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent control home rule petition, saying it did not go far enough. And while she pushed for an elected School Committee, that proposal was vetoed by the mayor. Recently, she was among those who supported overriding some of Wu’s budget items, most of which failed to pass. The one that did pass was rejected by the mayor as illegal.
Among her biggest accomplishments in her first term, Lara says, is her work on housing, including advocating for changes to the city’s housing plan, as well as securing funding for a new library in Egleston Square and a study for an educational complex in West Roxbury.
“All of my work at City Hall is guided by my conversations with constituents over my first term,” she said in emailed responses to a series of Globe questions.
Still, her first term was not without controversy even before her accident. Last year, she came under fire for an antisemitic tweet that played on Jewish stereotypes of money and power.
Then in June, during rush hour on a Friday afternoon, police say, Lara crashed a Honda Civic into a house while driving more than twice the speed limit. Authorities also say that the sedan she was driving was unregistered and uninsured, and that her son was not in a booster seat. Police reports indicate she has not had a valid license for years.
Lara was recently arraigned on nine charges in connection with the crash, and said she is “committed to seeing this process through and doing what is necessary to rectify my mistake.”
Whether voters will give her another term to do that remains to be seen. She is in a fight for her political life.
Some voters in her district, which includes Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and West Roxbury, said they are struggling to decide whom to support in the upcoming race. Or, more specifically, whether to keep supporting Lara.
In the preliminary election this fall, her opponents include William King, an IT director who lives in West Roxbury, and Benjamin Weber, an attorney who lives in Jamaica Plain.
JP Progressives is among those groups that have yet to say if they will endorse Lara a second time.
Messages left for Pressley were not returned. The Greater Boston Labor Council, which backed Lara during her first run for District Six, did not include her in its recently announced slate of municipal endorsements. Meanwhile, a political action committee for the Boston Teachers Union has endorsed Lara.
Some constituents say that she has done good work, but that the crash reflects a concerning lack of accountability in her personal life. Some wondered whether a white, male politician from Charlestown or South Boston would be treated similarly if the facts were the same.
Others are sticking with Lara, saying she represents her constituents well, particularly residents of color.
“You’re not the worst thing you’ve ever done,” said Danielle Sommer Kieta, a 40-year-old Egleston Square resident who continues to support the councilor.
Others, though, are in full-throated opposition to a politician they view as irresponsible. For instance, Eileen Keough, a 63-year-old West Roxbury resident who lives in District Six, wants Lara to resign.
“She needs to get her own life in order before she starts representing other people,” she said.
In an email, Lara said of the calls for her to resign, “All I can do is learn, grow, and make changes so the circumstances that led to this incident don’t happen again and advocate for systems change so some of the challenges are less likely to happen to others.”
Lara’s progressive stances have also brought her adamant opposition from more conservative corners of her district.
For instance, Stephen Morris, a 63-year-old registered Republican and real estate broker from West Roxbury, said, “She’s been a problem from the beginning, she doesn’t represent the people now.”
“It’s a continuation and escalation of how she’s been since Day 1,” he said of the Centre Street crash.
At least one of her colleagues, Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, has also called on her to resign.
To be sure, not everyone is jumping ship. Lara was one of two City Council candidates to recently earn the endorsement from the Boston Democratic Socialists of America.
“She is the first open socialist Black woman to ever serve on the Boston City Council,” the group said in its endorsement. “During her first term, Kendra has been a fearless champion for rent control, affordable housing, and reallocating police funding toward social services.”
Evan George, cochair of Boston DSA’s electoral group, recently summed up the group’s rationale: “The problems facing the people of Boston greatly outweigh the problems Kendra is currently facing.”
Meanwhile, Jacob Bor, a 40-year-old professor and board member of the Franklin Park Coalition who lives in Egleston Square, cited Lara’s history of involvement with community organizations and her approach to politics that “values community voice” as reasons for his continued support.
Bor also applauded Lara’s support for city funding of the Franklin Park Action Plan, a sweeping vision to improve Boston’s largest green space that includes upgrades to trails, picnic and play areas, and athletic fields, among other initiatives.
“I don’t see the direct bearing or connection between [the car crash] and . . . her policy advocacy,” Bor said. “That said, I think it’s a distraction and an unnecessary distraction. It’s a distraction that, unfortunately, she invited.”
He added, “I hope she survives this and learns from it and can communicate how she’s learned from it.”
Danny McDonald can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.
