State regulators have taken significant steps against Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson. These actions involve multiple campaign finance violations and have raised concerns about compliance with state laws.

Unraveling the Campaign Finance Woes of a Boston Councilor

Regulatory Actions and Their Implications

State regulators have hit Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson with multiple campaign finance violations. This was uncovered during a routine analysis of her campaign finance reports filed between November 2023 and September 2024. As a result, she has agreed to appoint a new treasurer and remit $1,750 to the state.Fernandes Anderson, 45, has served on the city council since 2022, representing District 7 which includes Roxbury. Born in Cape Verde, she is the first African immigrant and the first Muslin-American to serve on the legislative panel. One of the violations was related to late disclosure of deposits to her campaign committee. State law requires candidates to file timely disclosures of their fundraising, and all contributions greater than $50 must be itemized. Fernandes Anderson failed to promptly disclose $32,900 of the $34,500 deposited into the campaign's account during the specified period."The [c]ommittee's delay in filing the reports frustrated the goal of the campaign finance law's requirement of accurate and timely disclosure," wrote William C. Campbell, the office's director. Campbell's office also took action for only complying after sending numerous letters, phone calls, and emails requesting information.State regulators also required Fernandes Anderson to return $100 in "excess" contributions to state Sen. Liz Miranda's campaign committee. State law bars candidate committees from contributing more than $100 in aggregate to each other in a single calendar year.Although she corrected the violations, Campbell said no further action is warranted at this time. However, he added that further instances of noncompliance could be referred to the state Attorney General's Office.

Previous Regulatory Troubles

This isn't the first time Fernandes Anderson has found herself in regulatory hot water. In 2023, she agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty after admitting to violating a conflict of interest law by hiring her sister and son to paid positions on her council staff. Each was hired at lower salaries that were soon bumped to $70,000. In an interview with The Boston Globe at the time, Fernandes Anderson said she moved swiftly to correct the error. "The minute I knew, I corrected it," she told the newspaper. "I'm harder on my son than I am on staff."