The truth is endangered, especially on the Boston City Council.
That’s why we must address the Jamaica Plain Progressives’ flawed support Sunday of District 6 Councilor Kendra Lara on the eve of Tuesday’s preliminary election.
It’s a fact that members of the JPP went rogue and helped fund Lara’s independent crash analysis, as first reported in the Herald. It’s also true they did so without informing group leadership as Lara’s endorsement was being considered.
It’s clear Lara is desperately trying to control the narrative so she can keep her job that will pay $115,000 next year. Her case remains in a court of law, but she doesn’t have time for courts. She wants her accident adjudicated in the court of public opinion.
That cannot go unchallenged.
Lara is accused of speeding on June 30. The officer who wrote the report said Lara had been traveling at least 53.41 mph, and as fast as 59.29 mph, at the point of impact.
She is accused of crashing into a home on Centre Street where the speed limit is 25 mph. She slammed through an iron fence before hitting the porch and foundation, police said.
Lara claimed Thursday her own crash analysis clocked her at 27 mph, according to a study conducted by The Crash Lab of the car’s black box.
Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, called it all “a bunch of nonsense.”
He’s right. Introduce that in court and let the professionals dig into the data. Floating an alternative theory in the run-up to an election reeks. Getting financial support for the study from JPP members smells worse.
The JPP steering committee posted online Sunday it “was not aware that individual members were involved in fundraising efforts to support obtaining the event data recorder and we cannot comment on the details surrounding these efforts, as these actions were taken independently.”
The group added: “There will be internal discussions among the steering committee and community conversations to reflect on our governance policies and endorsement processes and whether changes need to be made.”
We can condense that for them: How about adopting a rule that anyone who gives financial support to a candidate in a criminal case should be banned from the JPP. Anything less just sullies the group’s standing.
The truth matters. Reputations take time to build.
Lara’s crash landed her son in the hospital and police body camera footage proves that was the overriding concern of everyone involved. But it could have been worse.
Parents and kids were walking up and down Centre Street that day. It’s a blessing nobody was seriously injured.
But a city councilor should set the example and show she is not above the law.
The JPP is wearing blinders by ignoring all that’s swirling around this case. They are pushing a candidate who fits their agenda while burying the truth.
Kendra Lara is not the best choice for District 6 voters — at least not for those who obey speed limits and RMV regulations.
