Boston Bonuses
BOSTON BONUSES
Does Boston need another Tea Party?
This article is based on information from: www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-boston-city-councilor-sentenced-prison-federal-public-corruption-charges. (September 5, 2025)
Tania Fernandes Anderson, District 7 Councilor in Boston, has dealt poorly with money,
defrauded the people of Boston and she also omitted information on tax returns.
She overpaid a staffer who is also a relative (illegal) -
a $10,000 bonus on the condition of receiving a $7,000 kickback. Wow.
I've included this article here because I want to talk about elected officials in any level of governments having paid staff.
When our country was started, members of Congress had no paid staff.
How many layers of helpers do elected officials need to fulfill their elected duties? Does Boston elect such blank slates - that they can't think for themselves? Why do elected officials need personal staff that so they can know anything about the government they are elected to lead?
Why are they allowed personal staff that they can control to such a degree that they can use them to commit fraud against the taxpayers
And... why do governments pay bonuses?
As a taxpayer, I'm against bonuses, unless a government employee brings forward an idea that saves lives, time or money in the function of government.
Perhaps to be elected to a city council,
a candidate should have to pass a test to proves that he or she knows:
1) Basic traffic laws, and has a clean driving record
(especially no DUIs or passing a stopped school bus)
2) Laws on taxation, and judicial codes
3) Basic building codes and landlord/tenant laws
4) Can pass a test on the US Constitution.
5) Can pass a test on the demographics of that governmental unit
(race, income, crime, dropout rate, etc.)
6) Can pass a test on basic infrastructure
(how a road is built, how electricity, gas and water gets into a home, and how sewage gets out
see my middle grade novel on water in the US - DorpWet.com)
7) How different regulatory agencies interface at that layer of government.
8) How honest elections are conducted.
9) Understands the basic modes and operation of public transit.
If people running for election knew these things, they wouldn't need staffers to guide them through their duties like tour guides in a large city. Elected officials shouldn't need tour guides.
But then, this is what 11th and 12th grade high school history should consist of.
I would love to see an online university build a college-level minor degree program on basic
Elected Governance, with sections on each layer of government. And I would love to be a part of that process. Let's elect people with something more that passion.
Let's elect people with knowledge of governance.
