Cambridge residents are calling for Councilor Paul Toner to step down after he was charged within the brothel “johns” intercourse case, saying that him staying on the board “erodes public trust.”
Toner, who’s the previous president of the Massachusetts academics union, is considered one of dozens of males charged with shopping for intercourse from a busted Boston-area brothel ring.
Three leaders of the ring have pleaded responsible to associated crimes, together with intercourse trafficking. Twenty-eight males complete are anticipated to be named as “johns,” and Toner is the one public official revealed up to now.
Forward of Monday’s Cambridge Metropolis Council assembly, a number of residents weighed in on whether or not Toner ought to resign or keep on the board. The residents wrote emails to the Metropolis Council and Metropolis Clerk about Toner.
“I am deeply concerned about the allegations brought against Paul Toner in the Cambridge Brothel situation,” resident Ann Fleck-Henderson wrote. “He is a public official, entrusted with upholding the law and, hopefully, protecting the most vulnerable among us. He is now implicated in harming the most vulnerable.
“His continued presence on the Council erodes public trust and… provides a very flawed model of public service to our young people interested in the city and its governance,” the resident added. “If Paul Toner continues to refuse resignation, I request that the Council consider his removal from his Cambridge City Council seat. There are many capable people in the City who could fill that position.”
Toner was stripped of 5 committee chair and co-chair titles after he was charged final month. He had been the chair of the ordinance and authorities operations committees. He was additionally the co-chair of the general public security, finance, and financial growth and college relations committees.
Some public officers have been calling for Toner’s resignation.
“I believe that we are all much more than the worst things we have ever done,” resident Suzanna Schell wrote in an electronic mail. “At the same time, Councillor Toner has abused the trust that we the citizens of Cambridge have placed in him and he must resign.”
Different residents are sticking in Toner’s nook regardless of the allegations, saying he ought to stay on the council.
“Paul has made a mistake in his life and will have to live with that for the rest of his life,” Thomas Anninger wrote. “His mistake has nothing to do with his role on the city council. He is an exceptionally effective city councillor who represents his constituents faithfully and conscientiously.
“In situations like this compassion is what is called for,” Anninger added. “Calls for his resignation are entirely political. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone!”
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