Suspended metropolis legal professional John Houton is suing the mayor and Metropolis of Boston, alleging that the Wu administration retaliated in opposition to him when he pursued a bid for mayor, by inserting him on go away and taking steps to maintain him off the poll.
Houton filed a lawsuit in Boston federal courtroom earlier this month in opposition to town, Mayor Michelle Wu, the Boston Election Division and its commissioner Eneida Tavares, town’s company counsel and his boss Adam Cederbaum, town’s chief monetary officer Ashley Groffenberger, and Secretary of State Invoice Galvin.
“The city maliciously suspended plaintiff because it was their intent to thwart plaintiff’s candidacy,” Houton wrote within the Nov. 3 lawsuit. “The City of Boston through the actions of Cederbaum and Wu sought to prevent candidate Houton’s ideas from being heard, considered, debated or accepted by the electorate.”
“The placing of plaintiff on leave has essentially ended his career at the city, ruined his professional reputation and amount to the constructive dismissal of plaintiff from his job while imperiled his candidacy for mayor of Boston,” he added.
The grievance is reflective of what Houton informed the Herald and different media retailers when town positioned him on go away in Could — that the Wu administration, together with Cederbaum, retaliated in opposition to him for taking out papers to problem the mayor, by suspending him and making false statements about him to the media that broken his status and hindered his skill to get on the poll.
A metropolis spokesperson issued an announcement to the media about Houton’s suspension in mid-Could, saying that the transfer was made to maintain the regulation division “non-political” and sought to distance Mayor Wu from the matter.
“In order to perform its essential functions, the law department’s work depends on being fully non-political in its operations, and, importantly, the department must be perceived as non-political by cabinet chiefs and department heads seeking advice and counsel,” a Wu spokesperson mentioned in an announcement on the time.
“Employment decisions relating to Mr. Houton, a law department official who represents the city’s finance department, are being handled by the city’s office of human resources, in consultation with outside counsel. Mayor Wu is not involved.”
Houton challenges the legitimacy of that assertion in his lawsuit, declaring that Kerry Augustin, one other metropolis worker who took out papers to run for mayor, was not positioned on administrative go away and stayed on the job throughout this election cycle.
He additionally talked about the mayor’s backing of a number of metropolis staff who’ve run for Metropolis Council on this fall’s election cycle, and the one which befell in 2023. Wu backed metropolis worker Alexandra Valdez in her bid for councilor-at-large this 12 months, and endorsed two then-city staff Enrique Pepén and Henry Santana once they first ran for metropolis council two years in the past.
Houton in the end fell nicely wanting the three,000 signature threshold, and didn’t make the poll for the September preliminary election. Wu, Kraft, and two different candidates made the poll. Wu defeated her principal opponent Kraft by 49 factors within the major, main Kraft to drop out of the race two days later and Wu to cruise to uncontested reelection this month.
Houton mentioned his efforts to assemble signatures and join with voters across the metropolis had been hindered by town’s actions to droop him and harm his skilled status with its “false and defamatory” statements to the media — “painting him as a partisan staff attorney,” relatively than the “professional, experienced assistant corporation counsel” he has been for years, the lawsuit states.
Many citizens he met with refused to signal his nomination papers, citing media reviews that said he was positioned on administrative go away and town’s assertion, Houton’s lawsuit states.
He informed the Herald that he stays on paid administrative go away, and want to return to his job as assistant company counsel within the metropolis’s regulation division. Houton, a 59-year-old South Finish resident, has labored within the metropolis’s regulation division for the previous 18 years, and, per metropolis payroll data, was paid $147,668 final 12 months.
“Assistant corporation counsel for the treasury department has been the best job of my career,” Houton informed the Herald Thursday. “I have served four administrations — professionally, ethically and responsibly. I’ve acquired unique and specialized knowledge and valuable experience at the city. This administration doesn’t value any of it.”
Houton declined to remark, when requested whether or not he anticipates town will take any motion, because it pertains to his job, for submitting a lawsuit in opposition to his employer, whereas citing the pending litigation.
The lawsuit additionally facilities on a second, extra administrative grievance.
The opposite is that Houton contends the Boston metropolis constitution’s signature threshold for mayoral candidates, with 3,000 signatures required to get on the poll, is prohibitive to aspiring candidates, given the brief timeframe candidates are allotted to assemble signatures by town’s Election Division after taking out papers.
He alleges in his lawsuit that town’s system is designed to assist incumbents like Michelle Wu, and different candidates which have the monetary means to deploy volunteers to assemble signatures like Josh Kraft, a son of the billionaire Patriots proprietor who misplaced to Wu, whereas excluding everybody else. Houton contends that’s unconstitutional.
Mayor Wu’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark.
