One Boston City Council hopeful who is looking to unseat an established incumbent has issued an apology after facing questions about possible campaign law violations connected to his day job at City Hall.
“I sincerely apologize for the lapse in judgment,” said Enrique José Pepén, a Roslindale resident who is the executive director of the city’s neighborhood services.
Pepén reported more than $11,000 in campaign contributions for June, a haul that may contravene state law, which prohibits paid municipal employees who are not elected officials “from directly or indirectly soliciting or receiving contributions or anything of value for any political purpose.” That includes posting information on social media about a political fundraiser.
Additionally, Pepén appears to have promoted his campaign, including a campaign kick-off at Guira Y Tambora in Roslindale, on various social media channels during the past month, according to screenshots of the posts, which have since been taken down. Some of the posts included suggested contributions ranging from $50 to $1,000.
Pepén also appears to have conducted at least one political interview from City Hall. Those activities could fly in the face of state law that prohibits the use of public resources for a political purpose. Public resources covers anything paid for by the taxpayers, including employee time and work computers or phones.
According to his campaign, the City Hall interview was conducted after business hours and city Wi-Fi was not utilized. The campaign said it is working with “relevant compliance officials to see if there were any violations and how we can best move forward to ensure there are no mistakes.”
Pepén made his candidacy for the District 5 council seat official in early June, when he announced he would be leaving his City Hall job, where he makes $120,000 a year, this month.
“As previously planned I will be resigning from my role at the city on Monday, July 10th, to focus solely on engaging residents on the campaign trail to deliver the leadership that District 5 deserves,” Pepén said in a brief statement to the Globe.
The city’s neighborhood services where he works is a wide-ranging facet of Boston’s municipal operation. It is often the first stop for a bevy of services, anything from someone needing a permit to put an addition on their home to cannabis licenses and liquor licenses.
“We are clear with city employees that political activity may not take place during work hours or on city property and will continue to reinforce [that] throughout the municipal election season,” a spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement.
The son of Dominican immigrants, Pepén grew up in a Boston Housing Authority development, according to his campaign website. He has previously worked for former city councilor Tito Jackson and former congressman Joe Kennedy III and was a Jamaica Plain neighborhood liaison in the Office of Neighborhood Services under the Walsh administration starting in 2019.
His campaign website states, “I’m running to represent District 5 on the Boston City Council because I believe that with honest and intentional leadership, we can build a stronger community that serves everyone.”
Pepén is one of four candidates who have qualified for the District 5 race, according to the city elections department. There is the two-term incumbent, Ricardo Arroyo, who was recently cited for an ethics violation himself. And there are two other challengers: Hyde Park resident Jose A. Ruiz and Mattapan resident Jean-Claude Sanon. A new redistricting map has District 5 anchored in Hyde Park, but it also includes significant swaths of Mattapan and Roslindale.
Early voting for this year’s preliminary municipal election is slated to start Sept. 2, while Election Day for the preliminary contests will be Sept. 12.
Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.
