Lawrence, Massachusetts, city councilors voted no confidence in Mayor Brian DePeña on Tuesday after a three-week process marked by limited debate. The action targets the mayor’s ability to lead while he faces a combined 26 state and federal criminal charges. The council has no power to remove him, but the resolution is intended as political leverage.
The measure passed with the five votes required to advance. Council President Jeovanny Rodriguez, Vice President Ana Levy, and councilors Stephany Infante, Vivian Marmol, and Franklin Miguel voted yes. Marc Laplante voted no. Gregory Del Rosario, Celina Reyes, and Rosaly Gonzalez voted “present,” signaling attendance without taking a side.
DePeña, 61, a Democrat first elected in 2021 and reelected last year, has said he plans to stay in office. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
The Charges
Federal prosecutors allege DePeña illegally obtained $1.6 million in pandemic relief loans. He was arrested on those charges in August and entered a not-guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Boston.
State charges followed last month. Prosecutors accuse him of installing private security cameras in his City Hall office that recorded both video and audio. City security cameras record video only, and no public notice was given that the mayor’s cameras were also capturing sound. Charging documents allege he secretly recorded two employees, distributed the recording, and intimidated a witness. He faces 15 counts related to wiretapping law violations and witness intimidation and has pleaded not guilty in Essex Superior Court. He was arraigned on October 13.
Path to the Vote
Rodriguez, Levy, and Infante introduced the no-confidence resolution on October 6. The council initially fell one vote short of the six needed for an immediate vote and instead referred the matter to a special committee by a 5-4 margin.
On October 13—the same day as DePeña’s state arraignment—the council, sitting as a Committee of the Whole, voted 5-2 to recommend a no-confidence vote to the full body. That recommendation reached the council floor on Tuesday.
Laplante reiterated his preference for a recall petition, stating that residents should decide the city’s future. “I am ready and prepared to sign a recall petition to put this in front of the residents,” he said. “I believe the voters of Lawrence deserve to the opportunity to make that decision for themselves.”
Public Input and the Resolution’s Language
Only two residents spoke during public participation, a sharp contrast to the standing-room-only crowd that packed the chamber two weeks earlier. Rich Russell called the vote “a symbolic waste of the council’s time” and urged members to “let the process play out.” Fabian Rojas pressed the council to take a clear position: “Does this city council still have the confidence in the mayor of Lawrence? … You’re our leaders, your vote sends a message. People follow your lead. The people of Lawrence deserve to know where you stand.”
The resolution states that the mayor is responsible for “leading the city and instilling trust in the government of the people of Lawrence” and that his charges “send a message of distrust in the local government to people of Lawrence and distract the mayor in his function as the mayor.”
The no-confidence vote does not remove DePeña or trigger any automatic legal consequence. Its practical effect will depend on how the mayor, the council, and Lawrence residents respond in the weeks ahead while both criminal cases continue through the courts.