UPDATE: The council voted 12-0-1 in support of the Home Rule Petition on Wednesday. Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George – one of three councilors running for mayor – voted “present.”

Original post below

Will there be a special election for Mayor of Boston? Well, if it were up to City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo there won’t be one. A few weeks ago he announced that he is seeking to override a special election if Walsh leaves before March 5th.

Well, an internal City Councilor memo has surfaced questioning whether previously announced candidates for mayor that currently sit on the council can vote on Arroyo’s proposed Home Rule Petition. According to the Globe, the memo questions whether the declared candidates – Both City Councilor Michelle Wu and City Councilor Andrea Campbell and soon-to-be acting Mayor of Boston Kim Janey, could have a conflict of interest in the matter. Legal issues are referenced in the memo and with issues perhaps the petition would have to just go away. Basically the memo states that Wu, Campbell, and Janey could have a financial interest in canceling the special election and shouldn’t be allowed in participating in voting on the petition.

Arroyo responded with a “not so fast” and is challenging the accuracy of the legal memo and is referencing a letter from the state Ethics Commission he received on Friday supporting his position.

But what about other council members considering running like Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George and Councilor Michael Flaherty? Could they also have the same conflict of interest? These are all questions being raised.

Bottom line – the legal memo states that the petition would still need seven votes, or a majority of the full council, to pass. Home Rule Petition on special election for mayoral race override vote set for Wednesday.