State Rep. Marjorie Decker Calls for City Councilor Paul Toner’s Resignation

Massachusetts State Rep. Marjorie C. Decker called on Cambridge City Councilor Paul F. Toner to resign in a Thursday statement, increasing the pressure on the embattled local official to leave City Hall.

“In order to ensure that the focus remains on the needs of victims and the future prevention of sex trafficking in our communities, I believe that Councillor Toner’s ability to serve in his current capacity is compromised beyond reconciliation,” Decker wrote in an Instagram post.

The representative previously condemned Toner’s alleged participation in a high-end brothel network operating in Cambridge during a community town hall last week, but did not call on him to resign.

Decker, who represents most of Harvard’s campus, is now the second member of Cambridge’s state delegation to call for Toner’s resignation. She joins fellow Rep. Mike L. Connolly, who has been very public in calling for Toner’s resignation since the Councilor was charged.

Toner was charged with sexual conduct for a fee after a police report found he allegedly patronized the brothel network at least 13 times throughout 2023. The ringleaders of the brothel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice and coerce one or more individuals to travel interstate to engage in prostitution, with one sentenced to four years in prison.

Andrew M. Paven, a spokesperson for Toner, declined to comment on Decker’s Thursday calls for Toner’s resignation.

Decker’s statement centered on the sex trafficking — which is defined as the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age” by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“We cannot continue to talk about the people who buy sex without recognizing the women on the other side of the transaction. Sex trafficking can only exist when there are people who are willing to buy sex,” Decker wrote.

She also emphasized the need to address the coercion of women involved in the brothel network.

“While the women in this case are nameless and faceless, we need to continue to remember and center their humanity,” Decker wrote. “Research consistently shows that between 84% and 87% of women who sell their bodies for sex worldwide report feeling they have no choice in the matter.”

The pressure for Toner to resign has continued to build, with Decker’s statement adding to ongoing criticism from residents and elected officials. Decker’s updated statement comes after Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern changed course on the issue, calling on Toner to resign on Wednesday night after previously falling short of doing so.

Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui and Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler have also called on Toner to resign. Only one Councilor — Catherine “Cathie” Zusy — has come to Toner’s aid to argue that he should maintain his position.

At the end of her statement, Decker argued that the community must come together to prevent an instance such as this from happening again.

“It is critical that we continue to raise awareness and educate our community to prevent exploitation like this from happening again,” she added.

— Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at shawn.boehmer@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

— Staff writer Jack B. Reardon can be reached at jack.reardon@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @JackBReardon.