John Kerry Ticketed For Failing to Shovel Boston Residence Sidewalk

John Kerry Ticketed For Failing to Shovel Boston Residence Sidewalk

Jan 30, 2015, 10:36 AM ET

BY ALEXANDER MALLIN

In this photo taken Wednesday, caution tape is wrapped around the sidewalk of Secretary of State John Kerry's residence in Boston.

citofboston.gov

He’s been a soldier, an attorney, a lawmaker, a presidential candidate and he’s now the head of the U.S. State Department. But that doesn’t mean John Kerry doesn’t have to follow the rules like the rest of us.

According to a complaint on Boston’s Citizens Connect website, Kerry apparently neglected to shovel snow off the sidewalk of his Boston residence following the massive Northeast blizzard earlier this week.

To be fair, Kerry was not in the United States when the white stuff rolled over Boston.

On Tuesday, he was attending the president’s delegation to pay respects to deceased Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and immediately upon his return had to attend Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s farewell ceremony in Virginia.

Kerry spokesman Glen Johnson emailed a statement over the incident to ABC News saying, "Diplomats -- they're just like us."

Johnson said Kerry's neighborhood association hires a contractor who did, in fact, shovel after the storm.

But the contractor apparently failed to shovel one of Kerry’s sidewalks because someone had strung along caution tape to warn pedestrians of falling snow and ice from the roof.

Johnson said the contractor apparently thought it meant the sidewalk was off limits.

The ordeal cost Kerry a whopping $50, which Johnson said Kerry will "gladly pay."

However, Boston is forecasted to experience even more snowfall this weekend, so there may be more shoveling ahead.

It’s not the first complaint submitted for the Kerry residence on the Citizens Connect website. Dating back to April of last year, one resident complained that the police guarding the Kerry residence sit in their car with the engine running.

“It's nice and cool out,” the complaint reads. “There's absolutely no need for air conditioning.”