QUINCY ‒ Though their efforts to repeal significant raises for Mayor Thomas Koch and nine city councilors fell short, members of a citizens activist group say a grassroots movement organized around the issue will continue to make waves in the city.
"The collective power of Quincy's citizens is the only force that can start to regenerate democracy and justice in Quincy," wrote Joe Murphy, one of the lead members of A Just Quincy, shortly after volunteers failed to collect enough signatures to force a referendum on what they see as excessive pay increases for the mayor and the council.
In June, the city council voted 8-1 to increase Koch's annual compensation from just under $160,000 to $285,000. Councilors also raised their own salaries from $29,700 to $43,500. Ward 5 Councilor Dan Minton registered the sole vote against both raises, which take effect Jan. 1, 2025.
After the increases passed, opponents tried to use a state law stipulating that a petition signed by at least 12% of registered voters would suspend the measure from taking effect and force a referendum in the next citywide election.
They had 20 days to collect about 8,000 signatures. Leading member Maggie McKee reported that about 100 volunteers managed to solicit 6,030 for the mayor's raise and 4,642 for that of the council.
Group leaders have emphasized that they do not oppose pay increases per se. Rather, they think the raises should match the more modest raises received by other public employees, such as teachers.
They point out that city council has vaulted Koch's pay above the mayors of some of the country's most populous cities, including New York City, Chicago and Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu receives $207,000 annually.
Proponents of the raise note that Koch's last and only raise came in 2014, and that despite Quincy's transformation under his leadership, Koch's salary lags behind many of his subordinates on the city payroll.
The forming of an opposition group
Murphy, who ran unsuccessfully for the city council in 2017, 2019 and 2021, said he had almost given up on the possibility of bottom-up civic engagement playing any role in Quincy's affairs. But that changed after a consultant's initial recommendation to set Koch's salary as high as $370,000 sparked outrage.
"A bunch of us got in our heads to write letters to the editor," Murphy said. They exchanged drafts and provided each other feedback.
They didn't know it at the time, but a new organization was taking shape.
Murphy credits McKee's step of starting a Slack channel for the initiative. The channel made visible how many people opposed the raises and wanted to help strategize a response, Murphy said.
From there, Murphy created a group website, AJustQuincy.com, which provides detailed information on the debate surrounding the raises from the opposition's point of view, as well several blog entries chronicling the thoughts and experiences of group members.
Though the group couldn't force a referendum, the almost 10,700 signatures convinced Murphy that they would have succeeded with a little more time.
The signature drive picked up momentum in the last days before the deadline, he said, especially after media coverage broadcast their efforts to larger audiences.
“We collected as many signatures in the last couple of days as in the first couple of weeks,” Murphy said.
Accusations of 'bullying' during the signature drive
In a July 10 blog post on AJustQuincy.com, McKee wrote that some volunteers, particularly women, reported bullying as they solicited signatures from residents.
Unidentified people reportedly told the women to go home and take care of their families, McKee told The Patriot Ledger, a sentiment which the women perceived as misogynistic.
In addition, group member Bonnie Gorman said Quincy's event coordinator, John McDonald, told her not to petition at the city-sponsored "Patriotic Celebration," held July 6 at the Hancock-Adams Common.
A Vietnam veteran nurse and a member of a Gold Star family, Gorman said she especially had a right to collect signatures at the event.
“This event was honoring veterans and Gold Star families,” she wrote in an email to The Patriot Ledger. “As veterans, we fought and died to defend democracy. These petitions were exercising democracy.”
McDonald said his objection had nothing to do with the content of Gorman’s petition.
“I’m not involved with policy,” he said. “I’m an event coordinator. ... Personally, I think you shouldn't be approached for a political agenda (at entertainment events). But I cannot espouse those thoughts."
McDonald said Koch and Chris Walker, Koch's chief of staff, subsequently informed him that citizens have the right to solicit signatures on the Hancock-Adams Common.
McDonald said Gorman moved to another spot on the common where she continued to collect signatures, a statement Gorman confirmed. He described the confrontation as a passing moment in a day that kept him occupied coordinating performances and directing city employees.
“(The signature collecting) just continued, and that was that,” McDonald said.
The group charts its next steps
While the group is now resting and reflecting after the sprint to collect signatures, McKee outlined a number of issues it might soon tackle.
These include advocating for term limits for mayors and city councilors. First elected in 2007, Koch is Quincy's longest-serving mayor. In November 2023, he defeated former City Councilor Anne Mahoney to win his seventh term.
The group may also turn its attention to a proposal by City Council President Ian Cain to reform how future mayors and councilors receive raises. On June 17, Cain laid out a plan that would automatically tack on annual cost-of-living adjustments to baseline salaries.
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Under the reform plan, every five years a council-appointed board of three would consider further adjustments based on performance, community satisfaction and achievement of strategic goals.
The idea has already attracted criticism from A Just Quincy member Pam Brennan, who objected to further pay increases on top of the raises just passed, which she characterizes as outlandish.
As the group tries to sustain and build on the momentum built out of opposition to the raises, member Kathy Nason posted a survey to identify priorities. Among the topics, one suggests running "a slate of candidates that will champion transparency and accountability to replace our current city councilors in 2025."
Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at pblandino@patriotledger.com.
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