Holy statues, Batman
The City Council meeting on Feb. 24th was a poorly performed farce. Our expectations were already low when our request for a public hearing on the religious statues commissioned by the Mayor was denied and we were subjected to a lengthy update on the entire Public Safety building project instead. While the statues are technically part of that construction, the first hour was spent recapping a $175 million capital project—floor plans, parking lots, onsite gym, etc. For those of us hoping for a meaningful dialogue—or for our councilors to actually advocate for concerned residents—it was a profound disappointment. When the statues finally came up, the discussion largely consisted of councilors parroting the mayor’s talking points in the form of questions.
Overall, there were no substantive questions about the statues. A couple councilors dropped soft hints similar to “maybe it would be nice, if it’s ok with the mayor, if we had a better process for choosing public art in the future.” When a councilor asked what residents should do if they are still mad about the statues, Chris Walker, the Mayor’s #2, snarked “Wait for the beautiful artwork.” He went on to say, “This decision has been made. He (Mayor Koch) understands some people don’t agree with it. That’s the price of doing business.” 🤔
Councilor McCarthy said he does not see the statues as having “any religious connotation.” Two weeks earlier he was quoted as saying the statues “will bless our first responders…It might help them. They might say a little prayer before they go out on duty.” Patriot Ledger 2/25/2025
Walker went on to encourage anyone with concerns to contact the mayor’s office, assuring them that the mayor welcomes the conversation because he "really believes in this." Oddly, no one asked why, if he was so committed, he chose not to have that conversation before making the purchase.
The gallery was filled with first responders who came to show support for the project, including the statues. This is a regular occurrence when an agenda item involves spending on public safety. Of course, first responders have every right to advocate for their needs; however, it’s uncomfortable to know that one of the chiefs requested their department attend.* The Mayor and the councilors who carry his water attempted to misframe the discussion: if you oppose the statues, you oppose the police and fire departments.
As we said in a subsequent video presentation:
“The council attempted to rewrite the plot, framing the discussion as a debate over support for our first responders—something A Just Quincy does not oppose.
The focus of our objection is clear: religious statues that violate both the Massachusetts and U.S. Constitutions, inserted into a public project without input from the people or their elected representatives, conceived and commissioned by one individual to reflect their own taste and religious sensibilities”.
Ian Cain stopped the proceedings at one point because of “disrespect” and “disruptions” from the crowd. He gaveled the meeting to a break while those in attendance “find their manners.” At the end of the meeting Mr. Cain gave an 8-minute monologue that featured his feelings on political opportunism and subversion. He expressed dismay that someone gave the statue purchase information to the Patriot Ledger. He felt their intent was to embarass the city council. He also felt that the statues are not meant to promote a religion and that all statues to some degree are religious in nature because they “deify people.” He then mistakenly identified St. Michael (an Archangel in the celestial realm) as a person. Councilor Cain went on for several more minutes contorting logic to establish precedent for these statues. His examples included: religious-adjacent artwork at the Boston Public Library and the MA State house and iconography at Quincy’s cemeteries. The third video in AJQ’s new video series starts to disect Councilor Cain’s innacurate speech.
Since the public hearing residents had requested never materialized, those concerned about the statues were invited by A Just Quincy to share their thoughts after the meeting. The discussion was hosted at the United First Parish Church (Church of the Presidents), just across the courtyard from City Hall. Salvatore Balsamo generously filmed both the city council meeting and AJQ’s public forum at the church hall, later producing an edited version that aired on QATV.
Mimi Balsamo speaks at the AJQ forum at the Church of the Presidents
The Patriot Ledger provided good coverage of the meeting.
Inspired by the terrible governance on display at the meeting, A Just Quincy started a video series: “Quincy, this is Your Government.” The first four episodes are out:
Quincy, this is Your Government, Vol. 1: Enjoy the Beautiful Artwork
Quincy, this is Your Government, Vol. 3: A Cain Derailment, Part 1
Quincy, this is Your Government, Vol. 4: A Cain Derailment, Part 2
Councilor Cain and Mayor Koch were subsequently interviewed by Joe Catalano on A.M. Quincy. You can view these interviews at the links provided, as well as:
an earlier version of this post said that both chiefs requested their departments attend the meeting. I have been told that is not accurate and adjusted the wording. Thanks
