Intro to ethics

Here’s a quick summary: It has been revealed that the reason, at least in part, that the mayor and the councilors decided to defer their raises was an ethics inquiry being conducted by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. According to reporting by the Patriot Ledger, the inquiry had to do with the law on conflicts of interest.

On October 30, The Quincy Sun published an interview with Mayor Koch in which he discusses the ethics investigation, the deferments, and the raises themselves. He then goes on to attack a single resident with whom he seems especially irritated.

I broke this down in a video this week. You can watch the entire 20-minute video here. But I’m going to break it up into four parts in this blog post.

Part 1

The beginning of the article provides an in-depth look at the ethics investigation from Mayor Koch’s perspective. He discusses how he would have had to retain legal counsel to effectively fight the state’s investigation and adds that relentless pressure from people fighting the raises was creating a distraction in his day-to-day duties.

Part 1: ethics investigation and its role in the deferment decision.

Part 2

This section of the article delves into the financial implications of the deferments currently under discussion. The funds continue to remain in the overall budget, allowing for allocation to other departments as necessary, or they can be utilized for purposes such as free cash or rainy-day funds. The mayor has expressed a desire to maintain these ordinances in place as a tangible reminder of the agreements that were established regarding new salaries and the corresponding payments that should be enacted. While he has stated that he will not be accessing this money immediately, he emphasized its importance as a “visible reminder” of those commitments. This situation has sparked much speculation among observers, suggesting that there may be more to this than meets the eye. Some believe that leaving the raises included in the legislation could potentially provide a strategic advantage in future pension calculations.

Part 2 on our breakdown of the ethics investigation's role in the raise deferment: the mayor's rationale starts to fall apart. #mapoli #quincyma #salarygate #ajq #ajustquincy

Part 3

In this section, we delve into Mayor Koch’s ongoing complaints: citizens frequently underestimate just how challenging and demanding his job truly is. Moreover, many residents don’t seem to care that other prominent positions, such as school superintendent, police and fire chiefs, and town managers, often receive significantly higher salaries than mayors. He draws a comparison between Quincy’s situation and that of Cambridge, where the mayor and city manager are distinct roles, and notably, the city manager enjoys a substantial salary. We then flash back to the city council deliberations that took place in June, where the councilors repeatedly remind everyone that we are discussing the “position” itself and not any individual person who occupies that role.

In this section, we delve into Mayor Koch’s ongoing complaints.

Part 4

This part is, to me, the most shocking. Mayor Koch publicly criticizes a resident by name and street, saying they received special treatment from the city after a natural disaster. Now, that same person dares to protest the proposed raises. This behavior is beneath the mayor's office, and I strongly believe Mayor Koch should apologize to this individual.

Part 4, where the mayor puts an individual resident on blast.