Is Salarygate a Financial Crime?

An editorial by Joe Murphy (with Spencer Henderson)
Their opinion does not necessarily convey an official position by A Just Quincy

As the presidential candidates have outlined their plans to combat inflation, I’ve been reflecting on a very specific cost spike to Quincy taxpayers. We have been subjected to terrible self-dealing from our elected leaders during a time when we are already struggling with inflation, price gouging, and other anti-consumer practices.

AJQ continues to try and burst our elected leaders' bubble.

Late this past spring, Mayor Koch put forward ordinances to raise his salary by 79% and the city council’s salary by 58%, starting this coming January. The members of the city council voted to pass the mayor’s 79% pay increase, and their own 50% salary boost. These raises come at taxpayers’ expense, and I started wondering whether they share similarities with other anti-consumer practices, like price gouging.

Price gouging?

You could understand why someone might view the recent raises the mayor and city council have given themselves as a type of price gouging. Key characteristics of price gouging – and my assessment of whether the raises meet them – include:

☑ excessive price increases of essential services

☑ exploitation of consumers' lack of alternatives,

☑ a lack of justification, meaning there are no corresponding price increases that necessitate these increases, and

☐ an emergency or crisis being exploited.

The raises tick the first three boxes, but not the last – there was no emergency that required the council to quickly pass the mayor’s requested raises. While that lack of urgency actually makes the increases all the more frustrating to many taxpayers, it means they don’t technically qualify as price gouging.

Price fixing?

Price fixing is an illegal practice where competing businesses agree on setting prices for goods or services, rather than allowing market competition to determine them. This doesn’t seem to be the right label for the situation at hand. In this case, the mayor and city council are agreeing on high, artificial pricing, but they are not competitors. Therefore, they are not suppressing competition because they are already the only game in town. One of the reasons elected leaders are not paid as well as their hired counterparts is that there is no competition. “Elect me and I’ll do it for less money” is not a natural campaign tactic. Furthermore, price -fixing is typically conducted in secret among competitors. While there were certainly private conversations held out of public view, much of this was done openly.

A different type of collusion?

We’ve ruled out price -fixing for now, as it's typically used by competitors to bypass the pricing constraints imposed by competition. However, some hallmarks of collusion are evident in this case: 

☑ mutual benefit

☑ harm to consumers  

☑ artificial conditions* 

☑ intent to deceive or manipulate 

Do we need a specific term for this type of governmental collusion? The Justice Department usually focuses on government procurement, where bid rigging (pre-determined winning bids through collusion) may occur, and on wage suppression by colluding competitors. What we’ve observed in "Salarygate" seems different, with no apparent safeguards to prevent it.

But isn’t that what elections are for? 

I don't see elections as an adequate safeguard against the scheme employed in Salarygate for the following reasons:

1. Rackets like this are typically carried out by those already in office (these raises were proposed and passed just a few months after the mayor and councilors started their new terms). Incumbents win re-election 70-90% of the time, depending on the study. With such a huge advantage for incumbents, concerns of losing their next election cannot be relied upon as a deterrent, especially when the changes are pushed through well before the next election cycle.

2. On the contrary, Salarygate illustrates how timing can provide a strong incentive for misfeasance. The mayor will receive his new salary of $285,000 during each of the last three years of his current four-year term – a staggering $402,000 more than he would have made with no raise. Additionally, with three years of salary at the new artificially high number, the mayor will have triggered a significant increase in pension contributions upon retirement. So even if the mayor were to run again and lose because of the raises, Quincy’s taxpayers will still be paying for them for years to come.

I've been asked by more than one person, “Why are you still hung up on this?” and others have advised my cohort to move past it. However, finding this situation and the behavior of our elected officials odious, we have no choice but to indict and conduct a trial in the court of public opinion. This is how we are trying to restore sanity and democracy to our municipal government; this is how we hold those we elect accountable.

While there are countless local implications – about a quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer funding per year (when combined with city council salaries) and further strain on a struggling pension system among them – there will also be broader effects. Elected officials across the country will undoubtedly point to Quincy’s mayor as a comparable salary benchmark. Relating this back to my initial point, in a country already suffering from inflation, corporate anti-trust behavior, and general income inequality, various versions of "Salarygate" occurring across the nation will exacerbate these issues.

While we face increased costs for core expenses like food, insurance, utilities, and higher interest rates, we need our elected officials to act in the manner in which the voters of Quincy expect and deserve – to represent the best interests of our city and its residents. To propose and affirm such an increase for their own salaries right after they took the oath of office may not be a financial crime according to the letter of the law, but it feels like one. It also has the same effect: Quincy taxpayer money is being taken and given to our elected leaders.  Objections, clearly and loudly raised by Quincy’s residents, have fallen on deaf ears. 

The mayor and city council’s getaway plan is to wait the outrage out. This move has worked for them in the past when our hospital closed, when property taxes went up, or when sweetheart deals for developers were struck. It is up to the people of Quincy to decide if it will work again.

* The Dorminson report, commissioned by the Quincy Office of Finance, artificially created conditions to justify an exorbitant raise. The report misleadingly compared the mayor's salary to those of town managers instead of his peer mayors. See other AJQ articles for more information. Information — A Just Quincy and Patriot Ledger article — A Just Quincy

It’s election season

It’s August already…I hate that. Summer just flies by. It seems just like a few weeks ago we were in those heady days of collecting signatures and trying to force some sense into our city council. Oh, it was a few weeks ago? Weird.

As we head into late summer, the big sprint of election season is upon us. A primary election is coming up on September 3rd, and two of Quincy’s city councilors are facing races — Councilor Noel DiBona for Norfolk County Register of Deeds and Councilor Ian Cain for US Senate.

In my opinion, neither of these city councilors has acquitted themselves well in recent months. Both voted in favor of the exorbitant raises for the mayor and city council, the same raises that led to the creation of the website I am posting from. As of this writing, 24 residents have reported sending Councilor DiBona an email asking him to meet and discuss the raises he supported, with none reporting a response from him. Seven people have reported sending a note to Councilor Cain, with one person reporting a response. It makes sense that Councilor Cain would receive fewer emails, since he represents residents of Ward 3, while Councilor DiBona represents the city “at-large.”

Register of Deeds

The Registry of Deeds is where property records are maintained for Norfolk County’s 28 communities. The register supervises this office and serves as an assistant recorder of the Massachusetts Land Court. Property owners can contact this office to obtain a copy of their deed, file a homestead declaration, record mortgage discharges, and seek assistance with historical or genealogical research.

The incumbent register has held the office since 2002. There have only been 11 registers since the office was established in 1793. The registry staff appears to be small, consisting of the register and two assistants, all of whom are attorneys.

Register of deeds candidates as they appear on the Commonwealth’s sample Democratic primary ballot.

This past week, many of you may have seen the mayor’s endorsement of Councilor DiBona in your mail:

Mayor Koch sent out a mailing endorsing Noel DiBona

I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide if the mayor’s description is accurate. However, I would like to draw your attention to this section: “Ultimately, the Register’s office is highly focused on customer service, and that makes Noel extremely qualified…” This stood out to me because I did not find Councilor DiBona’s recent silence regarding resident concerns to be in service to the many who have asked him to address his position on the mayor’s raise. It’s natural to wonder if the mayor’s endorsement influenced the councilor’s decision to support the extremely high salary increase.

US Senator:

Republican Senate candidates as they appear in the Commonwealth’s sample Republican primary ballot

Ward 3 Councilor Ian Cain is running to be the Republican candidate for the US Senate, who will go on to challenge Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Warren in November. Like Councilor DiBona, Councilor Cain also touts an endorsement from Mayor Koch: “In all the time I have known Ian, he has been a man of his word. When he promises something to the people of Quincy, he delivers, which is a quality we desperately need in Washington. I am excited to support his campaign for Senate, and I know the people of Massachusetts can count on him to lead us into the future.”

Councilor Cain is also a founder of QUBIC Labs, an incubator that works with entrepreneurs in the blockchain technology space (e.g., cryptotechnology). This spring, Quincy became the first US municipality to issue a bond via blockchain. Quincy issued $10 million in tax-exempt bonds, with the entirety purchased by JP Morgan for distribution to its investors.

QUBIC also received a $2 million grant from the outgoing Baker-Polito administration in 2022. At that time, Mayor Koch said, “I’m incredibly proud of the work QUBIC Labs has done right here in Quincy in just a very short time, and this award is a firm recognition of its potential to grow, create good jobs, and make Quincy a hub for the tech economy in the years ahead.”

It will take time to unpack the meaning and implications of these developments, but the links between the city’s finances and its leaders are worth watching.

A Just Quincy came together to protest the links between the mayor, who proposed the pay hikes, and the council, who approved and benefits from them. Does it feel unsettling to you that the financial prospects of city councilors and the mayor are so intertwined? Does connecting these dots make the council’s lack of pushback on the raises less surprising?

NINE NINE!

Speaking of Quincy’s city council, its first meeting back after the summer break is the evening of Monday, September 9th. A Just Quincy is organizing another rally to protest the raises the mayor and council have given themselves (79% and 50% respectively). We have been seeing some interesting notices around town lately inviting the residents to attend and participate in what we are calling the NINE NINE! rally.

Share your favorite — clearly real :P — pic on your social media channels!

— Joe Murphy, A Just Quincy co-founder

Start the presses

Hey, it’s Joe here. We have a new page on A Just Quincy’s website, www.ajustquincy.com/press .

So you’re enjoying the summer weather with a friend. Maybe you’re strolling along Wollaston Beach or taking a swim near Edgewater or Perry beaches. Maybe you’re at the Hancock Adams Common, resisting the urge to jump in the fountains. Your friend is one of those people who love to stay oblivious to the local news. They say, “Ok, what’s going on with this mayor raise stuff?” You’re rightly exasperated and can’t bring yourself to explain it all to this Johnny-come-lately (or Jane-come-lately), who you’re now concerned never bothered to sign the petition you told them about.

Well, now you can simply point them to ajustquincy.com/press and they can catch up on all of this Summer’s hullabaloo on their own. You can get back to jumping off the PL in Houghs Neck.

Of course, if you are like me, you probably started the story from the beginning and are already up to the second city council meeting in the time it took you to read this blog post.

We had a meeting…

(A blog post by Joe Murphy)
I am introvert…or an extrovert…maybe an ambivert. I could be an introverted extrovert or an extroverted introvert…I guess what I’m saying is, I’m complicated like most people, and I don’t really love meetings. That’s not a novel opinion. The internet is full of memes from people who hate having meetings. It’s a whole subgenre.

When AJQ planned their first official in-person meeting, I was partially excited but also a bit nervous. But the meeting that happened Thursday night at the main branch of the TCPL was not what I expected. Over 50 people showed up!! Many of whom said this was their first time getting involved with community activism. That was exciting to hear. My flabber, was gasted.

I had a rough agenda for the meeting, but it just went out the door for a number of reasons.

1. FIFTY+ people!! That’s a lotta people.

2. The Thomas Crane Library’s fire alarm went off just as we got going.

3. We wanted to hear from people first.
   

As AJQ’s co-founders, Maggie and I ran the meeting, and it was a bit chaotic at times. We decided to go around the room and have each person share why they were interested and what they wanted to work on. Overall, we received some wonderful input. Here are some highlights:

• Mark Your Calendars!!! The city council’s first meeting back from summer hiatus will be on September 9th. AJQ will be there in force. We plan to make a strong presence before the meeting and then attend it together. We did this before the last two meetings, but this time we hope to have a much larger crowd.

• Get out those mail apps because we are emailing, folks!
  We are going to keep up the pressure on our elected leaders, we want meetings or hearings to discuss the raises. We are not finished talking about this issue. These communication projects will be demanding our councilors make time to meet within their community to discuss our concerns. Right now there are two projects running in parallel:

1. We are We are creating an email template that people can personalize and send to city councilors.

2. We are drafting a formal letter to be sent to each city councilor, complete with signatures from their constituents.

Please participate in both initiatives if you can.

• AJQ is going to do some research and report out the response rate people get from the letters they write to our elected leaders.

• We are going to support a slate of city council candidates to challenge most of the existing council.

• Subcommittees will be forming to tackle the various issues and tasks necessary for our mission’s success. If you have a specific strength, interest, or passion for one of our projects, email info@ajustquincy.com so we can keep you informed as these committees are established.

So this meeting was productive in its own way. Still meetings at this phase of our development will often be about preparing to meet. But as you saw from our petition referendum, we can cook when the time comes.

at AJQ, we promise to make meetings fun and productive, and rare.

What you can look forward to:

Check AJQ.com and this blog for instructions on how to participate in our letter and signature drive.

Look for a form that will help us determine how often our elected leaders are responding to us.

In the coming weeks, we will be figuring out the best organizational structure considering the size of our group and what we hope to accomplish. This will also include ways for us to fundraise.

Thanks, Joe Murphy

Please give us your input!

Even though we didn’t collect the 8,000 signatures needed to legally repeal the mayor’s and council’s raises, we’re not giving up on making Quincy’s government more transparent and accountable to its residents!

To do that, we need as many of you involved as possible. We’d love your input as we decide where to go from here:

• Please help us prioritize potential next steps by filling out this poll

• We’d like to have a meeting to discuss those potential projects – and to celebrate our hard work on the petitions – in the next two weeks. Please fill out this form to let us know which date(s) work for you so we can choose a location big enough to accommodate everyone who wants to come

• To get a sense of how ambitious we can be as a group, please let us know how big a role you’d like to play in A Just Quincy by filling out this form

Finally, please join, and ask friends and neighbors to join, our mailing list. Thanks so much for your interest in creating A Just Quincy!

—Maggie

What it was like to collect signatures on the salary repeal petitions

AJQ's blog is a place for members to express opinions and ideas and should not be considered official statements from the group. This post contains letters published in The Quincy Sun by two residents who collected signatures on the raise repeal petitions, Jim Kogler and Jocelyn Sedney.

How can the Mayor unite a city as diverse as Quincy? By giving himself a taxpayer-funded 79% raise.

I have never been a political activist, and I certainly never thought I would be going door to door to collect signatures in Quincy Point to repeal City Council resolutions. Despite being a long-time supporter of Mayor Koch, I was outraged when I learned about the recent raises given to the City Council and Mayor. As soon as I heard about the work of A Just Quincy to repeal these raises by obtaining 8000 signatures of Quincy residents, I became involved. I resolved to collect 200 signatures in support of the effort. I had to act quickly because, due to a previously scheduled vacation, I had only one week to collect them.Each night, I walked between one and two hours through Quincy Point, knocking on doors, talking to my neighbors, and leaving flyers. The process was enlightening. I didn’t keep count of the actual doors I knocked on, but it was over one thousand. I did manage to collect my two hundred signatures. During this process I got to learn a lot about the mood of this city, it’s angry.

Someone answered the door approximately fifteen percent of the time. Almost everyone I interacted with signed.I spoke to exactly one person who didn’t sign, saying, “The Mayor deserves it!” I spoke to two people who said something along the lines of, “I am personal friends with the Mayor, and I cannot sign it, but I support your efforts. He messed up here.” I had two additional people say they wouldn’t sign it without giving a reason. I had one couple tell me they wouldn’t sign because the FBI would be sent to arrest them (I believe they were serious). About fifteen people told me they were not citizens of Quincy and therefore were not eligible to sign. I had two people tell me they weren’t registered to vote. I had one child tell me their “father only votes for the president of Brazil” as he ran away. Finally, I had two people with whom I couldn’t communicate due to language barriers. One of them spoke to me in Italian, telling me, what I could only imagine, was the story of his life for ten minutes. I understood some words and tried my best to communicate back; it was a wonderful conversation.Everyone else signed. The anger at the mayor is visceral. I had a couple tell me that they were extremely grateful I interrupted their dinner. I had multiple people offer me food and beverages. I met with firefighters, police, teachers, and other city employees who were outraged at the pay change; the mayor ensured they received significantly less. I met with people who, like me, explained they were long-time supporters of Mayor Koch but had been disillusioned by this cash-grab. I also ran into many people who had clearly disliked the mayor for a long time and were happy to sign. I ran into young people, grandparents, xenophobes, self-described activists, people of every age, color, and walk of life. A few chased me down the street, one with a bicycle, to sign. Most had a story to tell. I ran into someone who had grown up in the house I currently own.The anger at the City Council for agreeing to the raises was fierce.In the last Mayor’s election, the electorate was split. Anne Mahoney had a very good showing, and Mayor Koch got by with a sizable lead but not a blowout. As I walked and talked, I saw there was no split. Quincy is outraged, across the board. A Just Quincy didn’t achieve the eight thousand signatures to repeal the raises due to the tight time limit imposed by the state, but they would have far surpassed it if another week had been allowed.I have been a long-time supporter of Mayor Koch, and I had the chance to speak to him at a parade some time before the raises were given. I told him he has done a good job running Quincy. He told me, “It’s not me, it’s the great people of Quincy.” As I trod the streets of Quincy Point, I saw just how true that is, but I also saw how universally angry people are at both the Mayor and the City Council for the way these raises were given.

—Jim Kogler
Stewart St

---

Grateful for raise repeal signers and volunteers

THANK YOU to the 6,000-plus Quincy voters who signed the petitions to roll back the raises! I volunteered to spread the word about the petitions to repeal the 79% mayor’s raise and the 50% council raise and want to share some of my experiences.  

As I went door to door, I was so impressed with how engaged people were – most had heard about the raises and were so angered they practically grabbed the clipboard from my hands. Others shared the fruits of their own analysis of the basis given for the raises. Others wanted to share their outrage when so much needed to be taken care of in their neighborhood. Others told me that they were solid Koch supporters, but this was just too much. Many said that they were in favor of raises but the greediness here was wrong. Some said that they were concerned about negative impacts on themselves, family members or businesses – but they signed. Almost to a person, they thanked me.  

I volunteered my porch as a signing location. In looking at the addresses on the petitions, I was struck by the distance that people traveled. I was surprised at signatures by elderly people who left their homes to walk to the house. I was impressed by the diversity of signers. 

What started out as a small group of people disturbed by the size of the mayor’s raise grew to a grassroots movement with many volunteers across the city. I would not be surprised if this was the first time in the history of Quincy that such an effort was undertaken. And, while not ultimately successful in repealing the related ordinances, the group did collect signatures from just shy of 10% of all registered voters in Quincy – in only 20 days, including a four-day holiday when many were away. My hat off to all!

—Jocelyn Sedney

What’s Next?

It is not going to end. Quincy is long overdue to pay attention. The petition to repeal the mayor’s and city councilors’ raises struck a chord with many. Just think for a moment — there were 6,030 signers to the petition to repeal the mayor’s raise – obtained in 20 days, during the summer and including the July 4th week. A Just Quincy reached so many, but there are still Quincy citizens we didn’t reach. And worse, there were Quincy citizens who wanted to sign but didn’t because they were afraid they could lose their jobs, pension, housing. What might have happened if we had only a week more, or if we had 20 days in the fall?

In the immediate future, we keep getting people to sign the petition as a form of protest (find signing locations here), and we encourage people to write their city councilors and mayor, encouraging them to finally listen (find their email addresses here). The city council can still introduce ordinances overriding the current ordinances. Let’s tell them to do so.

Please weigh in on other possible steps here.

– Kathy

Keep checking in on A Just Quincy.

www.ajustquincy.com

If you have not signed up for our mailing list, you can do so here.
Thank you all!

Did we meet our goals?

No – and yes. We needed about 8,000 signatures on each of two petitions to repeal Quincy politician’s raises, and we got 6,030 to reverse the mayor’s 79% raise and 4,642 to undo the council’s 50% pay boost. So, not enough to stop the raises from going into effect on January 1. But more than enough to build a movement to prevent such injustices from sliding through unchallenged in the future.

The fact that we fell short of 8,000 signatures is disappointing for sure, especially after the hope we had allowed ourselves to feel when we saw our signature collection rate rise ever higher over time. “We might just pull this off!” I thought, after seeing that we’d made it more than halfway to our goal.

Still, we had less than two days to collect the remaining 3,500 signatures. We threw ourselves into it, as we had since the project’s start. Our volunteers braved miserably hot weather to collect the required signatures. New volunteers raised their hands to help, which gave all of us a lift. And we saw more and more people interested in signing because they had seen news stories about the repeal effort. It was an exhilarating and exhausting push to the finish line.

And truly, that’s how it’s been for the last three weeks. A series of highs and lows that have left us a little bruised and battered but also invigorated and hopeful. Here are some of the challenges we faced, in addition to the heat and the fact that many folks were on vacation during our 20-day (state-regulated) collection window:

• Bullying. Some volunteers – to my knowledge all women – have been followed, yelled at, or told to leave public spaces (sometimes with the admonition to go home and “spend time with their families”). Ironically, these incidents have occurred at events meant to celebrate the birth of our democracy. One woman, a veteran and member of a Gold Star family, was told to leave this past weekend’s patriotic celebration in Quincy Center.

• Lack of citizenship status. The state law governing this process, known as a referendum petition, says that only registered Quincy voters can have their signatures count towards the required total. And to vote, one must be a US citizen. So unfortunately, many folks who pay taxes here who wanted to sign – and whose taxes are affected by increases in government spending, such as raises – could not make their wishes known through this process.

• Fear of reprisals. Many residents who wanted to sign the petitions didn’t because they were afraid of reprisals from the city government. All our volunteers reported hearing this fear. On June 30, I wrote to the city clerk asking her to address those concerns. With no reply, a few days later I emailed the city’s top lawyer, Solicitor Jim Timmins. He responded that the city clerk had been out of the office and that it was up to our group to “reassure” people who had these worries. We continued to hear these fears – unfounded or not – all across the city. (And those fears are why we decided not to turn in petition signatures to the city clerk unless we thought we had enough to repeal the raises.)

But while we did face some headwinds, our experience collecting signatures left us all feeling overwhelmingly hopeful and invigorated. Here are some of the reasons why:

• More than 100 people officially signed up to collect signatures, and many others just downloaded PDFs of the petitions at home, gathered signatures, and dropped them off. People’s willingness to pitch in and help was touching and inspiring – people WANT to play a role in how our city runs. Even if our elected representatives discourage it, WE can help each other have a voice in what happens here.

• Many volunteers said they had never participated in civic actions like this but felt the raises were so unfair that they had to try to stop them. These new civic engagers included folks who had voted for the mayor, members of the Asian community, and city workers who, even though they feared reprisals, joined the effort because their annual raises had been just 0 to 3% since the mayor’s last raise took effect (while the mayor’s new raise is equivalent to a 6% increase every year over the same time period), and (in the case of teachers), they had fought for months and stood out in the bitter cold to push for fair contracts.

• All the interactions with signers and other volunteers have brought people together and forged new friendships. Since collecting signatures from strangers can be a daunting task, some people paired up with each other for moral support. Volunteers have been bringing petitions to residents unable to visit signing locations posted online, and acting as on-call translators when needed. Folks have shared their research expertise, musical and writing skills, and video and graphic know-how. This is a dedicated, thoughtful, and generous community, and I’m grateful to be part of it.

So, yes, I am disappointed that we didn’t hit our goal of getting 8,000 registered Quincy voters to sign our petitions in 20 days. But we knew from the start that reaching this goal would be a long shot. I consider the effort a monumental success because it has sparked so many conversations about how we want things to run here. And each of those thousands of signatures represents a conversation – a connection – with a neighbor that strengthens our community.

Our work is not finished. Stay tuned for how you can help in our next steps as we fight to make the city more transparent and accountable to us, its residents, by joining our mailing list at bit.ly/ajqlist. I have been so moved by my neighbors’ passion and commitment. Together we will bring about the change that Quincy residents deserve!

–Maggie McKee

The Rally

Our rally on 7/7 was a success. We are not sure if it was the ice cream (thanks Pam!), the music (thanks Spencer and Jon!), or the passion of our activists (thank you all!), but nearly everyone involved in the planning and execution of this event agreed that it was one of the best displays of community activism we have been a part of. The rally organization was led by AJQ member Susan Yuang, and it was carried out by a great team. People lent their talents and their stuff. We had tables, tents, chairs, coolers of water, and an ocean of clipboards, petitions, and pens.

We had some great speeches that I hope our elected leaders take a few minutes to listen to.

A facebook live feed provided by Melissa Schapero.

part two of Melissa's live stream

A video of the event highlights from Salvatore Balsamo

Of course, the main goal of the rally, of our efforts for the past 20 days or so, has been to collect signatures to repeal the ordinances that establish these raises into Quincy’s law. After the rally, the counting began. We want to thank everyone for their patience these past weeks while waiting for an update. There were many opinions on how public we should make the ongoing count. It was decided to be forthcoming with the count. The problem was we didn’t know it at that point. As of the end of the rally, we had no idea how close, or far, we were from our goal. Maggie reported in a blog post that we had about 4500 signatures on the mayoral petition as of Monday morning. The number was slightly lower for the city council petition. Since we were over 1/2 way there we decided to use the grace period that was initially given to us by the clerk’s office. People have been collecting and submitting signatures at a furious pace these last two days.

We do not anticipate making it to 12% of the registered voters. However, I would love to be wrong!

via GIPHY

There are several reasons that collecting signatures was not as easy as we hoped it would be.

1. Getting busy people to stop and discuss political matters is tough. The nation is polarized, the public’s faith in elected officials is low, and their willingness to engage with the peculiar people with clipboards. Even Americans’ opinions of local governments, which has been consistently higher than their federal or state counterparts over time, has slipped since Covid.

2. The law that outlines this process provided a very short time frame while requiring numerous signatures. Specifically, we needed 12% (about 8000) of Quincy’s registered voters to sign within 20 days. As a comparison, to run for a municipal office in Quincy, you need 50 registered voter signatures to sign your nomination form within approximately two months.

3. This 20-day period happened at the onset of Summer and over the Independence Day holiday. This is a time when average folks tend to be unavailable. People travel now. Families transition from school schedule to vacation mode. The weather sends people to the beaches and golf courses etc.

4. We heard from so many residents who were nervous about signing the petition because they, or a loved one, worked for the city. This was covered in a previous blog post.

We promised signers we would not turn in the petitions unless we had acquired enough signatures to repeal the ordinance(s). So, since we most likely will not turn in the petition, we will keep collecting signatures and let the citizens of Quincy express their opinion all the way up till the next city council session. It is my hope that the city council will see how upset the people they represent are and will choose to repeal the ordinances on their own. Then a legitimate, trusted process, that includes citizen input and logical financial analysis, can be used to find fair salary increases for the position of mayor and city council.

~Joe Murphy

Keep checking in on A Just Quincy.

www.ajustquincy.com

Updates on our next steps will be coming soon.

If you have not signed up for our mailing list, you can do so here.
Thank you all!

Update: keep collecting signatures til July 10 @ NOON!

I write with some exciting news. You all have been SO GOOD at collecting signatures that we have more than 4,500 for the mayor (and a similar, but smaller number for the council, as yet uncounted). We are more than halfway to our goal of 8,000!

We have decided to extend our repeal referendum signature collecting until Wednesday, July 10. So PLEASE KEEP COLLECTING UNTIL THEN!

Our signature collection rate has been rising exponentially in the last couple of days, and I think we have a really good shot at this if we all get out there and pound the pavement!

More about why we have the extra two days for those interested: State law says we have 20 days after a measure’s final passage to collect 12% of registered voters’ signatures to repeal the measure, and City Clerk Nicole Crispo told Lorrie Thomas, the volunteer who wrote up the petitions, that we could start the 20-day count on June 20, with the signatures due on July 10. Lorrie emailed the clerk back the next day reiterating what the clerk had said and thanking her for her help. 

Originally, we decided to be extra conservative, in case the city chose to use June 18 for “final passage” date (the council vote was the night of June 17). But the clerk did tell Lorrie we could start the count on June 20 because that’s when she answered Lorrie’s question about when the final passage was. So because we have SO MUCH MOMENTUM – and new TV coverage, and people coming back from vacation now – we are going to try to reach our goal by July 10, when the clerk told us we could return signatures for a legally binding repeal.

So please go out and collect like mad til Wednesday (still try to return signatures to 117 Rawson as early and often as possible)!

Here are some suggested places to collect signatures (thanks for the list, Nate!):

• All grocery stores in town

• 2 Stop & Shops

• Star Market

• 99 Ranch

• H Mart

• All Public Transport

• North Quincy T Station

• Wollaston T Station

• Quincy Center T Station

• Adams T Station

• Marina Bay Ferry

• Major Shopping Areas

• North Quincy Target

• Walmart

• BJ's

I have clipboards on the porch at 117 Rawson Road if you’ve already turned yours in and want to go out again, as well as blank forms.

Onward, and THANK YOU for all your hard work thus far! We are at this exciting point because of you!

—Maggie

We address the mayor’s defense of his raise

In our efforts to try and reach everyone by land, sea, and air, we have tried a video podcast.

We consider the mayor's defense of his raise point by point

Podcast, Joe, Kathy, Maggie

Looking Forward to Quincy’s First Olympic Games

AJQ's blog is a place for members to express opinions and ideas and should not be considered official statements from the group. This post was written by Jon Gorey, a writer and Quincy resident.

Paris, France, is set to host its third Summer Olympics later this month. I’m excited to watch the world come together in a spirit of free, fair, and fierce competition, in one of the most enchanting cities on earth. Since bidding for the games almost a decade ago, Parisian mayor Anne Hidalgo has worked hard to prepare her city for this intense global spotlight, building arenas, expanding Metro service and accessibility, and cleaning up the River Seine to allow recreational swimming.  

And yet, next year, Quincy’s mayor will be paid more than double what his Parisian peer earns.  

The mayor of Paris, a legendarily glamorous city of 2 million residents, earns about $115,000 annually, while the lord of our six wards will draw a staggering salary of $285,000 next year. That’s more than the mayors of New York, Boston, and London earn, according to the City Mayors Foundation. Not only that, Quincy’s mayor will soon make three times as much as his counterpart in Tokyo, who earned about $76,000 while leading a thrumming metropolis of 14 million as it hosted the previous Summer Olympics. 

So what I’d like to know is: When is Quincy submitting its bid to host the 2036 Olympics? 

It would be a thrill to watch the world’s most elite athletes sprint around the track at Faxon Field, glide across the Lincoln Hancock pool, row sculls down the Neponset, bounce down the trails of the Blue Hills Reservation on mountain bikes, leap and tumble across the mats in the Quincy High School gym, and dive to dig volleyballs out of the sand on Wollaston Beach. If we could slow climate change enough to once again ensure reliable snowfall and frozen February ponds, maybe we could even make a bid for the Winter Games, and resurrect the speed skating and ski jumping terrain in the Blue Hills where Quincy used to host an annual St. Moritz Winter Carnival almost a century ago. 

While it’s gratifying to realize that our little city of 102,000 really does have, on a small scale, many of the recreational facilities and landscapes needed to host a sporting event as diverse as the Olympic Games, this is mostly a joke, obviously — just like the mayor’s 79% pay raise. 

Of course our mayor should get a raise; that’s hardly in question. But when adjusted for inflation, the mayor’s last pay increase, which brought his salary to $150,000 plus perks, would amount to about $198,000 today. That’s a competitive and fair salary, more than double what the median Quincy household earns, and roughly in line with the mayor of Boston’s salary. Bring it back up to par, then set it to automatically increase with inflation so we don’t have to keep doing this.

Some folks may consider Quincy “the Paris of the South Shore,” but if we’re going to pay our mayor more than double what the real Parisian mayor makes, I expect much bigger and bolder leadership to accompany that whopping pay raise. As mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo hasn’t just readied her city for another Olympics. She has also ushered in a new era of sustainable livability for her residents by prioritizing people over cars — slashing vehicle emissions and car trips  by adding bike lanes, repurposing parking spots, and closing hundreds of streets to traffic next to schools.

If a Mount Olympus-sized mayoral salary won’t buy us an Olympic Games, I at least want a world-class city out of the deal. Or better yet, a more reasonable pay increase we can all live with.

Quincy residents to hold July 7 ‘Repeal the Raises’ event at City Hall Plaza

When Quincy Mayor Tom Koch proposed enormous raises for himself and the city council, residents were given no opportunity for public comment. 

When residents grumbled in a city council committee meeting where the raises were discussed, they were scolded. 

And when the council rushed through votes for their 50% raises and the mayor’s 79% pay boost in the last council meeting before the summer break, residents – and at least one councilor – were confused about what had just happened.

Now, residents collecting signatures to legally repeal those raises are planning an event to give the public an opportunity to voice their concerns about the raises and their hopes for the city. The event will be held at City Hall Plaza on Sunday, July 7, from 2 to 4 pm. 

“This is the starting point of the journey to strive for good governance in the city,” says event organizer Susan Yuan, a member of the newly formed group A Just Quincy, which is working to repeal the raises. “We need to send a loud and powerful message. We won't just quietly back down.”

A group of A Just Quincy volunteers holding a sign made by one of them (thanks, John!)

The event will also serve as the final gathering to collect the required signatures necessary to legally repeal the raises through what’s known as a referendum petition. Under state law, if 12% of registered voters sign the referendum petitions within 20 days of the final passage of the raise ordinances, those ordinances will either be repealed or put to a public vote in a city or special election. That means about 8,000 registered Quincy voters must sign each of the two petitions (one to repeal the mayor’s salary and one the councilors’) by July 8.

More than 100 volunteers have been tirelessly collecting signatures towards that goal, and residents from across the city have been lining up at collection locations to sign. “People are really upset about both the size of the raises and how they were pushed through,” says A Just Quincy member Maggie McKee. “It’s inspiring to see how much energy and time people are putting into trying to fix what they see as a broken system.”

To celebrate this massive grassroots effort, A Just Quincy is providing free ice cream (in individually wrapped packages bought from the store) and music by musician Jon Gorey and DJ Spencer Henderson, both Quincy residents.

But A Just Quincy’s work is just beginning, and the group hopes to build on the momentum of this referendum petition to work towards greater transparency and accountability in city government. To join the group, go to ajustquincy.com/contact.

Patriot Ledger article

I was gratified that the Patriot Ledger wrote about our group’s efforts to repeal the salary ordinances.

The Ledger’s Peter Blandino wrote an article about our Petition Referendum.
Quincy group petitioning to repeal mayor's big raise (patriotledger.com)

I encourage everyone to share the article with as many people as possible. We are at a critical junction; we need to reach more people immediately. Most people we talk to agree with us: The mayoral salary should be raised. It’s overdue. But that does not mean a 79% pay increase (from $159,000 to $285,000) makes sense. Here are some of the many points to consider when asking people to sign our petition.

• This repeal effort would not mean the mayor and city council could not get a raise, it would ask them to start over with a sincere process.

• The 79% is justified using the Dorminson analysis, which has been widely criticized as flawed. It’s methodology seems to have been designed to achieve a desired outcome rather than a sincere analysis.

  • The mayor’s raise relies on comparisons to town managers; employees who are hired and fired by the relevant legislative body. Town managers are not selected through elections nor is their job political in nature. Being Mayor of a mid-level city is a higher-profile job that affords cachet and opportunity beyond this position. There is value in being the mayor beyond the salary.

  • The average salary of town managers referenced in the Dorminson report was $169,000. When this is pointed out, the replies point out that Quincy has a larger population. However, when you point out that this salary puts the mayor’s salary above cities exponentially larger and more populated, we are told not to focus on population or size.

• The ordinances will immediately cost about $261,000 more per year. Over the next four years, they will cost well over a million dollars. This is real money that will affect property taxes and limit the city’s ability to provide services.

• The mayor and city council were just reelected/elected last Fall. The raises were brought up a matter of weeks after having been sworn in. No one ran on the idea of increasing these salaries. The voters have not been given a chance to provide their input.

  • The repeal referendums will force the city council to either repeal the ordinances granting the new salaries, or put it to the voters in a city or special election.

• The current mayor has worked for the city his whole life, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of how it runs. If Quincy’s city plan allowed for a town manager, he would be an excellent candidate. However, the next mayor of Quincy may not have similar experience and know-how each department runs and could need to rely on department heads and possible new hires.

  • This new salary will make it more difficult for future mayors to hire the staff they may need.

• The mayor’s office and city council have expressed concern that they may not be able to attract good candidates without a far larger salary. They do not seem to worry that an overly large salary like this could cause an entrenched incumbent to hold onto power longer than they might otherwise.

  • Elected positions were not meant to be lifelong careers.

  • Public service is not meant to be a path to financial prosperity

• There are better ways to find a fair number. To name a couple:

  • Compare the salary with any of the 100+ cities with similar populations and challenges.

  • Take his salary and apply the raises afforded teachers or city workers since it was last increased. Or simply apply a 3% raise each year, a better deal than the teachers and workers got.

  • Applying similar raises to the city council ($30,000 x 3% from 2014 - 2023) would net them a salary just below 40k rather than the $44,500 they approved. (City Council is a part-time position)
    

~Joe Murphy

Will residents face retribution for trying to block the raises?

Our volunteers keep reporting that folks they talk to WANT to sign the petitions to repeal Quincy politicians’ raises, but they’re afraid to do so for fear of retribution from the city. (Hopefully that fear is not based in reality, but it’s concerning that it seems to be so widespread.) So here is a little information for anyone who is worried about that.

1. A Just Quincy will only send the signed forms to the city clerk’s office if it looks like we have the required number of signatures to pass one or both repeal referendums (one is to repeal the mayor’s 79% raise, the other is to repeal the council’s 50% raise).

2. The city clerk’s office will then have to check that the signatures come from registered Quincy voters and that the number of those verified voter signatures is equal to at least 12% of all registered Quincy voters.

Citizens’ right to follow their consciences and petition the government for a redress of grievances is enshrined in the first amendment to the US Constitution. But even so, I’ve asked the city clerk to confirm that citizens will face no negative repercussions if they sign these petitions, and I fully expect she will do so when she returns to the office after the weekend.

—Maggie McKee

A letter from Lorrie

Take a Stand Against Unjust Salary Increases

On June 17, 2024, the City Council approved a 79% salary increase for the Mayor and a 48% increase for themselves, despite constituents' opposition. At the June 3 meeting, several councilors acknowledged hearing from residents against these raises.  Still, they chose self-service over public service.

What can we do? Fortunately, we have a recourse. Section 42 of the City Charter and Massachusetts General Laws Part I Title VII Chapter 43 Section 42 allow us to seek a repeal of these ordinances.

A group of concerned taxpayers, A Just Quincy, is collecting signatures for two referendum petitions to repeal Ordinance 2024-055, which raises the Mayor’s salary to $285,000, and Ordinance 2024-056, which raises the City Council's salary to $44,500, effective January 1, 2025.

To submit these petitions, A Just Quincy needs signatures from at least 12% of registered voters within 20 days of the ordinances' final passage. That’s over 8,000 signatures by July 10, 2024. If successful, the Clerk will forward the petitions to the City Council, suspending the ordinances and prompting immediate reconsideration. If not rescinded within 20 days, the petitions will go to a city-wide vote.

We must act now to ensure our voices are heard. Sign one or both referendum petitions to repeal these raises, or join A Just Quincy in gathering signatures. Visit ajustquincy.com or email info@ajustquincy.com to help restore integrity to our local government. Let's make a difference together.

Lorrie Thomas
Quincy

How it started vs how it’s going

It’s been one week since a group of Quincy residents launched an effort to repeal the 79% and 50% raises for the mayor and city council, but it feels much longer. 

In part, that’s because we had been working for several weeks before that to convince the city council not to vote the raises through. That work sprang up quite organically. Folks shared news of the record-setting salary range proposed by consultants connected to city officials, researched the bidding process through which the consultant’s contract came about, discovered that (a) the city has a charter, (b) the charter requires politicians’ raises to go into effect in the term following the one in which they’re voted, and after a public vote, and (c) apparently the charter has no teeth, and state law allows the raises to go through in the calendar year following a raise vote (ie, January 1, 2025). 

Neighbors who had never met in real life shared findings from their public records requests and calls to the state attorney general’s office and organized protests at City Hall.

Before the June 17 council votes on the raises

Teachers got between 0 and 3% increases every year since 2015, when the mayor’s last raise went into effect. The mayor’s newly approved salary is equivalent to him making a 6% raise for each of those years.

Quincy is one of 15 cities with so-called “plan A” governments in Massachusetts. The mayor’s new raise is far out of line with what the mayors of all those other cities make

After the council rushed through the first of two votes to approve the mayor’s raise and looked set to rubber stamp both raises at the following council meeting, the group of residents that had come together started holding Zoom meetings to plan more protests and create an online poll to show the city council how many folks were against the raises. But on June 17, the council voted to push the raises through – without a public hearing – before working out a better system for calculating salary changes, which they vowed to do in the fall.

One resident who had seen the writing on the wall had already been researching how to UNDO the raises once they had passed. She found out that according to state law, any measure (like the raises) can be repealed if 12% of registered voters physically sign a referendum petition within 20 days of the measure’s final passage. We had more Zoom meetings, and debated whether we could get the 8,000 signatures needed by July 8. After all, that’s equivalent to 40% of the voter turnout in the 2023 election, which people had a higher chance of knowing about, in large part thanks to the ubiquitous yard signs and frequent mailings that one of the candidates spent about a million dollars on.

Could we, a group of about two dozen residents who had come together to organize the protests, along with the signers of our online poll, get so many signatures in such a short period of time? In the summer, when many residents are away for the July 4 holiday? Was it worth the daunting effort? And if we didn’t get the signatures, which seemed likely, would that contribute to more cynicism about residents’ ability to effect change and even about the democratic process itself?

We discussed it and decided that the effort was worth it. The trying was the whole point. By trying, we could spread awareness of how this raise process was handled, and remind our elected officials that they are meant to look out for our interests above their own. By trying, we’d meet new people, build community, and flex the muscles of our out-of-shape democracy, where less than a third of eligible voters cast ballots in the last election.

And it’s working! Nearly a hundred volunteers have taken petition forms to collect signatures, and we’re all meeting new people across the city and having conversations and (thankfully respectful) debates about how we want things to run here. I am energized after these conversations. Sometimes I start to worry that we’ll never reach our goal of 8,000 signatures at that pace, but then I stop and remind myself that those conversations are the goal. That sense of community and camaraderie is the magic that makes a street feel like a neighborhood. And that mutual sharing of information and hopes and frustrations is what a democracy is all about.

A bonus is that this magical feeling of connection and empowerment seems to be spreading, and people have been lining up to sign the petitions. So while I think that our efforts have already paid off in strengthening our democracy and community, I am increasingly hopeful that we will also meet our goal of repealing these raises and forcing our elected officials to come up with a fairer and more sensible raise process. 

So if you haven’t already, please find out where to find tireless signature collectors at ajustquincy.com/petition. And stop to chat with them, even if you don’t end up signing. Talking together is not just a way to keep democracy alive. It’s our only hope.

Folks signing the petitions to repeal the mayor’s and council’s raises

—Maggie McKee

Will a higher mayoral salary encourage more candidates to run?

The following is from a Facebook post by Maggie McKee on June 5 (after the city council’s finance committee voted on June 3 to approve the mayor’s 79% raise).

At the city council meeting the other night, a couple of councilors mentioned that people don't tend to run for office in Quincy (and one suggested that lower-than-the-private-sector salaries could keep more women and people of color from trying).

But I think what prevents more people from running is the political machine that builds up around incumbents, making it very hard to compete as a challenger (particularly a new challenger).

For example, Quincy's incumbent mayor, Tom Koch, raised and spent more than all 85 of the other mayoral candidates on Massachusetts ballots last year, taking in about $620,000 and spending about $962,000. (https://ocpf.us/Reports/MayoralReports?year=2023)

The average amount spent by all mayoral candidates on Massachusetts ballots in 2023 was $62,000. Mayor Koch spent nearly $1 million.

That war chest (war bank vault?) seems more likely to discourage would-be contenders from throwing their hats in the ring than the mayor's purportedly "low" salary of ~$158,000 ($150k base salary plus car allowance).

If we truly want to help more people run for office, campaign finance reform might be a good place to start.

QATV interview

Joe Catalano, affectionately known as Joe C by many locals in Quincy, is a well-known figure. He serves as a producer and on-air personality for much of Quincy Access Television’s (QATV) content. Joe is widely respected for his fairness, honesty, and friendly demeanor.

Recently, I (Joe M) contacted Joe C and proposed that he feature “A Just Quincy” on his show for an interview. To my delight, he responded and had A Just Quincy reps on. On Wednesday, my colleague Maggie McKee and I overcame our shyness and appeared on his show. Let me walk you through the experience.

The interview began with the expected question: “What is ‘A Just Quincy’?” We explained that in response to the announcement of two ordinances aimed at increasing the mayor and city council salaries, a group of Quincy citizens came together to voice their protest. Notably, we informed Joe C that, beyond the two dozen active volunteers currently working with A Just Quincy, we swiftly garnered approximately 600 signatures on a survey opposing the ordinances. Most of the respondents also chose to leave comments we promised to share with the city council.

We then moved on to the nuts and bolts. What is this “petition referendum” that we are working so diligently to get signed before a quickly approaching deadline?

What are we doing?

Maggie and I explained that the referendum is the recourse prescribed by state law when the public wants to request a repeal of recently passed ordinances. Within 20 days of the ordinance’s signing, 12% of the registered voters need to sign the petition and submit it to the city clerk’s office. In our case, we would need approximately 8,000 signatures. This Herculean task will require the assistance of many people.

Given that this task is a substantial undertaking, and there’s a very real possibility that we may not achieve our goal, why are we attempting it? The members of A Just Quincy recognize the inherent value in our efforts. By advocating for change, we’ve already made an impact. The city council lowered their salary request by $3,000 per year, resulting in a savings of $27,000 for Quincy taxpayers next year. These positive effects will continue to ripple through the years, eventually affecting pension funds. Moreover, we believe it’s crucial to wield democracy more effectively within our city. Our hope is to empower the often-unheard voices of average Quincy residents.

There is value in the fight.

We’ve discussed the value of this endeavor even if we fall short. However, we’re determined to successfully submit this petition to the Clerk’s office. What will happen if we achieve our goal?

What happens WHEN we succeed?

If we successfully gather the signatures and submit them to the city clerk’s office within the allowed timeframe, the City Council may decide to repeal the ordinances voluntarily. If they opt not to do so, the decision will be put to the people of Quincy through the next city election or a special election. At that point, the residents will have the opportunity to make their choice, as intended by the city charter.

We appreciate Joe C bringing up the metaphorical elephant who had taken up residence in the room. Some have suggested, including Mayor Koch and at least two city councilors, that our efforts are a personal attack on the mayor. Let me clarify: we harbor no animosity toward the mayor. Our concern lies with the excessive salary raises and the unprofessional, undemocratic process behind them.

We are disappointed when people dismiss our concerns as a personal attack on the mayor. It feels dismissive.

Within “A Just Quincy,” individual feelings toward Mayor Koch are not only irrelevant but also diverse. The notion that our actions stem from personal dislike is both inaccurate and insulting. We don’t need to like or dislike the mayor to recognize when a decision is flawed.

Furthermore, let’s consider an alternate scenario: had Anne Mahoney won the election and proposed a similar salary increase package, we would still be out there collecting signatures to oppose it.

There are many reasons these raises feel wrong. Obviously, they are enormous—people do not get 80% salary increases in real life. Also, the whole process felt icky. There was almost no pushback from the city council. Even though they received many calls from constituents voicing opposition, no one really felt the need to question the appropriateness of the raises. The only councilor who did was Councilor Dan Minton. He actually proposed lower numbers but stopped short of proposing an amendment to the ordinances. But what some people have expressed was that this just doesn’t feel in line with public service. When you go into certain fields, it’s a foregone conclusion it is not for the money.

One of the things that makes public leaders admirable are the financial sacrifices they make while serving. All the more reason to serve and go back to the private sector.

This discussion traces back to the founding of the republic. It was a topic explored in the writings of Alexander Hamilton, who believed that public servants should receive adequate compensation to meet their necessities without being vulnerable to manipulation. However, he cautioned against excessive pay that could fuel avarice and compromise their integrity. Benjamin Franklin, in a speech to the Federal Convention, also warned against enriching leaders solely for the benefit of those who seek to do so, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a balance. To Franklin’s point, although there was no natural moment to bring this up yesterday, the fact that the council is having its own salary raised dramatically along with the mayor’s is problematic.

The people participating in A Just Quincy believe that the mayor and council should have their salaries raised just as we feel everyone deserves for their salaries to rise over time. But the drastic increases, justified by a financial analysis with a suspicious methodology and flawed conclusions, defy reason and common sense.

It does not take a rocket surgeon to see these raises were off base.

In 2021, Quincy enlisted Dorminson Consulting to do financial analysis for Quincy, particularly around salaries. One specific report they produced was concerning the salary of Quincy’s mayor. The Dorminson report seems to have reinvented the wheel, so to speak. With thousands of mayors across the United States and approximately 100 cities having populations around 100,000 (including Quincy), a more sensible approach would have been to select 10 or 20 cities with similar characteristics and challenges to Quincy. Using those mayors’ compensation as a dataset would have provided a more relevant comparison. There are also 14 other cities in Massachusetts with a type of government similar to Quincy’s, and those could have been used as a benchmark for comparison.

However, Dorminson took a different route by comparing the mayor’s salary with that of city administrators. City administrators are a distinct type of professional. They serve as hired experts who can be dismissed if things don’t go well. Unlike mayors, they remain non-political and are accountable to the city council. Their performance undergoes scrutiny through reviews conducted by the elected body or even the public.

Dorminson based their recommendation for the mayoral salary on data from over 40 city manager positions in Massachusetts. Interestingly, the average salary for these positions amounted to approximately $169,000. To justify why the mayor of Quincy deserved significantly more, they pointed to Quincy’s population in comparison to the smaller cities and towns overseen by these city/town administrators.

However, when critics highlighted that Dorminson’s recommendation would have placed the mayor of Quincy’s salary above that of the mayor of New York — a city with 81 times as many constituents — the size comparison suddenly lost its relevance.

Lt. Gov Kim Driscoll, former Mayor of Salem

In addition to the salary and privileges afforded them by their citizens, mayors can parlay their experience and public profiles into higher office. Examples would be Kim Driscoll, former mayor of Salem, now the Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, and Secretary of Transportation and former presidential nominee Pete Buttigieg, who gained prominence for his success as mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Three mayors of mid-level cities have gone on to the presidency: Calvin Coolidge (Northampton, MA), Grover Cleveland (Buffalo, NY), and Andrew Johnson (Greenville, TN).

Mayors often go on to lucrative public-private partnerships (P3s), consulting/advising roles, corporate boards and nonprofits, education/academia, business development, etc. This diversity of opportunities underscores why mayors are not compensated like their lesser-known non-political colleagues.

Sec. of Transportation, Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg

To illustrate, literally, our point, Maggie brought some data-driven visuals. While we discuss numbers and methodology, it’s important not to lose sight of how strange and glaring these raises are. So, here we are using our sight.

Sometimes it takes a chart.

Another argument put forward by those who support these increases is that we will need these hefty salaries to attract good candidates.

The problem is not the salaries, it's the tyranny of incumbency and the political clique protecting it.

In my personal opinion, this argument lacks sincerity. I don’t believe our elected leaders genuinely worry about having insufficient good opponents. It seems like an argument that sounds appealing without much critical thought. However, this issue highlights a core problem in Quincy’s democracy. People hesitate to run against the mayor because they know he will have significant financial resources (around a million dollars to spend), strong connections to power, and upsetting the likely winner is daunting.

As we discussed earlier, many competent and accomplished individuals would relish the chance to serve as mayor in this city.

Now, let’s delve into another aspect. While on my way to QATV, something struck me—perhaps it had crossed my mind before, but this time, it resonated loudly. Why are we raising these salaries now? When the Patriots or Red Sox sign a free agent, does management immediately revisit those contracts at the start of the season? No, they’ve already agreed to play for that existing salary.

This is so strange when you think about it. How is this decision, at this moment, helping the people of Quincy? These ordinances affect nine council positions and the mayor, all of whom were sworn in weeks before this conversation started. It is a strange time to give a raise, right? We aren’t in danger of losing any of these newly electeds, at least not to salary demands. There is a theory as to why it had to be now. We can talk about that in another blog post.

Thanks for going through all this with us. It’s a lot… we know.

Thoughts from a resident, data edition

These comments were made by Maggie McKee at a standout against the raises in front of City Hall on May 29, 2024 (before the council voted on them).

Hi, everyone. My name is Maggie, and I live here in Quincy with my family.

I want to start out by saying that I am not opposed to salary increases for our elected officials. I believe that all employees should get cost of living adjustments regularly, and the fact that this does not happen now is, I think, a fault in the system.

But the mayor is not proposing a different system, one that would tie his salary increases to, say, annual rates of inflation or teacher contract changes. He is simply asking city councilors to vote for a 79% raise for him, from $159,000 to $285,000. The basis for this request is a mayoral compensation review done by the City’s Finance Department.

But I do not think the council should vote for the mayor’s proposed change. That’s because the amount of the raise is far outside of state – and national – norms.

The city’s compensation review lists 42 salaries for what it calls “chief administrative officers” of relatively small Massachusetts communities, with populations smaller than two-thirds that of Quincy. The salaries of these communities’ leaders range from $98,000 (Southampton) to $293,000 (Plymouth), amounts that make $285,000 seem quite reasonable for a leader of Quincy’s larger size.

The problem is, none of the 42 communities selected have Quincy’s form of government. 

Massachusetts cities and towns can choose from a bewildering menu of government types. Quincy has a “plan A” government with a mayor and a city council, for example, while Plymouth has a representative town meeting form of government, with 135 representatives elected from the city’s precincts, five elected select board members, and a town manager appointed by the select board.

All of the 42 communities list “manager” or “administrator” as the title of their city’s CEO. These positions are hired by an elected council, which can set the desired experiences and qualifications for the position – and can remove the manager at any time through a vote. Like business consultants with expertise in a particular field, these managers are workers whose contracts can be ended if their performance falls below expectations. And as a result, they seem to command salaries more in line with the private sector. Plymouth’s town manager, for example, has a master’s degree in public administration and worked as director of administration and public health in Worcester and town manager of Upton before taking the top job in Plymouth.

Quincy follows a different model. Its residents vote for mayoral candidates who can collect the required 50 certified signatures to run for office. Any eligible candidate who receives the most votes wins the seat, regardless of their level of education or prior experience. And then they serve for a set term (in typical plan A governments, that term is two years; in Quincy, it’s four).

So how much do these directly elected mayors make? I looked up the 15 plan A cities listed in the Massachusetts Municipal Association directory. Their average population is 108,000 and their average mayoral salary is $140,000. 

Quincy, with a population of 102,000 and a mayoral salary of $159,141, is currently very much in line with those averages. But if the city council votes to increase the mayor’s salary by 79% – to $285,000 – it will be far out of line.

Not only that, but the mayor’s requested salary would be higher than that of Governor Healey, who makes $222,000, and our two US senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who each make $174,000. 

And it would be higher than the mayors of nine out of ten of the largest US cities, which have populations ranging from 10 to 82 times Quincy’s size.

For Quincy’s mayor to potentially make more than all of those positions seems unfair, even egregious. But what troubles me the most is the fact that he felt entitled to ask for that much money in the first place. In our plan A government, also known as a “strong mayor - weak council” system, the mayor holds nearly all the power, appointing department heads and members of city boards that rule on any manner of issues. Asking for a 79% raise seems like a brazen display of unassailable power, and I can’t imagine many of us have had the temerity to request the same of our bosses.

But our tax dollars pay for the city’s expenses, and I hope that we will all raise our voices to tell our elected leaders how we want our money spent.