Joe Murphy,

Candidate for Ward One

If elected your top priorities will be…?

If I am elected, my top priority will be restoring communication between the residents and their city councilor. All other issues improve with better communication. Residents should expect to hear back from their ward councilor when they reach out. The job is to represent ward one communities despite the will of the political clique or generous campaign donors. Once again, I pledge to have weekly office hours for people to drop in and talk about their concerns. When it’s safe to do so, these meetups will be in locations around the ward. Until then, they will be by the phone, video conferencing, or whatever method is best for the constituents.

When the constituents are heard by their councilor, they will see quicker responses to everyday concerns. Potholes, litter, graffiti, streetlights, illegal parking, construction detours, side streets becoming raceways, drainage, tide gates, and snow removal are all everyday problems that require the ward councilor to be a diplomatic, but relentless, advocate for our neighborhoods.

Ward one will start getting answers to questions that have been ignored for too long. We deserve to know what is going on in our local government, even if the topic is controversial, polarizing, or unpleasant. For example, currently, conversations like the planning of the Maritime Center get punted into the future, leaving people to guess about an important issue. Why should the fate of the Maritime Center or the Houghs Neck Community Center be discussed without involving the people who use these facilities? The former Maritime Center needed to be replaced, but it was in regular use when it was torn down with no agreed-upon plan to replace it. I plan on having more frequent community meetings where people are part of the discussion and provide input, not told what decisions have been made unilaterally. While no city leader can have unanimous approval on every issue, I will have the conversations, popular or not, and ward one will be heard.

An open dialog with constituents will guarantee that ward one residents will get to weigh in on citywide issues as well. Our residents have strong opinions on many pressing subjects. For example, Quincy College has been struggling, but why should Covid relief money be used to buy QC a new building? Because the answer was going to be “no” through regular procedure. And what about Hospital Hill? We were assured of a substantial medical service there, and now it seems the chance for a medical amenity there dwindles by the day.

Quincy is the largest city in the Commonwealth without an emergency room, but possibly the last American city that owns and operates a community college. We were told that we did not need an emergency room because of all the other ERs surrounding us. By that logic, perhaps we should let the state take over Quincy College. I think ward one residents have opinions about all these topics and as ward councilor, I would welcome hearing them.

Why should voters elect you instead of your opponent?

Voters should elect me to be the ward one city councilor because I am dedicated to improving the city and the lives of the people in it. I am not interested in making political connections or raising money. I believe that some elected officials have lost sight of Quincy’s best interest. The job of ward councilor is to not only take care of the projects the administration wants completed in ward one, but to advocate for the projects the residents care about. The job is to be a representative and that sometimes means being a thorn in the administration’s side.

One example is caring for our tax dollars. In a recent article, Councilor McCarthy said “I'm learning every day, but I've really enjoyed understanding municipal financing and how things get done. The mayor has been really smart with the bonding." What the mayor has done with “the bonding” is pushed off paying for Quincy’s massive unfunded pension obligations, at much higher cost, until long after he is out of office. My daughters and their classmates at Atherton Hough Elementary will be among the residents still dealing with that debt in 20 to 30 years.

If elected, the administration will get questions from ward one residents, not protection. For instance, why was this bond sprung on the Council at the last minute? Why are the tens of millions in “yearly savings” from this maneuver not being given back to the taxpayers in reduced taxes? The process of taking on a half-billion-dollar bond was so unorthodox, one councilor remarked “[the bond request] came out of committee as one thing, and left council as another. Every part of that meeting was odd...” But ward one’s elected representative saw nothing strange, had no qualms, and made no comment except, “The mayor has been really smart with the bonding.” Not only will I ask questions, if elected, but I will also call for an independent, outside review of the city’s financial plan and forecast.

I would bring some fresh ideas to Quincy as well. I want to start a participatory budgeting (PB) program like they have in 7,000 other cities around the world. PB uses democratic engagement with the community and then incorporates that into the regular budgeting process. The citizens propose ideas to be voted on and enacted. Perhaps Quincy Tree Alliance would propose tree planting to offset recent culling due to development. QCAN could put forth a curbside composting pilot. Maybe Quincy Recreation needs money to create a Rock Band Summer camp. The point is the people will have a direct say in at least one slice of the annual budget.

My wife and I are raising two Quincy girls. We chose Quincy because it had what we look for in a home: down-to-Earth, friendly people. So, we put down roots in the Neck and are here for the long haul. I will keep my family, your family, my neighbors, and your neighbors in mind when I work hard as your city councilor.