DIRT, RUMORS & RELATIVES: This mayoral race has it all; It’s a fact that Phelan and Koch have wide family ties in Quincy

By Patriot Ledger staff

QUINCY - Pick any big department in Quincy’s government and you’re bound to find someone related - by blood or by marriage - to one of the candidates for mayor.

Whether it’s a matter of loyalty or a long-held grudge directed at one of the families, for some voters the Phelan-Koch contest is as personal as it gets in politics.

And when it gets personal, it can get ugly.

‘‘It’s a small city with big families,’’ Rosemary Wahlberg said of the face-off between two prominent Quincy clans. ‘‘In a way, it was bound to happen.’’

Never before have two candidates with such extensive family ties in the city vied for its top job. And never have so many city employees had such a personal, familial stake in the election.

Mayor William Phelan married into a prominent Quincy family. Challenger Thomas Koch was born into one.

Among city employees trying to remain neutral - at least in public - it’s a delicate balancing act aimed at giving offense to neither side. Because whoever wins, both candidates, their friends and relatives will still be in Quincy and they are unlikely to forget who chose the ‘‘wrong’’ side.

Much of the backroom race - the one being talked about in people’s homes and inside city offices - is about families and history, about who is related to whom and who the candidates’ friends are.

In public, Phelan has tried to paint his opponent as a political insider who represents a return to the city as it was under former Mayor James Sheets. Phelan beat Sheets by fewer than 20 votes in 2001.

Behind the scenes, Phelan supporters whisper that Koch does not have a college degree.

In public, Koch has tried to portray the incumbent as a man still running against Sheets because he has no plans or accomplishments of his own.

Behind the scenes, Koch supporters say the current mayor is an ill-tempered bully.

For those who know and are friendly with both candidates and their families, it’s a somewhat awkward situation.

Wahlberg, a well-known advocate for the poor and a political activist herself, said choosing sides in the mayoral contest isn’t as clear-cut as figuring out which candidate you agree with most.

‘‘My kids all wore Koch (Club) jerseys as little kids. But then one of my sons considers Wink a great friend,’’ said Wahlberg, referring to the popular sports program for children founded by Koch’s father, the late Richard J. Koch, and to Phelan’s nickname.

Wahlberg said old allegiances that stretch back to Koch’s and Phelan’s school days and sandlot ballgames could divide many at the polls on Nov. 6.

Several people interviewed for this story declined to speak on the record, saying they have history with both candidates and don;t want to appear to favor either side.

It’s not just the candidates whom people are afraid to offend. For many, it’s the candidates’ relatives who command allegiance.

Phelan, who has been in office for six years, likes to portray himself as an up-by-the-bootstraps man and a somewhat accidental officeholder.

‘‘My father worked for the post office; he raised eight children, put them through Quincy public schools, college and beyond,’’ Phelan said in an interview. ‘‘He paid his taxes, raised a family and was in no way ‘connected.’’’

But when Phelan married Tracey Tobin in 1987, all that changed.

His father-in-law, Arthur Tobin, is a former Quincy mayor, city councilor and state legislator. Today he is clerk magistrate of Quincy District Court and the head of one the city’s most influential families.

Phelan’s in-laws include state Rep. Stephen Tobin, Quincy police Lt. Brian Tobin, State Police Detective Bruce Tobin and Mark Tobin, an assistant clerk in district court.

Unlike Phelan, who visibly bristles at the mention of his political ties through the Tobins, Koch is eager to talk about his family’s influence in the city.

Koch said in an interview that he’s tried to carry on ‘‘my father’s legacy’’ of public service ‘‘beyond the day job.’’

Koch’s family includes 12 city workers; Phelan’s includes seven. Between them, they have relatives in the police, fire, parks and public works departments, city hall and at least three city schools.

Koch’s brother-in-law, John F. Keenan, is running for his fourth term as city councilor at-large. Another in-law, Paul Keenan, is a Quincy police captain.

Despite having a vast network of family who live and work in the city and on his campaigns, Phelan talks of being a ‘‘regular Quincy guy,’’ still on the outside defending city residents against the political establishment. To some political observers, it’s patently disingenuous for a mayor running for a fourth term to try to claim outsider status.

‘‘He is what he is and an outsider is not what he is,’’ said longtime Ward 2 Councilor Daniel Raymondi.

‘‘If you say it long enough and loud enough, people may buy it,’’ Raymondi said. ‘‘The city is changing and the newcomers don’t know the history, the family history, the family members on the payroll.’’

Patriot Ledger staff members John Kelly and Elizabeth Crowley contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, September 29, 2007