'I have to do this.' Mahoney announces bid for Quincy at-large councilor

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17-07-2025

QUINCY ‒ Former councilor, school board member and three-time mayoral candidate Anne Mahoney will seek to regain the councilor-at-large seat she relinquished when she ran unsuccessfully to unseat Mayor Thomas Koch in 2023.
Mahoney submitted nomination papers to the city clerk's office at midday on Tuesday, July 15, just hours before the 5 p.m. deadline.
"I really didn't think I was going to be running," she told The Patriot Ledger. "I feel as though I have to do this. I still think I have something I can offer our city, to help guide and direct our leaders, and most importantly, to speak for taxpayers and renters, so we can all feel as though we're getting a fair shot."
Mahoney said the current council votes with Mayor Koch more than 99% of the time, often without scrutinizing or even discussing his proposals.
"I have a track record for that," she said.
On the council, Mahoney was known for her criticism of Koch and at times pointed exchanges with department heads on issues such as spending and transparency.
Mahoney served on Quincy's school board from 2006 to 2017, followed by three terms as councilor-at-large from 2018 to 2023. She challenged Koch in 2011, 2015 and 2023, gaining 45% of the vote in her latest mayoral bid.
Mahoney talks raises, debt and accountability
Mahoney said her critical approach comes from love of Quincy, not contrarianism. She cited the city's $475 million pension obligation bond, which Quincy issued in 2021, as an example of the need for scrutiny. The bond is a significant chunk of Quincy's $1.4 billion in direct outstanding debt.
In 2022, the city's pension system lost $90 million on investments. In subsequent years, the portfolio has performed much better, but S&P Global still cited the loss when it downgraded Quincy's credit rating for long-term debt from AA to AA- in June and after lowering its economic outlook from stable to negative in April.
"These things have to be questioned, not to blame but to make it better," she said. "That dialogue has to be there."
On the 79% raise for the mayor and almost 50% raise for city councilors, which Koch proposed and the council passed in 2024, Mahoney said she objects to the size and timing of the pay increases.
"You shouldn't be asking for them the day after you win an election," Mahoney said.
The raises were set take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, but Koch and the council deferred them after the state Ethics Commission launched a conflict-of-interest inquiry last fall. Instead, the councilors' raise kicks in at the start of 2026. If reelected, Koch's raise, which would boost his pay from $150,000 to $285,000, takes effect in 2028.
The last and only time Koch received a pay increase was 2014.
If elected, Mahoney said she will not accept the raise, which will increase councilors' pay from roughly $30,000 to $43,500.
Mahoney defends her own raise as Holbrook's Assistant Town Administrator
In April 2024, Holbrook's select board hired Mahoney as assistant town administrator at a salary of $98,000. They agreed to re-open the contract "to address compensation" in the second and third year.
When her contract was reopened this June, the select board extended its term to June 2028 with annual pay of $132,000. Mahoney said it was $12,000 more than she asked for.
"I'm appointed by a board, and I have to earn my raise," Mahoney said, comparing herself to Koch, who as mayor is elected and proposes his own compensation.
Mahoney carries out a wide range of functions as assistant town manager, including contract negotiations, public relations, constituent services, preparations for the annual town meeting and select board meetings and directing human resources, according to her contract.
She is required to attend select board meetings on the first and third Wednesday of every month. Quincy city council meetings typically fall on Mondays, and Mahoney said she can fulfill the obligations of both positions.
"I've proven I do my homework," she said.
Competitive Quincy elections shaping up for 2025
Mahoney is the eighth at-large candidate certified for the ballot, triggering a preliminary election on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The preliminary will whittle the field down to six candidates for three councilor-at-large seats.
Incumbents Noel DiBona and Scott Campbell have already certified their candidacies, according to clerk records. The third sitting councilor-at-large, Nina Liang, announced in March that she will not seek reelection. Liang was elected in 2015.
The five remaining candidates on the ballot are Andrew Pham, Hannah Kaplan, Jackie Carvey, Ziqiang Yuan and Herbert Shaughnessy.
Quincy City Council has three at-large and six ward seats. Councilors serve two-year terms.
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This year's city council election is shaping up to be more competitive than 2023, when only 12 candidates vied for nine seats and six candidates prevailed without facing an opponent. This year, 21 candidates are certified for the ballot.
There will be at least two preliminary elections in September. Voters will advance six of eight candidates for councilor-at-large and two of four candidates for Ward 6, where incumbent Bill Harris faces challengers Deborah Riley, James Coffey and Christopher Chan.
The general election, which will also determine three seats on Quincy's school board, is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4. Six candidates are running in that race.
As of now, only Ward 2 Councilor Richard Ash is running unopposed.
Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at [e-mail].
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Anne Mahoney joins race for Quincy at-large council seat
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