William J. Phelan | |
---|---|
Attorney, Phelan Law | |
1989 - Present | |
Town Administrator of Holbrook,Massachusetts | |
In office March 8,2011 –May 15,2015 | |
Preceded by | Michael Yunits |
Succeeded by | Edward O’Brien (interim) |
Mayor of Quincy,Massachusetts | |
In office 2002–2008 | |
Preceded by | James A. Sheets |
Succeeded by | Thomas P. Koch |
Personal details | |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic [1] |
Residence | Quincy,Massachusetts |
Occupation | Attorney Town Administrator Politician |
William J. Phelan is an American attorney,former mayor and town administrator,and politician. He served as Mayor of Quincy,Massachusetts from 2002 to 2008 and town administrator of Holbrook,Massachusetts,from 2011 to 2015.
Phelan graduated from North Quincy High School in 1978. He was a standout basketball player and was elected to the school's athletic hall of fame. Phelan earned a bachelor's degree from Suffolk University and a J.D. degree from the Suffolk University Law School. He worked as a counselor for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services before beginning a law practice in Quincy in 1989. [2]
Phelan first ran for public office in 1999 as a candidate for the Quincy school committee. [2] During his term on the school board,Phelan clashed with mayor James A. Sheets over the location of the new high school. [3] Phelan successfully blocked Sheets' plan to build the school on contaminated land at a former industrial site in Quincy Point. [4]
In 2001,Phelan challenged Sheets for mayor. It was the first time that Sheets had faced a competitive election since he was first elected in 1989. During the campaign,Phelan criticized Sheets for rising taxes,the unsuccessful effort to reopen the Fore River Shipyard,and for "putting the interests of the developers ahead of the people". Sheets in turn faulted Phelan for his lack of experience,running a negative campaign,and for not putting forward ideas of his own. [4] Phelan defeated Sheets by fifteen votes in the general election. [5] After a recount,the margin of victory was increased to seventeen votes and Sheets conceded the election. [6]
During Phelan's first days in office he was faced with a $4 million budget deficit due to reduced revenue from taxes and fees,including a $1.5 million reduction in the fees paid by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority,as well as a reduction in local aid from the state government. He was able to avoid layoffs by instituting an early retirement program for city employees,which reduced the city's workforce by over 100 employees. He also had to deal with anger arising from an increase in local property taxes. [7] [8] In September 2002,Phelan suspended eight Quincy police officers for misconduct,which included drinking while on duty,firing weapons in the air,driving under the influence of alcohol,allowing one of the officers girlfriend's to drive a police cruiser,and attempting to cover up the incident,that occurred while they were working a paid detail at a nightclub. [9]
In 2003,Phelan negotiated a new lease with Quarry Hills Associates,which ran the newly opened Granite Links Golf Club at Quarry Hills,that would give the city 10% of the club's gross revenues. [10] That June he vetoed a proposed ordinance that would've implement minimum staffing requirements for the fire department,stating that the city could not afford the cost of the requirements (which he stated would be $8 million over five years). The veto was criticized by the president of the Quincy Firefighters Association,who accused Phelan of not making public safety a priority. Fire Chief Paul O'Connell also objected to the ordinance,citing the cost as well as the fact that only two other municipalities in the country had adopted these staffing requirements. [11] In July 2003,Phelan presented a city budget that called for no layoffs,preserved most city services,and increased the amount of money in the city's reserves. [12]
In the 2003 election,Phelan faced a last-minute challenge from city councilor Joseph F. Newton. Newton criticized Phelan for moving slowly with plans for a new Quincy high school as well as the poor condition of the city's infrastructure. [12] Phelan was reelected with 73% of the vote,defeating Newton 13,117 votes to 4,775. [13]
In 2004,facing pressure from the Quincy Taxpayers Association,the Quincy city council voted to make $700,000 in specific cuts and cut the budget by another $2.1 million without identifying where the cuts would be made. Phelan criticized the council,stating that "Rather than do the job and identify cuts,the City Council decided to take credit for the cuts but not take responsibility for the pain the cuts will cause." Councilor Joseph G. Finn countered,stating "The mayor's the guy in charge. We don't manage. We're not the administrators." The cuts came after Quincy residents saw their property taxes increase over 45% in four years,the highest of all South Shore communities,due to an increase in property value. [14] The city solicitor,based on an opinion from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue,ruled that the council's vote to cut the budget without specifying what was to be cut was invalid,but upheld the $700,000 in specific cuts. [15]
By 2005,the city's reserves had tripled and its bond rating had improved. Phelan used the reserves to pay for a road rebuilding program and increase the school department budget. He also began working on plans for a 65-acre park on the Broadmeadows marshes and the improvement and reconstruction of downtown Quincy. He was also rumored to be a candidate for Lieutenant Governor or another state-wide office in the 2006 election. He ran unopposed in that year's election. [1]
During his third term as mayor,Phelan created a citywide full-day kindergarten,hired additional teachers and classroom aides,cut the high school drop-out rate in half,planted more than 100 trees and implemented a nationally recognized 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness. [16] In 2007,seventeen of the eighteen city worker unions were working without a contract due to conflicts over health insurance costs,which had grown from $18 million in 2002 to $40 million. [17] At that time,the city paid 90% of health insurance premiums for most city employees. [18] That June,all 890-members of the teachers union went on strike,which resulted in the closure of all nineteen of the city's schools. The strike ended after four days when the union and school committee reached a tentative contract agreement. [19]
In February 2007,Phelan's park's commissioner,Thomas P. Koch (a holdover from the Sheets administration),resigned and declared his candidacy for mayor. [20] [21]
On June 2,2009,Phelan announced that he would challenge Koch in that year's election. The race between Koch and Phelan was described by Boston Globe reporter Robert Preer as "one of Quincy's most rancorous mayoral elections in decades". The two candidates sparred over the issue of property taxes - Phelan criticized Koch for implementing the largest tax increase in city history while Koch blamed Phelan's administration for leaving him with a large budget deficit that necessitated the increase. They also accused each other of engaging in patronage and deceptive campaigning. [22] During the campaign,WCVB-TV reported that supporters and relatives of Koch who resided outside of the city had voted in the previous election. Both sides challenged the residency of a few of the other's supporters. [23] Koch defeated Phelan. [24]
In March 2011,Phelan was offered the position of town administrator of Holbrook,Massachusetts. The Holbrook board of selectmen voted 5 to 0 on March 8,2011,to appoint Phelan as interim town administrator. That October he was offered the permanent position. [25]
In December 2011,Phelan was criticized by members of Holbrook's school committee for discussing school regionalization with the town manager of Abington,Massachusetts,after town meeting voted against it. [26] In April 2013,the chairman of the Holbrook finance committee filed an ethics complaint against Phelan,alleging that an e-mail Phelan sent to him in error demonstrated at least an appearance of conflict with regard to the school committee election. A spreadsheet attached to the e-mail appeared to be a contact list for the purpose of influencing the election. Phelan said he wrote the e-mail on his own time and sent it from a personal account. No violation of state ethics laws was found to have occurred. [27]
Phelan resigned as town administrator on May 15,2015. [28]
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County,Massachusetts,United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston,being Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636,making it the seventh-largest city in the state. Known as the "City of Presidents",Quincy is the birthplace of two U.S. presidents—John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams—as well as John Hancock,the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first and third governor of Massachusetts.
Braintree,officially the Town of Braintree,is a municipality in Norfolk County,Massachusetts. It is officially known as a town,but Braintree is a city with a mayor-council form of government,and it is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 39,143 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area with access to the MBTA Red Line and is a member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's South Shore Coalition. The first mayor of Braintree was Joe Sullivan,who served until January 2020. The current mayor of Braintree is Erin Joyce who was elected in 2023,defeating incumbent Charles Kokoros.
Michael Everett Capuano is an American politician and attorney who served as a U.S. Representative of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2019. A Democrat,his district included the northern three-fourths of Boston,as well as parts of Cambridge,his hometown of Somerville,and other communities immediately north and south of Boston. Prior to being elected to Congress,he served as an Alderman and Mayor of Somerville.
The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) is a private,Christian college in Quincy,Massachusetts. Established as a holiness college in Quincy,Massachusetts,in 1900,the college moved to Rhode Island for several years. With its expansion to a four-year curriculum,it relocated to Wollaston Park in 1919. It has expanded to additional sites in Quincy and,since the late 20th century,to satellite sites across the state. Its academic programs are primarily undergraduate,with some professional graduate education offered.
Quincy College (QC) is a public community college in Quincy,Massachusetts. It is an open admission commuter school that offers associate degrees,bachelor degrees,and certificate programs. It was founded in 1958 and enrolls approximately 3,500 students at campuses in Quincy and Plymouth,Massachusetts.
Quincy Center station is an intermodal transit station in Quincy,Massachusetts. It is a transfer station between the MBTA Red Line subway,MBTA Commuter Rail's Old Colony Lines and Greenbush Line,and a number of MBTA bus routes. It is located between Hancock Street and Burgin Parkway in the Quincy Center district. Opened in 1971,the station was covered by a large parking garage which was closed in 2012 due to structural problems and removed several years later. The station is accessible on all modes.
Timothy Patrick Cahill is an American former politician who served as Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General and was an independent candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.
North Quincy High School (NQHS) is a public secondary school located in the North Quincy neighborhood of Quincy,Massachusetts,United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12,and has an enrollment of over 1,200 students. It is one of two public high schools in the city—the other being Quincy High School. The school's mascot is known as "Yakoo",and its school colors are red and black.
Mariner Group,based in Marshfield,Massachusetts,United States,was a chain of weekly newspapers in the suburban South Shore near Boston,Massachusetts,United States. Founded in 1972 with one paper,the Marshfield Mariner,the group was sold in 1989 to Capital Cities/ABC and again in 1995 to Fidelity Investments,which dissolved it into Community Newspaper Company a few months later.
Robert A. Cerasoli is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives,the former Inspector General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,and the former Inspector General of the City of New Orleans. He also founded the Association of Inspectors General in 1996.
Quincy Medical Center was a small for-profit community hospital located in Quincy,Massachusetts for 124 years,from 1890 to 2014. A municipal hospital for most of its existence,it transitioned to non-profit in 1999 and then for-profit when it was purchased by Steward Health Care in 2011. It was closed in 2014 due to year of financial difficulties,though Steward's nearby Carney Hospital continued to operate the former hospital's ED as a stand-alone on the same site until 2020.
William Richard Keating is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party,he first entered Congress in 2011,representing Massachusetts's 10th congressional district until redistricting. Keating's district includes Cape Cod and most of the South Coast. He raised his profile advocating for criminal justice issues in both houses of the Massachusetts General Court from 1977 to 1999 before becoming district attorney of Norfolk County,where he served three terms before being elected to Congress.
John F. Keenan is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate for the Norfolk and Plymouth district.
Thomas P. Koch is the thirty-third and current mayor of Quincy,Massachusetts.
Kirsten L. Hughes is an American political figure,singer,and attorney who is the clerk magistrate of Stoughton District Court. She was the Chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party from 2013 to 2019 and a member of the Quincy,Massachusetts City Council from 2012 to 2020.
Robert L. Jubinville is an American attorney and politician,previously serving as a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council. He is one of only three "Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorneys" in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Fore River Bridge spans the Weymouth Fore River between Quincy and Weymouth,Massachusetts. The total length of the bridge including the approaches is 2,216 feet (675 m).
The Boston metropolitan area has an active Chinese American community. As of 2013,the Boston Chinatown was the third largest Chinatown in the United States,and there are also Chinese populations in the suburbs of Greater Boston,including Quincy,Malden,Acton,Newton,and Lexington. As of 2006,Boston,Quincy,Malden,Newton,Brookline,and Cambridge house about half of all of the ethnic Chinese in Massachusetts,and as a whole,Chinese constituted the largest Asian ethnic group in the state.
Arthur Henry Tobin is an American lawyer and politician from Quincy,Massachusetts who currently serves as clerk magistrate of the Quincy District Court.
Elections are currently held every four years to elect the mayor of Springfield,Massachusetts.