Quincy's Race For Mayor: What You Need To Know

QUINCY, MA — The Quincy elections are taking place Tuesday, and in one of the races, Brenda A. Ryan is challenging Mayor Thomas P. Koch for the mayor's seat.

In their recent messages to voters, the mayoral candidates had the chance to express their views and priorities ahead of the election.

Koch, the incumbent mayor, said the city has seen a dramatic drop in crime in recent years. He said 16 new police officers are being added to Quincy, and additional firefighters are being added due to a grant.

He said the city has been able to build new schools and keep the class sizes small.

Koch said although no one likes taxes, "the taxes in Quincy are kind of in the middle. They're not the highest, they're not the lowest. Yet, if you ask me, we've got the greatest services and programs provided in any community in Massachusetts."

He would also like to focus on fixing Quincy's aged infrastructure, said Koch.

Ryan, on the other hand, is running for the mayor's seat for the first time. She said she is running after being disappointed that a city of approximately 94,000 people is losing a hospital. Being a resident of Hospital Hill, she is unhappy of the planned development of the hospital property and how it would affect the nearby residents.

"I shutter to think what the next four years will bring to this property and the inconvenience it will be to the neighbors," said Ryan.

In addition, Ryan said she has been attending monthly meetings of Fore River Residents Against the Gas Compressor Station, a group that opposes a gas compressor being built in Weymouth. Ryan said the project would pose a health and environmental threats to the residents of Quincy and surrounding communities.

Ryan's other priority is to focus on traffic issues.

Tuesday's election will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Polling locations are by ward.