Thomas P. Koch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Koch in 2024 | |
| 33rd Mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | William J. Phelan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1963-01-22)January 22, 1963 (age 62) Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Independent (since 2018) Democratic (until 2018)[1] |
| Spouse | Christine Keenan Koch |
| Children | 3 |
Thomas P. Koch (/koʊk/KOHK;[2] born January 22, 1963) is thethirty-third and current mayor ofQuincy, Massachusetts.
Mayor Koch was born and raised in Quincy the sixth of seven children to Simone and Richard J. Koch. He is 1981 a graduate ofNorth Quincy High School and was the class president. He took classes at theUniversity of Massachusetts Boston, however does not have a college degree. Quincy Mayor James Sheets appointed him his top aide in 1990. In 1995, he was appointed commissioner of the city's Park Department.
In February 2007, Koch resigned and challenged Sheets' successor,William J. Phelan.[3] Koch defeated Phelan 54% to 46% in that year's election.[4] Koch defeated Phelan by a similar margin in a rematch two years later.[5] Koch defeated Phelan once again in 2015, winning the first four-year mayoral term in Quincy's history.[6] Koch also defeated then school committeewoman Anne Mahoney in 2011.[6] Koch and Mahoney, then a city councilor, faced off again 2023, with Koch winning again.[7]
A Democrat at the time, Koch endorsed RepublicanCharlie Baker in the2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[8] Baker's opponent, DemocratMartha Coakley, alleged Koch endorsed Baker because Coakley unsuccessfully prosecuted Koch allyTim Cahill two years prior.[8][9] Koch left the Democratic Party in 2018 because of hisanti-abortion views.[10] Later that year, he endorsed Baker's bid for re-election in the2018 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[11][12]
Koch has served as chairman of the MBTA Advisory Board since 2011.[13] In August 2021, the MBTA Advisory Board selected Koch to serve as its representative on theMBTA Board of Directors.[13]
During 2018, Koch was interim president of the municipally-affiliatedQuincy College.
In June 2024, city councilors approved Koch's request to raise his salary from $159,000 to $285,000, which would make him one of the highest-paid mayors in the United States.[14] Following public outcry, in October Koch said the raise would be deferred until after the 2027 mayoral election.[15] Later that month, Koch said the raise had been deferred in part due to an investigation by the State Ethics Commission.[16][17]
Koch is Roman Catholic.[10] Koch is the brother-in-law of Massachusetts State SenatorJohn F. Keenan.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor ofQuincy, Massachusetts January 2, 2008 - | Succeeded by incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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