Teachers back Koch for mayor in Quincy; Union seeks ‘change in climate’ after dispute with Phelan

QUINCY - The executive board of the Quincy Education Association has endorsed mayoral candidate Tom Koch over incumbent William Phelan.

The board made its recommendations last week, about seven weeks before the November election, said union president Paul Phillips.

The teachers and Mayor William Phelan were engaged in a bitter dispute over the handling of contract negotiations, leading to a strike in June.

“The whole idea is they want a change in climate,” Phillips said.

The executive board is supporting Nick Puleo and Jo-Ann Bragg for the school committee.

The teachers chose not to recommend a third candidate, although there are three open seats.

Incumbents David McCarthy and Elaine Dwyer and challenger Eileen Mullen are also running.

Phillips said a questionnaire sent by the union to McCarthy was not returned, and that Dwyer had declined to participate.

The union’s Political Education Committee sent out questionnaires to all of the candidates for school committee and mayor and conducted interviews.

That committee then made recommendations to the executive board, which voted to accept its report.

The recommendations will be sent to all members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, Boston Teachers Union and American Federation of Teachers who live in Quincy, regardless of where they teach.