Phelan: My job in city not done yet

QUINCY - Mayor William J. Phelan never intended to stay this long. No more than a term or two. That’s what he told park commissioner Tom Koch shortly after his election six years ago. He even urged him to run.

Phelan no longer thinks Koch, his challenger this year, is right for the role. The mayor wants a fourth term. He wants a legacy. And he can see it rising outside his third-floor office in City Hall.

The new Quincy High School, a politically poisonous project for the past 10 years, is finally being built. And in his mind, Phelan can picture a grander project: a modern Quincy Center with destination shopping and a public square built up around a new four-lane concourse.

Phelan, who has gained a variety of reputations, from principled go-getter to self-serving hothead, isn’t finished yet.

“The downtown really gets my juices flowing. It’s a big deal for the city’s future,” he said.

But for him to define his legacy as a city leader, he must first get past Koch in the Nov. 6 election.

For all the polarized emotions this mayor elicits, fans and foes agree that Phelan isn’t one to shy away from a fight.

His election in 2001 over six-term incumbent James A. Sheets by 17 votes is a case in point. Phelan, then a political greenhorn halfway through his first term on the school committee, built a tough image by crusading against a popular mayor with an unpopular plan to build the high school atop a former industrial landfill.

Phelan’s public fights since then, among them with Quincy College and state Treasurer Tim Cahill, have strengthened his image as a scrappy brawler. Phelan battled with legions of city workers by refusing to negotiate new contracts if they would not agree to double their share of health care costs.

When the city’s teachers went on strike in June, the first teachers’ walkout in the state in more than a decade, Phelan didn’t budge. The strike ended after four days.

“I’m passionate about defending what I think needs to be defended,” Phelan said.

Phelan’s critics -- call him vindictive and bullying.

The mayor acknowledges that his style can seem brash, but he adds, “I’m not any harder on anybody else than I am on myself in terms of what I expect.”

A defensive standout on his high school basketball team, Phelan often joins in a pickup game at the YMCA. At 47, Phelan is older than most of the regulars. - He holds his own, though.

“It’s clear he’s competitive,” said Matt Danick, 35. “I’d rather play with him than against him.”

John P. Kelly may be reached at jkelly@ledger.com.