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— News and commentary about elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News

Facing another haircut?
An still image from a YouTube video

Mayor Thomas Koch’s plans to see himself an 89% raise that would make him one of the highest paid mayors in the United States is facing a closing arguments hearing today for a lawsuit over the City Clerk’s rejections of a voters petition to seek a serious haircut of the pending raise.

Needless to say, with today a Friday the Thirteenth, such poses intriguing karmic angles.

The plaintiffs — essentially those behind the petition — have argued that the City Clerk was overly persnickety certifying signatures in support of a ballot question seeking that the fat raise be trimmed to an increase consistent with the far more modest raises given to rank and file city employees.

Soon to be sad?
A Quincy Quarry News file photo

Arguments made by the plaintiffs’ council to date are that the City Clerk’s signature review protocol was variously at odds with applicable state law and regulations as well as local criteria.

Conversely, the City’s outside and expensive retained council have ultimately argued in favor of persnicketiness.

Quincy Quarry News’ two cents: the City is arguing for a more demanding signature approval protocol to merely see the go with a lower raise ballot question be on the ballot than is required for someone to pull a ballot to cast binding votes.

Say what?
A Paramount Television image

And for a solid and more granular review of the particulars, consider checking out the South Shore broadsheet’s coverage published in advance of today’s hearing.

Further note that the judge previously ordered a review of the signatures per a protocol consistent with the plaintiffs’ view how certification should have been conducted.

In turn, this review resulted in finding that 1,397 more petition signatures would have been certified, 69% more than the 828 signatures the petition fell short per the City Clerk’s challenged certification process.

Exercising their right to vote no what an election clerk thinks.
An old photo

Needless to say, if the judge opts to rules in favor of the plaintiffs and so honor the will as well as voting rights of the people, not only is the mayor looking at perhaps to probably not see a fat raise, local taxpayers will be conversely looking at having to not only cover the cost of at least mid-five figures of city funds spent on outside legal counsel to defend his raise, but also something comparable to reimburse the plaintiffs’ legal expenses undertaken to assure that voters’ rights as well as well as the will of the people are protected.

In short, either way local taxpayers will be koched.

Also needless to say, Quincy Quarry News’ ever-growing legions of loyal voters can count on it to report on how things play out in court today as well as upon the event of the judge issuing her ruling.

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