Judge halts saints statues from going up in Quincy

Mike Cotter has a lot in common with Thomas Koch, Quincy’s mayor of the last 17 years. Both are city natives and lifelong residents. Their fathers worked together as milkmen. And both were raised in Catholic families.

In fact, Cotter was named after one of the two saints Koch aims to honor with statues outside the city’s new police and fire headquarters.

But the two are polar opposites when it comes to those statues. In February, news broke that Koch had commissioned a pair of 10-foot bronze sculptures — of St. Michael, patron saint of police, and of St. Florian, patron saint of firefighters — without first getting approval from the City Council.

For Cotter, the city has no business spending taxpayer money on religious icons.

“Even if these were paid for privately, I still feel it was inappropriate to put Catholic saints on a public building,” he said.

Cotter is among 15 plaintiffs represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts, who sued to stop the statues from going up outside the city’s new public safety building, a roughly $170 million facility slated to open in November.

They notched an early victory on Tuesday when Norfolk Superior Court Judge William Sullivan granted a preliminary injunction. The statues must remain in storage while the lawsuit proceeds.

The case hinges on whether the statues violate the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights — the state equivalent (and predecessor) of the federal Bill of Rights — which grants All religions have equal protection under the law.

In his decision this week, Sullivan cited Quincy’s most famous son, John Adams, architect of the state Constitution, in contrast to what’s happening in the city now.

“Nearly 250 years later, less than half a mile from where John Adams had been laid to rest, the city of Quincy has decided to install two ten foot bronze statues of Catholic saints,” he wrote.

Koch is a devout Catholic. Seven years ago, he broke with the Democratic party because of his opposition to abortion. But even as an independent, he received support from Gov. Maura Healey and other key Democrats in his latest re-election bid. Koch has also supported pro-choice Republicans, like former Gov. Charlie Baker.

In a statement released after the ruling, Koch said the city will appeal, reiterating that the sculptures are secular.

“We chose the statues of Michael and Florian to honor Quincy’s first responders, not to promote any religion,” Koch said in a statement. “These figures are recognized symbols of courage and sacrifice in police and fire communities across the world. We will appeal this ruling so our city can continue to celebrate and inspire the men and women who protect us.”

The plaintiffs in the suit argue that, without seeking public input, Koch commissioned the statues from Sergey Eylanbekov, a Russian sculptor based in Italy, who had previously created statues of John Adams. and John Hancock for the city. The price tag for the Saints was $850,000.

Quincy police Chief Mark Kennedy said he remembers his parents giving him a medal of St. Michael when he graduated from the police academy.

“Michael and Florian have become so much more than religious or political,” Kennedy said, adding that Michael has been a symbol of police for generations.

“It’s just something that, again, transcends religion and it’s just become a symbol of our department — a symbol of good over evil,” he said.

Promoted to chief in 2023, Kennedy said he had a hand in final design decisions for the interior of the public safety building, but that he wasn’t involved in the decision to commission the statues. Still, Kennedy said he was aware of the statues before the Patriot Ledger broke the news earlier this year, at which point Koch approached him and the fire chief.

“He said, ‘Listen, talk to your people, if they don’t want this, we will stop this,’” Kennedy recounted.

He said the heads of the police and firefighters unions checked with the rank and file to gauge their support for the statues.

“We put out an unofficial poll and overwhelmingly, the police officers in this building — and I know the firefighters — they said ‘we want it,’” Kennedy said.

The debate over whether Michael and Florian are religious or secular figures is only one part of the battle. Opponents complain that the mayor went behind closed doors and commissioned the statues, without hosting public hearings, or notifying the City Council, which approved funding for the building.

Anne Mahoney was on the council at the time. She voted in favor of the original funding for the public safety building, but in November 2022, she grilled contractors and city officials over an additional $23 million requested.

“I was asking for specifics,” Mahoney said, adding that details like copper roofing and arched windows were excessive, and the city made little effort to address cost overruns.

Mahoney, who would later run for mayor against Koch, cast the lone vote opposing the additional money. Only years later did she learn that the money could end up paying for statues of saints.

“Lo and behold… there’s $850,000 worth of statues that were never disclosed to the City Council,” she said.

Mahoney is running to return to the Council in November. She’s challenging a group of councilors she said are rarely willing to push back on the priorities of the mayor.

“When it comes to money and spending, he should be accountable for every dollar he is spending,” Mahoney said. “And it shouldn’t be just on a whim because he wants to put Catholic statues in front of our police station.”

Koch has defended decisions made without explicit council approval. In February, he told radio host Joe Catalano “Plans evolve.”

“And that could be said of any school building, any major project that goes on,” Koch said. “The reality is the bottom line has not changed in the budget — I think the cost is .05% of the entire project. You know, it’s beautiful public art.”

Koch’s office has ignored multiple requests to interview the mayor. The city also turned down a public records request for documents relating to the statues, citing ongoing litigation.

Now the plaintiffs are awaiting Koch’s next move in court. The mayor recently told WBZ Radio that he plans to continue the legal fight as long as it takes, and that the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit referred to as “God’s ACLU,” has committed to taking up the case pro bono.

Attorney Rachel Davidson of the Massachusetts ACLU, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement that the ruling “affirms the bedrock principle that our government cannot favor one religion above others, or religious beliefs over non-religious beliefs.”