Join a resident council!
This was an email sent to my mailing list on November 23, 2025. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do so here.
Hello, everybody!
I hope you’re all doing well and will get to spend some time with loved ones this (and every) week.
I’m still pinching myself over the election results and trying to wrap my mind around all the work to be done as a new city councilor. It’s a daunting prospect, and I welcome all the help I can get.
That’s where you come in! I’m hoping you’ll sign up to serve on a “resident council” – a group of folks who can weigh in on a particular neighborhood or topic, like transit or housing. I met so many knowledgeable, thoughtful people while campaigning and am hoping to tap into your interest and expertise so I can make more informed, judicious votes on city policies. Sign up here!
In Ward 5 news, the zoning board last week approved a new retail building for the corner of Beach and Hancock Streets after a positive community meeting hosted the previous week by Ward 5 Councilor Dan Minton. At that meeting, former Ward 5 Councilor Chuck Phelan, Councilor Minton, and I got a photo together and Councilors Phelan and Minton kindly offered their help should I need it in the future. I’m sure I’ll be taking them up on it! I’m grateful for their service to the city and their graciousness to me.
Ward 5 Councilors past (Chuck Phelan), future (Maggie McKee), and present (Dan Minton)
At that same meeting, I connected with attorney Ed Fleming, who represents many of the developers with proposals before the city. He told me the residential building proposed for the parking lot beside the Wollaston CVS would not be discussed at a planning board meeting this past week, as had been thought. Instead, it will be postponed til the new year. We’ll aim to host a community meeting about that before it goes to planning. Stay tuned!
In other local news, I met a woman waiting in line at the post office who said that a check she’d put in one of the blue mailboxes on the street had been stolen and fraudulently cashed. I don’t know how often that takes place, but the postal worker at the counter suggested that folks come into a post office to send their mail to minimize the chances of that happening. With the holidays upon us, I wanted to pass that suggestion along!
Finally, I wanted to include some community resources from Quincy Public Schools’ very helpful newsletter, including these graphics from Project Bread. If you or anyone you know doesn’t have enough to eat, please reach out to them or to me. And if you’d like to help out in the community – and meet new friends! – here is a list of local groups that I’m sure would be delighted to have you! Feel free to add any groups that I’ve missed.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Maggie
PS Incoming Ward 3 Councilor Walter Hubley put together a blog about composting that I added to. So many ways to do it, even if you live in an apartment building, and it helps the planet and cuts off a food source for rodents. Win-win!
