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With Doherty's death, city loses 'one of the originals'
Published: January 4, 2008
BEVERLY - When a young Kevin Burke showed him a leaflet promoting Burke's first run for political office in the 1970s, Ed Doherty took one look and handed it back.
"Too many words," Doherty said.
Like other aspiring politicians of the era, Burke took Doherty's advice to heart. Doherty, who died Sunday at age 85 after a battle with cancer, was one of the key figures of his time on the city's political scene with his combination of humor, knowledge and passion.
"He was just a captivating individual when it came to politics," said Burke, a Beverly resident and former Essex County district attorney who is now the state's secretary of public safety. "He understood it at any level. If Tip O'Neill said, 'All politics is local,' then Ed Doherty said something like it every day of his life."
Doherty served 12 years as an alderman-at-large (the forerunner to today's City Council) in the late '60s and early '70s. It was an interesting time in Beverly politics, with colorful mayoral contests among people like Jimmy Vitale, Herb Grimes and Peter Fortunato.
If that era was more "robust," as Burke said, then Ed Doherty fit right in.
"My dad always viewed politics as part sport, part theater," said Jim Doherty, who served eight years himself on the Board of Aldermen. "He had sort of a love-hate relationship with Jimmy Vitale. They'd argue over some issue, then go down to the Capri (a former restaurant on Cabot Street) and have pizza and a few cocktails. It was never personal."
Like Burke, former Mayor Jack Monahan considered Doherty a mentor.
"He taught me great lessons in life," Monahan said. "He was an honest, decent, good man, extremely loyal. He gave his all to his family, his community and his country."
"He never took himself that seriously, but he was devoted to the job," said Ken Weafer, who served with Doherty as an alderman. "He really loved being an alderman, and I looked up to him."
Burke said that passion for civic engagement, absent the cynicism that so often marks today's politics, made Doherty one of the last links to a bygone era.
"In Beverly, we've lost one of the originals," Burke said.
"Too many words," Doherty said.
Like other aspiring politicians of the era, Burke took Doherty's advice to heart. Doherty, who died Sunday at age 85 after a battle with cancer, was one of the key figures of his time on the city's political scene with his combination of humor, knowledge and passion.
"He was just a captivating individual when it came to politics," said Burke, a Beverly resident and former Essex County district attorney who is now the state's secretary of public safety. "He understood it at any level. If Tip O'Neill said, 'All politics is local,' then Ed Doherty said something like it every day of his life."
Doherty served 12 years as an alderman-at-large (the forerunner to today's City Council) in the late '60s and early '70s. It was an interesting time in Beverly politics, with colorful mayoral contests among people like Jimmy Vitale, Herb Grimes and Peter Fortunato.
If that era was more "robust," as Burke said, then Ed Doherty fit right in.
"My dad always viewed politics as part sport, part theater," said Jim Doherty, who served eight years himself on the Board of Aldermen. "He had sort of a love-hate relationship with Jimmy Vitale. They'd argue over some issue, then go down to the Capri (a former restaurant on Cabot Street) and have pizza and a few cocktails. It was never personal."
Like Burke, former Mayor Jack Monahan considered Doherty a mentor.
"He taught me great lessons in life," Monahan said. "He was an honest, decent, good man, extremely loyal. He gave his all to his family, his community and his country."
"He never took himself that seriously, but he was devoted to the job," said Ken Weafer, who served with Doherty as an alderman. "He really loved being an alderman, and I looked up to him."
Burke said that passion for civic engagement, absent the cynicism that so often marks today's politics, made Doherty one of the last links to a bygone era.
"In Beverly, we've lost one of the originals," Burke said.
