Coffey, Dennis 03.09 - University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries

A: Do you remember any of his old political stories?
D: Gosh!
A: I think he was on the school committee for one term way back when.
D: Yah, yah, that’s right. That’s right he was. Probably in the 40s.
A: During the war I think.
D: Yah, yah, I think so. And then somehow got hooked up with, with the Kennedys.
A: Yah.
D: And when Jack went to the White House he went down to the Transportation
Department, (A: Oh did he? Yah?)all the way down the Transportation Department.
Originally went to the White House as Transportation Advisor to the President. Of
course what he was, he was the starter for Eastern Mass Bus you know. That was his
transportation experience. But then from the White House he went over the EDA. (A:
Okay) EDA in those days, you know, used to train their people. And so he got some
credentials. He got some background and so forth. But you know, the job at EDA was to
run around New England and he asked the President to give grants out, you know. He
became very popular that way. (A: Yah) But of course they were these you know,
$200,000 grants and stuff like that, which at the time was pretty good money.
A: Yah, yah.
D: So, and then you know when Nixon came in of course that dried up, and he had no
money to give away and he sat in the office waiting for the phone to ring. [Phone rings]
And then the phone rang and it wasn’t the call he wanted.
A: Yah, exactly.
D: Pack up and get out! But you know Tom, Tom was also not part of the power elite.
He was you know, Irish Catholic, (A: Umhm, umhm) you know, up out of the ranks so
to speak.
A: I mean when you talk about the power elite in the early 70s, who was it?
D: The banks, the banks and the lawyers.
A: And certain ethnic groups?
D: Um, I don’t remember it as being ethnic groups. I remember it as being money.
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