After moving to Roxbury , Moran became involved in local politics . During the 1892 election he took the stump for Timothy V. Coakley , Democratic nominee in the Massachusetts Senate 's 8th Suffolk District . During the 1895 Boston mayoral election , Moran and Coakley ended up on the opposite sides , with Moran supporting Democrat Josiah Quincy and Coakley supporting Republican Edwin Upton Curtis . The two engaged in a joint debate in front of 4,000 people at the Boston Music Hall . In the 1897 mayoral election , Moran broke with Quincy and supported Thomas Riley , an attorney who as the candidate of the Bryan Democrats , a group of Boston Democrats who " repudiated the Chicago platform "
Chicago platform
1896 Democratic National Convention
John B. Moran