Mayor of Holyoke
Seal of Holyoke
Incumbent
Joshua A. Garcia
since November 15, 2021[1]
SeatHolyoke City Hall
Term length4 years (2015-present)
2 years (1936-2015)
1 year (1874-1936)
Formation1874
First holderWilliam B. C. Pearsons
WebsiteOfficial website

The mayor of Holyoke is the head of the executive branch of the municipal government of Holyoke, Massachusetts responsible for presenting an initial budget to the city council, and appointing key office holders such as the chief of police and fire commissioners.

Although members of both major parties have successfully run for office since the city's incorporation, elections for municipal positions are officially nonpartisan, on the ballot candidates do not run as members of any political party, nor require backing of one in any official capacity.[2][3]

When Holyoke was incorporated as a city, initially the mayoral term given in the 1874 charter was for the mayor to serve a single-year term, being elected at the end of the municipal year. This was subsequently raised to two years during the mayoralty of William P. Yoerg in 1936,[4] and from two to four years during that of Alex B. Morse in 2015.[5][6] Mayoral primaries, in which the two candidates receiving the most votes went on to run in the election, began in 1959.[7] Oftentimes mayoral administrations and mayors themselves are referred to interchangeably with the office space that each has occupied since the city's incorporation, "Room One".[8][9][10]

Since Holyoke's establishment as a City in 1873, the following individuals have served as its mayor.

Mayor John Cronin shakes hands with George Pearsons, son of the City's first mayor William B. C. Pearsons, during a celebration of the City's fiftieth anniversary.
# Mayor Picture Term Notes
1st William B. C. Pearsons 1874-1876
2nd Roswell P. Crafts 1877
3rd William Whiting II 1878-1879
4th William Ruddy 1880
5th Franklin P. Goodall 1881
6th Roswell P. Crafts 1882-1883
7th James E. Delaney 1884-1885
8th James J. O'Connor 1886-1887
9th James E. Delaney 1888
10th Jeremiah F. Sullivan 1889-1890
11th Michael J. Griffin 1891
12th Jeremiah F. Sullivan 1892
13th Dennie L. Farr 1893
14th Marciene H. Whitcomb 1894
15th Henry A. Chase 1895
16th James J. Curran 1896
17th George H. Smith 1897
18th Michael Connors 1898
19th Arthur B. Chapin 1899–1904
20th Nathan P. Avery 1904–1910
21st John J. White 1911–1913
22nd John H. Woods 1914–1915
23rd John J. White 1916–1917
24th John D. Ryan 1918–1919
25th John F. Cronin 1920–1925
26th Gregory J. Scanlon 1926
27th John F. Cronin 1927
28th Fred G. Burnham 1928–1929
29th William T. Dillon 1930–1931
30th Fred G. Burnham 1932 Died in office.
Acting William M. Hart 1932 Acting mayor.
31st Henry J. Toepfert 1932–1935 First elected in special election to finish Burnham's term.
32nd William P. Yoerg 1936–1939 Did not seek re-election to become
director of Holyoke Housing Authority;
presided over Lyman Terrace[11]
33rd Henry J. Toepfert 1940–1953 Longest-serving mayor.
Died in office.
Acting James T. Doherty 1953 Acting mayor.
34th Edwin A. Seibel 1953–1957 First elected in special election to finish Toepfert's term.
Only mayor to serve concurrently as state representative.
Died in office.
Acting Samuel Resnic 1957 Acting mayor following Seibel's death;
was ineligible to run to complete term.
Acting Paul L. Brougham 1957 Elected in special election to finish Seibel's term;
lost in concurrent regular election.[12]
35th Samuel Resnic 1958–1963 First elected term.
Holyoke's first Jewish mayor.[13]
36th Daniel F. Dibble 1964–1967
37th William Taupier 1968–1975 Resigned to become City Manager of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Acting Thomas Monahan 1975 Acting mayor.
38th Ernest E. Proulx 1976–1986
39th Martin J. Dunn 1987–1991 Resigned to become a State Senator.
Acting Joseph M. McGiverin 1991 Acting mayor.
40th William Hamilton 1991–1995 First elected in special election to finish Dunn's term.
41st Daniel Szostkiewicz 1995–1999
42nd Michael J. Sullivan 2000–2009
43rd Elaine A. Pluta 2010–2011 First female mayor.[a]
44th Alex Morse 2012–2021 Youngest mayor in city history (elected at the age of 22).
First openly gay mayor.
Resigned to become Town Manager of Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Acting Todd A. McGee 2021 Acting mayor.
Acting Terence “Terry” Murphy 2021 Acting mayor.
45th Joshua A. Garcia 2021- Holyoke's first Latino mayor.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ The first woman run for mayor, albeit unsuccessfully in 1928, was publisher Elizabeth Towne, the first female city councilor in Holyoke, and first married woman city councilor in the state.[14]

References

  1. ^ Alamo, Hector Luis. "Holyoke Elects First Latino Mayor, Puerto Rican Joshua Garcia". Nov 3, 2021. latinorebels.com. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gerson, Jeffrey; Hardy-Fanta, Carol, eds. (2014) [2002]. "Holyoke". Latino Politics in Massachusetts: Struggles, Strategies and Prospects. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 9781135672140. The electoral system in Holyoke is nonpartisan in municipal elections; candidates can run at-large or from their district
  3. ^ Vecinos DeBarrio Uno v. City of Holyoke, 880 F. Supp. 911 (D. Mass. 1995 March 27, 1995) ("All municipal elections in Holyoke are non-partisan, and the requirements to run for office are minimal. None of the suspect devices often used historically to exclude minority candidates, such as majority vote requirements or anti-single shot provisions, has ever existed in Holyoke.").
  4. ^ "Executive powers vested in mayor; manner of exercising power; term.". Holyoke Code of Ordinances Title IV- Executive Department, Act No. Sec. 25 of 1936. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  5. ^ "List of Laws which are not printed in the subpart- Special Acts Applicable to the City-". Holyoke Code of Ordinances State Laws Accepted or Adopted by the City, Act No. Sec. 25 of 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  6. ^ An Act Establishing A 4-Year Term for the Office of Mayor of the City of Holyoke, 2015 Mass. Ch.91.
  7. ^ "Resnic and Gavin Win Holyoke Mayoral Test; Jubinville Third in First Preliminary Election; Total of 10,426 Votes cast". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. October 7, 1959. pp. 1, 4.
  8. ^ "Rte. 5 Changes Considered by Official Group". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. December 18, 1958. p. 40. Agreement on important points involved in the forthcoming relocation of Route 5 west of the city as Interstate Highway 91 was the subject of serious discussion Wednesday night during a Room One meeting
  9. ^ Sullivan, Edward J. (April 16, 1974). "Our Holyoke readers Talk Back:Room for More in Room One?". Springfield Union. p. 11. However, with the present occupant of Room One, the one question that immerses me in puzzlement is, 'How many CAO's would Bill go through in two years?'
  10. ^ Plaisance, Mike (February 20, 2018). "Councilors to discuss financial problem racking Holyoke City Hall". The Republican. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. 'Room One' is the nickname used for the mayor's office in City Hall
  11. ^ "Yoerg Quits Race to Head Holyoke Housing Project; Mayor Sees New Job Important to Democracy and Has Found Official Life Wearing". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. October 3, 1939. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Bossy Gillis Regains Mayor's Seat at Newburyport". Boston Traveler. November 6, 1957. p. D11. Holyoke voters actually picked two mayors. Atty. Samuel Resnic won the two-year term starting next Jan. 1. Paul L. Brougham was victor in the special election to complete the unexpired term of Mayor Edwin Seibel, who died in September.
  13. ^ Feinberg, Mark (November 10, 1957). "Holyoke's Mayor-Elect Created 500 Jobs in City". The Boston Globe.
  14. ^ Gover, Tzivia (Spring 2009). "Mrs. Elizabeth Towne: Pioneering Woman in Publishing and Politics (1865 – 1960)" (PDF). Historical Journal of Massachusetts. XXXVII. Westfield State University.
  15. ^ "Joshua Garcia prevails in Holyoke mayor's race". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Northampton, Mass. November 2, 2021.
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