| Mayor of Holyoke | |
|---|---|
 Seal of Holyoke | |
| Seat | Holyoke City Hall |
| Term length | 4 years (2015-present) 2 years (1936-2015) 1 year (1874-1936) |
| Formation | 1874 |
| First holder | William B. C. Pearsons |
| Website | Official 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 | 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] |
YouTube Encyclopedic
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1/1Views:964
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JCHS: "Opening the Gates of Opportunity: Realizing the Potential of Gateway Cities" (Part 1)
Transcription
Notes
- ^ 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
- ^ Alamo, Hector Luis. "Holyoke Elects First Latino Mayor, Puerto Rican Joshua Garcia". Nov 3, 2021. latinorebels.com. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ 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
- ^ 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.").
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ An Act Establishing A 4-Year Term for the Office of Mayor of the City of Holyoke, 2015 Mass. Ch.91.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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
- ^ 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?'
- ^ 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
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Feinberg, Mark (November 10, 1957). "Holyoke's Mayor-Elect Created 500 Jobs in City". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Gover, Tzivia (Spring 2009). "Mrs. Elizabeth Towne: Pioneering Woman in Publishing and Politics (1865 – 1960)" (PDF). Historical Journal of Massachusetts. XXXVII. Westfield State University.
- ^ "Joshua Garcia prevails in Holyoke mayor's race". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Northampton, Mass. November 2, 2021.
This page was last edited on 10 April 2024, at 05:55