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Date: 1/9/2024
HOLYOKE — The latest City Council to represent the city of Holyoke were sworn in on Dec. 2 inside the City Hall ballroom and for the first time ever, the council has a majority of women representing the city.
The five newly elected councilors sworn in included at-large winners Patti Devine, Michael Sullivan and Howard Greaney, Carmen Ocasio coming out of Ward 2, and Meagan Magrath-Smith for Ward 7.
Returning councilors sworn in for a new term included At-Large Councilors Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, Kevin Jourdain and Israel Rivera, as well as Ward 1 Councilor Jenny Rivera, Ward 3 Councilor David Bartley, Ward 4 Councilor Kocayne Givner, Ward 5 Councilor Linda Vacon and Ward 6 Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos.
City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee opened by speaking about the inauguration saying it was important as it was the opportunity for the public to witness their elected officials take an oath promising to uphold the laws, integrity and the goodwill of Holyoke.
“Our form of government is a democratically elected one. So it is ceremonies like this, a rite of passage, that reminds politicians that it’s the public who is in charge,” Murphy McGee said. She added praise to longtime councilors Joseph McGiverin, Peter Tallman and Todd McGee for years of their service as all three councilors chose not to run for reelection during the November election.
Mayor Joshua Garcia praised the new council for their commitment to running for elected office and to work to make Holyoke a better place. Garcia added this council prepares for the new term at an important time in the city’s history as they battle a housing crisis, public safety concerns, economic inequality and drug addiction, all threats to quality of life in the city.
“I commend you for choosing the path of service and sacrifice in the interest of the residents of Holyoke. This is an urgent era for the city that we love,” Garcia said during the ceremony.
Garcia also spoke about the importance of the council’s role in the city as a 13-person body and encouraged them to use their different strengths from the different backgrounds each come from to work together, and not allow it to create division.
“It’s tough to get an agreement on strategies to improve outcomes when you have 13 different perspectives to navigate. And you know what? That’s okay. We’re a diverse group and we bring to the table a diversity of talents and insights and perspectives,” Garcia said.
He added being a diverse group and community invites unique sets of challenges for the city that must be managed. To this point in his tenure as mayor, Garcia added he knows the council and its representatives have worked toward this shared goal and managing challenges the city faces due to his open communication with residents who express to him consistently about any issues or the resolving of those concerns.
“I gotta say that’s not all because of me, but because we have had a council that have worked together, dealt with our unique challenges of being a community of differences, came to consensus to support different strategies to achieve the community’s objective and improve the quality of life. We need to continue that, we need to figure out how to maintain that momentum,” Garcia explained. “The success of our city is very dependent on cooperation. We need to keep working together and not get sucked into the black hole of politics that often divide people.”
Also being inaugurated into their role of public service alongside the City Council were the School Committee and City Treasurer Rory Casey. Following the inauguration, the City Council convened in its chambers to vote on a new council president where Tessa Murphy-Romboletti was elected in a 7-6 vote, becoming the council’s first ever woman president.