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Date: 1/11/2022
HOLYOKE – The first Latinx mayor in a city with a largely Latinx population was formally sworn into office, telling the audience at his inaugural, “The result of our most recent election reflects the city-wide desires of Holyokers – from West Holyoke to South Holyoke, residents of this city turned to a new chapter that changed this narrative for one that embraces equity, inclusion and representation.”
A capacity audience in the Holyoke City Hall auditorium gave Mayor Joshua Garcia a standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech on Jan. 3.
Garcia gave emphasis to one agenda item that drew a large positive reaction from the audience: taking back direct control of the city’s schools from the state.
After the swearing in of City Clerk Brenna Murphy-McGee, she administered the oath of office to Garcia, the City Council, the School Committee and Treasurer Katherine Jackowski.
Garcia said, “My fellow Holyokers, I thank you all for being here this morning to celebrate the next chapter of our proud city, a page that has been turned by the citizens of Holyoke. I thank former Mayor Alex Morse for his nine years of service to our community. I also thank the outgoing city councilors for their collective years of service to Holyoke, one of which temporarily served in the capacity as acting Mayor, Terry Murphy - thank you all so much.
“In the face of great uncertainty here in the City of Holyoke and across the nation, I feel truly blessed to be with you all today as your 45th duly elected mayor of the city of Holyoke. It’s not the easiest thing to give two separate inauguration speeches in the span of seven weeks. There is an inherent feeling of inadequacy associated with it – where I’ve felt at times that no words of mine could appropriately frame this unprecedented moment for our city.
“And where my thoughts have returned to, time and again, is the palpable sense of resiliency that can be found in our community. It’s something that can be found in the past: where generations of immigrants left their world behind and came to Holyoke in search of a better life. It’s something that can be found in the present: where we find ourselves burdened by a pandemic, but yet we still press on. And it’s something that can be found in the faces of each elected official on this stage: who represents our future.
“The decision behind running for public office is unique to each one of my colleagues and me, but where they intersect is with a desire to be a part of change. I commend each of you for your commitment to impacting positive change in Holyoke and for the resiliency you showed in order to be here today. The harsh truth of the matter is that we live in a society where someone who looks like me (for example) is not set up to succeed, then again become the mayor of his hometown.
“And I have to believe that this feeling weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of many here today. I know it does because, if it didn’t, we would not have the diverse representation we see on this stage. The result of our most recent election reflects the city-wide desires of Holyokers – from West Holyoke to South Holyoke, residents of this city turned to a new chapter that changed this narrative for one that embraces equity, inclusion, and representation. This resonates with me as a symbol of how far our city has come; but – as many would be quick to point out – we still have so much farther to go.
“We are in the midst of the latest COVID-19 surge and, as many pundits have pointed out, this crisis has highlighted the inequities many are faced with every day. I do not believe though that we have come to fully grasp the true extent of how the quality of our social determinants of health in this city have undercut many Holyokers. Not just in the last two years of the pandemic, but for most of our city’s history. We are in a position where we can either ignore the institutional problems present in our community or we won’t.
“I was born into this city and grew up in it. I’m one of the few lucky ones out of many. My experiences and what I have witnessed has channeled my focus to how we can better work together as neighbors to eliminate structural barriers so we can improve the quality-of-life in our neighborhoods and make peoples’ lives a little better, no matter where in our city you live and what economic background you have.
“Although this may seem like a lofty priority for the mayor of 40,000 people – understand everything we do in government is focused on improving community health outcomes. And not just as your mayor, but as your neighbor, these issues are my issues and my administration will be focused on the necessary public and private community collaborations required to improve disparities, so we are building healthier neighborhoods together. There is a structural piece of the puzzle, however, that cannot be left to be addressed by reactionary measures. In order to move the needle, we need to establish a stronger foundation in our local government – and that begins with our budget. It begins with changing the long-held practices of irresponsible cuts, desperate transfers, and unaddressed deficits.
“But that’s just the beginning. I am committed to drafting a budget that forecasts the needs of our city departments and builds internal capacity. A budget that appropriately mitigates liability and harm to our resources. A budget that maintains best practices on how we manage our finances and meet the needs of our residents. A budget that addresses our deficit gap and produces a healthy level of free cash. A budget that makes appropriate investments in our capital assets and infrastructure. It’s only logical that a healthy and responsible budget goes hand-in-hand with prioritizing the needs of city departments in a way that has not existed for a long time.
“We are at a critical inflection point in this regard because I know we have the people who are equipped with the skills to solve many of the problems we face in our community – problems that are symptoms of a larger management problem. That is why a top priority of mine is to adopt a collaborative environment where the executive and the City Council work together in good faith to meet the needs of our departments and the expectations of our community.
“One important expectation of our community I want to highlight today is transitioning back our schools to local control. I am proud of students, families, and staff who have worked tirelessly to turn things around in our schools. Although it’s been a long time coming, I honestly believe that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. I am confident in our ability to regain local control and know we have the right people on our school board leading the charge to achieve it.
“So now we need to look to our roots and embody the resilient spirit we carry in our core to will our way there. Because when there is a will, there is a way. Like so many things our city faces, the way in which we get there is critical. So that is why, under the Garcia Administration, you can believe that short-sighted decisions, that hurt us in the long-term, are a thing of the past. You can believe that your municipal government will strive to offer the best quality services in the present. And you can believe that when we talk about the future in Holyoke, it will be guided by the feeling that we have finally righted the ship and are ready to embrace the future. How do we get there? Well, the same way leaders before us got us here today…resiliency. God bless you all and God bless our city of Holyoke. Thank you.”
City Council Presidency
The new City Council met immediately after the mayor’s inaugural to vote on the council president and that meeting had one element that was not routine.
As soon as Councilor Todd McGee had been reelected to the presidency of the council, the matter of Israel River’s legitimacy as a councilor was addressed by Councilors Linda Vacon and Kevin Jourdain.
Rivera was cited by Councilors Vacon and Jourdain a violating a city ordinance that forbids any city employee from having a seat on the council.
Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos questioned why this had to be part of the actions taken at the first council meeting “It seems so desperate to do this today,” he said.
Rivera announced to the council that he had resigned from his job the previous week. “I resigned because of the divisiveness that it caused,” he said.
Jourdain said in response, “We can all now move forward.”
McGee received a near-unanimous vote from his election with Vacon casting her vote for Jourdain.
In his address, McGee told the council he had spoken with Garcia and told him the council wanted “an open door” to his office. In response, Garcia has texted, called and emailed the council, McGee noted.
“This is what we want,” he said.
He thanked Interim Mayor and former City Councilor Terry Murphy for his service to the city.
McGee paid tribute to his mentor, the late Marty Dunn who served as an alderman, mayor, and state senator to the city. He also thanked his wife and family for allowing him to spend the time needed for the position.