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Date: 6/7/2021
HOLYOKE – The decision of the acting mayor to rescind an executive order made by the previous mayor declaring racism and police violence as a public health crisis was addressed at length during the June 1 City Council meeting.
The meeting began with councilor’s continuing to address the topic of an ongoing proposed project on Valley Heights Road that would remove power lines and poles from residents’ back yards and bring them to the front of the street. Initially, a public hearing was scheduled to be continued for the installation of several new telephone poles on Valley Heights Road. Currently, poles are located in residents’ backyards, making it difficult for Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E) to access, maintain and repair the poles when needed.
Council President Todd McGee said that after the last city council meeting HG&E had promised to come back with more information regarding questions councilors and residents had about costs, underground wiring and other options. McGee said HG&E needed more time to gather the information required and the public hearing was postponed until the next council meeting on June 15.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Spencer Fox Peterson addressed a situation that took place earlier in the week with the Holyoke Police Department. He said that a post had been made on the department’s social media page that involved a young girl in a difficult situation.
“They made a post featuring a young girl playing in a car and made a subsequent caption that said to the effect, ‘This is a tough hand for this young woman, but we did what we could today.’ It’s a super insensitive and traumatic situation that this child is in, she shouldn’t be used as a prop,” he said. Fox Peterson said eventually the post was taken down after several community members complained, but he felt as though the situation was part of a larger conversation regarding the ethics of policing.
McGee said that Fox Peterson, along with any other resident, was welcome to reach out to their local counselors to file an order that would allow the issue to be addressed more thoroughly. Fox Peterson said he had reached out to his local counselor, Juan Anderson-Burgos, and “the ball was rolling.”
Several residents also spoke out against Acting Mayor and City Councilor Terence Murphy who rescinded former Mayor Alex Morse’s executive order that declared racism and police violence a public health emergency. One resident called the rescinding of the order “tone deaf.” Resident Dave Scolardi said he felt racism was a public health issue, citing vaccination rates of Hampden County which majority is made up of members of the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) community.
Resident Erin Callahan said she was part of the committee that had been established with the original executive order Morse created. She said while she felt as though racism was a public health emergency and an important issue, “it was a little unfair to the acting mayor to not acknowledge as it was written sort of ended up just being a gesture because there was very little follow through with what was in it.” Callahan said if Murphy was willing to write a new order that should have been submitted prior to rescinding the original order. She also emphasized that much of what the committee had been working on needed to go through the City Council, and that the power to create change within the community largely lay with the power of the council.
Resident Josh Knox said the decision to enact the rescinding of the order on the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder was “at best unfortunate.” He said while the former order may have been majoritively symbolic, it sent a message to rescind the order on the anniversary of Floyds murder, whether it was intended or not. Knox said he hoped that Murphy was able to work with various members within the community and local government to move forward and act on some of the pressing issues to address racial inequalities.
During the discussion regarding the order, Councilor Gladys Lebron-Martinez shared her personal experience regarding institutional racism, along with some of her family’s experience. She called the subject “the elephant in the room” and said her children had endured racism during their public school experience.
Councilor Rebecca Lisi said she’d had the opportunity to work with Murphy over the years and called him a “nice guy and a decent man and I’ve seen him work to make Holyoke more inclusive.” However, she added, “But being a good guy does nothing to address the institutional nature of racism and all the previous speakers who were here to lend their voice have spoken to the issue that way,” she said.
“At best, Mayor Murphy’s actions speak to the white privilege that prevents him from realizing the tone deafness of rescinding this executive order on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder,” she said. “At worst, his actions highlight the problems that white Americans must face related to their color blind understanding of racial equality.”
Councilor Libby Hernandez, said, “It was a very sad day for our community when the ward two councilor, because we can’t say any names, [and] acting mayor decided to rescind this order that was bigger than – I mean it was bigger than the reasons he provided to rescind it.” Hernandez added that she had “an outcry” of constituents, including a large number of Spanish speaking residents, ask why this had happened.
Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos recalled a time as a teenager in Holyoke when he and his brother had been approached by a police officer. He said he “froze” and the officer slapped his brother “so hard in the face that it struck a chord, like it struck a fear in my very core,” adding that he was still fearful of his interactions with police. “I know it was a long time ago, but these are effects that still affect me as a grown man today,” he said.
Councilor Linda Vacaon said she didn’t believe that Murphy was acting with bad intentions, and they should do what they could to move a number of orders or resolutions forward. She said the problem with executive orders were that they often disappeared when the mayor who created them left office. She said the orders and changes that lasted were the matters that went through the process of City Council debate and discussion.
When it was time for Murphy to speak he was visibly emotional, requesting a moment and getting up from his computer. After a moment, and comments from a couple others, Murphy addressed the matter with a statement. He said he’d “done a poor job of explaining the purpose of this order.”
“It appears that some of the community believes that I don’t believe racism and police abuse are serious problems. Let me state unequivocally tonight, racism in all its forms and police abusive practice in all their forms are inherently wrong and need to be eradicated to whatever extent possible,” he said.
Murphy said he’d advocated for treating everyone “with respect and dignity,” something he believed would help overcome prejudice caused by ignorance. He said he’d experienced a childhood in a multicultural neighborhood, which was one of his “greatest advantages in life” and gave him interactions and influences with people from a variety of backgrounds. He said the purpose of the executive order was “simply to clarify the status of Juneteenth as a holiday.” Murphy added that he was told that to establish Juneteenth as a holiday he was advised that he needed to create a new executive order. Murphy also addressed the timing of the order, calling it “not good” and said it was simply based on “trying to make it an official holiday.”
He said while none of the actions called for in the initial executive order had been acted upon, he was not unwilling to work with members of departments and residents to work to move forward and create change in the community. “While I know I have failed at times, I have tried and continued to try to build a united community in Holyoke with a goal of a better quality of life for all of our residents,” Murphy said with a trembling voice.
He added that his intention as acting mayor was not to do harm, but help the city of Holyoke and their residents. He said while he would make mistakes along the way, he was always willing to listen with respect. Murphy said he’d already set up meetings with several individuals and encouraged anyone who wanted to speak with him to reach out.