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Date: 6/15/2021
HOLYOKE – A sixth candidate has joined the race to become Holyoke’s next mayor.
Dr. Gloria Caballero-Roca was born and raised in Cuba with four siblings. While living in Cuba, she said she gave birth to her eldest son and experienced the struggles of poverty firsthand.
“Food was not always available, water was not always available. It was tough,” she said. Caballero-Roca said she was fortunate enough to have a single mother who worked incredibly hard to provide for her and her siblings.
“I don’t know how my mom made it, there were times when she was only 100 pounds. Sometimes we had to take her to the hospital in police cars because there was no transportation,” she said.
This, Caballero-Roca explained, made her determined to work hard. She said this mindset only grew when she became pregnant with her oldest child and “had to become very, very ambitious” and was determined to “break the cycle of poverty.”
Caballero-Roca said she “studied so hard” to graduate college, where she later became employed. From there, she went on to remarry and move to America. She called her story a “rag to riches” one, and said six months after moving to Massachusetts she got a job at the Milton Academy and returned to teaching at the college level.
She then went on to apply to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for her PHD. “I applied at UMass, got into their PHD program, taught there for all those years,” she said. Cabellero-Roca said she spent eight years “studying, researching, working and teaching.”
During that time, she said she learned a lot about herself. “I learned a lot about myself, and to shake off a lot of what we are born with. Being exposed to, or being willing to expose myself to the world and knowing where I came from gave me a lot of grounding,” she said.
After studying abroad, she said her work brought her to Western Massachusetts, Holyoke specifically. She described it as a “turning point” in her life and said the area reminded her of her upbringing in Cuba.
“I saw a lot of women in need, single parents, people that wanted to make a change but had no resources,” she said. This, she explained, inspired her to do more research and complete her second PHD.
“I said okay, so what’s going on here, I work in Holyoke. My experience with people that are here, not only from Puerto Rico, but Latina pushed me to do more research and theory and look for the language that comes when you want to describe social justice and gender,” she said.
After a year of social justice movements both locally and across the country, Caballero-Roca said she felt called to be an agent of change within the city. “I said no, this is what times are calling for – change. Holyoke is one of those places that to someone that comes with all this background, I think I embody that, in we are all craving that social justice,” she said.
She said as mayor she would try to unite the city and help residents understand just how connected they all are. “I would love to see the city realize how interconnected we are. We need to understand that we’re suffering from a lot of health issues, we need health to get involved,” she said.
Caballero-Roca said residents were “struggling even when they work, they lose benefits, they leave their jobs because they’re not making livable wages.” Additionally, she said she felt schools should be controlled locally and her experience in education could help with teacher concerns within the district.
“We need to get back our schools, the city should be in control of the schools. I can help the teachers get control and demands from the union.”
She said she was wanting to celebrate the city, its rich diversity and for residents to be proud to live in Holyoke. “I’m searching for a way for us here in the city to live more proud of who we are and where we come from,” she said. Caballero-Roca added that she hoped to see “more festivals and more places to go and eat ethnic food locally.”
“I want to lead the city in that regard. I want us to do better, we need inclusion and equity for everybody. There’s so much potential we have here in Holyoke,” she said. “This is why I think we can sweep the table, bring some changes to the city. I always like to say I’m not against anybody, I’m running for Holyoke.”
More information about http://gloriacaballeroformayor.org and on her Facebook page, Gloria Caballero-Roca For Mayor. Those interested in donating to her campaign can do so at https://donorbox.org/gloriaforholyoke.