Mayor 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] |
The electoral system in Holyoke is nonpartisan in municipal elections; candidates can run at-large or from their district
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
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?'
'Room One' is the nickname used for the mayor's office in City Hall
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.
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