HOLYOKE — When acting Holyoke Mayor Terence Murphy filed papers with the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance on Tuesday, some speculated that he would soon announce his run for elected mayor of the city. On Wednesday afternoon, Murphy assured constituents that this isn’t the case and also addressed reopening the city.
“I did file papers with the state yesterday … because I had to,” Murphy said in a press conference at City Hall. “It was mandated. It was not something I was doing to start a campaign.
“I have zero money in my account. I do not want to have money in my account,” he said. “I want to just be a good acting mayor.”
Murphy took up his current post in April, and will remain in this position until November’s election. Former Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse left his role in March to become town manager in Provincetown.
Six candidates have since announced candidacies for mayor, while a seventh has pulled papers for a possible run. The candidates who have officially announced they are running are Blandford Town Administrator Joshua Garcia; at-large City councilors Michael Sullivan and Rebecca Lisi; School Committee member Devin Sheehan; and Morse’s former aide, William “Billy” Glidden. City resident Christopher Kosinksi will possibly run.
Murphy, 73, cited his age as part of the reason he will not be running for a full term, stating that he wants to “stay healthy.” In April, Murphy also said that taking on the role permanently would pose a potential conflict of interest with his employer, MassMutual.
“I want to unite us, and I want to do it so whoever gets in here in November is going to be successful,” Murphy said. “That’s my only goal; that’s what I’m going to work for for the next six months.”
Murphy has also been putting together the city’s budget, which calls for departments to cut their funding requests by $3 million. Murphy asked city councilors to balance the budget by increasing the sewer user fee, which he said would eliminate a sewer fund deficit.
Additionally, Murphy said that he does not plan to run for Ward 2 councilor, a position he took in January 2019. Murphy previously spent about a decade as a city councilor between 1976 and 1992.
“I think my time in an elected position is going to come to an end,” he said.
The city will hold its preliminary election for mayor on Sept. 21, and its general election on Nov. 2.
At the press conference, Murphy said that he plans to reopen city services and the senior center next month, and also addressed instances of street drag racing that have been reported in the early morning hours.
Murphy will reopen city services to in-person visitors on June 1, with the senior center slated to reopen on June 7. Both will require visitors to register their visits for contract tracing purposes, Murphy said.
Although the state has announced that it will lift COVID-19 restrictions on May 29 and eliminate mask mandates in most settings, Murphy said visitors to city services will initially have to wear masks. Murphy is still speaking with the Board of Health on whether the city will expand this requirement to businesses, but said that “my gut is we’ll probably follow the governor’s lead on that.”
Vaccination rates are high with city residents 60 and older, Murphy said, but the rate of younger residents being vaccinated continues to lag.
Murphy said he is also working with city police to address illegal drag racing in the early morning hours, which he said can involve as many as 30 to 50 cars.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.