HOLYOKE — The Ward 2 seat on the Holyoke City Council has been vacated after the city’s law department determined that its occupant, Wilmer Puello-Mota, had run afoul of the city charter.
Puello was arrested on May 11 for violating his bail in a case he is facing in Rhode Island for the alleged possession of child pornography; police alleged that Puello had forged military documents in an attempt to mislead prosecutors in the child pornography case. Puello spent 90 days in jail on the bail violation charge — the maximum penalty for that infraction in Rhode Island — and was released on Aug. 10 after being sentenced to time served and declared a bail violator in Kent Superior Court, according to a court spokesperson.
In a letter delivered to Puello earlier this month, the city’s law department said that his seat became vacant on Aug. 10 because of section 46 of that city’s charter. That section says that a city office becomes vacant if the incumbent “ceases to be a resident of the city” or if the incumbent is convicted of “a crime punishable by imprisonment.”
That information came to light during a special meeting of the City Council on Friday. Puello’s situation was not on the agenda, though. It was only after At-large Councilor Kevin Jourdain asked whether Puello had been expelled from the body — and if so, on what grounds — that city lawyers revealed that his seat had been vacated.
“I want to be clear that the councilor has not been removed; that is really not an accurate statement,” Assistant City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan told councilors at the meeting.
Tim Mara, and East Longmeadow attorney representing Puello-Mota, wrote in an email to the Gazette that Puello-Mota is “presently pursuing all lawful means available to him to continue his service to the people of Holyoke, and to occupy the seat he was elected to occupy.”
Puello is still facing the felony child pornography charge after police alleged that he paid a 17-year-old girl for nude photos in 2020 when he was 24. He pleaded not guilty to that charge, as well as subsequent felony charges of obstructing justice, forgery and counterfeiting, which stem from prosecutors’ allegations that he faked his military supervisor’s signature on a phony military memo as part of his efforts to resolve the child pornography charge.
Under questioning during Friday’s special meeting of the City Council, Degnan said that it was the city’s law department that raised the question about Puello’s seat becoming vacant. She said that her office is not providing more specifics to the public because they want to protect Puello and his rights.
Eventually, after Jourdain and Ward 5 City Councilor Linda Vacon raised questions about the justification for the law department’s actions, City Council President Todd McGee read into the record the letter that the city delivered to Puello on Thursday.
The letter, which Degnan wrote, said that her office spoke with Puello on Wednesday and that he had offered to submit a letter of resignation.
On Sunday, City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee said that her office has not received any resignation letter from Puello.
The law department’s letter also informed Puello that although the city won’t seek to recover any payment or benefits he had received prior to his seat becoming vacant, the city won’t be paying him any stipend nor benefits going forward. Holyoke city councilors receive $10,000 in annual pay for their work.
“It is unfortunate that these circumstances created the vacancy of your seat as a Holyoke city councilor,” Degnan’s letter to Puello concluded.
On Aug. 24, Puello had been present at his first City Council meeting in three months, sitting in chambers as a member of the Public Service Committee of the City Council. During that meeting he participated and voted on agenda items.
During Friday’s special meeting, Degnan said that the law office had considered that, “given our opinion, any votes that are taken could be jeopardized because someone is not on the Council any more.”
Jourdain moved for the City Council to hold an executive session to seek more information about the move. It is unclear whether the City Council will immediately move to fill the vacancy. McGee did not respond to a voicemail left Sunday afternoon.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.
This story was updated Monday, Sept. 5 to include comments from Tim Mara, an attorney representing Wilmer Puello-Mota.