Treasurer no longer an elected post in Holyoke after Tuesday’s special election
![Holyoke City Hall. Holyoke City Hall.](/attachments/70/48402970.jpg)
Holyoke City Hall.
Published: 01-29-2025 12:31 PM |
HOLYOKE — For the first time in the city’s 175-year history, the mayor and City Council will have power over the city’s treasurer after voters at a special election on Tuesday agreed to change the position to appointed from elected.
Despite underwhelming turnout of 2%, voters at the single issue election authorized the change to the city charter by a margin of 572-271, or 68% voting in favor. The transition had the support of Mayor Joshua Garcia, the City Council, and current Treasurer Rory Casey, and comes after decades of external audits and reports advising that the change be made.
“You don’t elect your dentist, you don’t elect your doctor,” said Garcia on Wednesday, adding that the change to the city charter has been a focus among city officials for three years.
He cited the move as fundamental to his vision of bringing evolution to the city’s “very antiquated form of government,” as the vast majority of Massachusetts communities do not elect their treasurer.
Casey will remain treasurer until February 2026 if he does not choose to step down. Casey said Wednesday that “as of now it is my intention” to stay in the position until that time.
Now that the measure has passed, in place of an election for the position of treasurer, a job posting for the position will be made available online, and candidates will be evaluated based on experience and pending the result of background checks. The council will interview candidates, and the mayor will give the final nod to a finalist, who will now serve for three years rather than a four-year term.
Some residents criticized the city for doing a poor job informing residents about the special election in advance. That may have led to low turnout, with only 843 out of 30,702 registered voters heading to the polls.
Cathy Rybski, warden of Precinct 3A, shared that voters on their way into Metcalf School throughout the day expressed dissatisfaction with the city’s advertising campaign, with some, she said, even insinuating the city had done it intentionally.
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“There were multiple people that were like, ‘oh, I only heard about it this morning on the news, or I only heard about it when I got the robo call,’” she said.
Garcia, who heard similar complaints, said that “the most important part of governing is also the most difficult,” which is encouraging civic engagement. He said the city did all it could by advertising the special election through social media posts, press releases, and media reporting, along with the city’s automatic call and text messaging systems.
Gina Jo, who came to cast her ballot, said the city’s text message reminder provided ample notice. She said she came out in support seeing the treasurer become an appointed position because, “qualified people don’t always come from popularity contests,” she said.
Jordan Hart also voted in favor.
“I think it’s just really important that we have a treasurer who is appointed by the mayor, so that we can ensure that we have a responsible person in charge making sure that we have a decent budget,” she said. “And a lot of that has been we haven’t had options.”
Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com