mayormorse

It's so important that young people see themselves in politics. You probably feel like you have no place in politics because you don't see many millenials elected. Yet more and more continue to choose to run for office. I grew up here in Holyoke and fell in love with this City, like most of us do. I got involved in politics during high school, and studied urban studies at Brown, and chose to come back to Holyoke because I wanted other young people to have the same opportunities I had. If you ever want to chat about your political ambitions let me know, I would be happy to help.

Yes, I'm a big fan of Matt Damon, loved him in Good Will Hunting, and I'll leave it at that.

I have endorsed Martha Coakley for Governor because she will continue the progress made by Governor Patrick and his administration. She has been a stellar Attorney General and I believe she is the most experienced and capable candidate running.

I'm also supporting Steve Kerrigan for LG, and Maura Healey for Attorney General!

Native Son by Richard Wright.

Thanks for this question. As Mayor, I am the CEO of an organization with over 2,000 employees and a nearly $200 million dollar budget. Issues are bound to come up. In this case, I had to make the decision that was best for the City and move on. When I was confronted with a set of circumstances, I had to make the decision. It is easy for folks to criticize my business decisions when they aren't the ones having to make the tough choices. Given that, I completely understand that taxpayers expect transparency. I have attended multiple City Council meetings on the subject and have provided answers that I legally am able to. I do admit that I should have briefed the City Council before executing the settlement agreement with this former employee as to avoid issues of perception. Again, when faced with the decision to potentially spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legals costs to fight frivolous lawsuits, or to execute a settlement agreement with funds that were already allocated in the budget, I chose the latter. Separation agreements are not uncommon in both the private and public sector. For those that question this decision, I ask them what they would do if they were Mayor? I am focused on ushering in many great things here in Holyoke and I refuse to allow negativity to stand in the way of achieving my vision for the City of Holyoke. That's what I was elected to do.