List of mayors of Holyoke, Massachusetts
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.
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, and from two to four years during that of Alex B. Morse in 2015. 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".
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 | |
33rd | Henry J. Toepfert | 1940–1953 | 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 | |
35th | Samuel Resnic | 1957–1963 | Acting mayor following Seibel's death. Elected in special election to finish Seibel's term. Holyoke's first Jewish mayor. | |
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. | |
44th | Alex B. Morse | 2012–present | Youngest mayor in city history. First openly gay mayor. |