Mayor Joshua A. Garcia’s full inauguration speech during the swearing-in ceremony that took place Monday, January 5, 2026:
Good morning, my fellow Holyokers. Family, friends, and everyone who loves this city. Good morning, Joe McGiverin, what an incredible honor and moment in our city’s history to have you be the master of ceremonies for today’s inauguration. Good morning to all of the city staff and volunteers. And good morning to my entire family who have been incredibly supportive of me, especially during a time when my spirit is being challenged the most.
And good morning elected City Councilors, School Committee members, and City Clerk. The decision behind running for public office is unique to each one of my colleagues and me, but where they intersect is with a burning desire to be part of the direction we are going as a city. Now, some say that the results of the recent elections indicate Holyokers are going in a different direction. I would argue differently and tell you that is not true. We’re going in the same direction, just with fewer obstacles. I commend each of you on this stage for your commitment to this city and also for the resiliency you showed in order to be here today.
I also want to thank each of the outgoing city councilors and school committee members for their collective years of service to Holyoke. In times where we see people running away from our duty to self-govern, we are lucky to have a strong pipeline of people with so much passion, willing to step in and serve. In my opinion, that’s what keeps our city resilient and interesting.
Citizens of Holyoke, four years ago I stood here before you, and I shared with you a speech centered around our city’s defining trait…resiliency – seen in generations of immigrants and migrants, seen in our community’s endurance through challenges, and the diverse new slate of elected officials. In that speech, I shared a sober acknowledgment of inherited crises – such as the pandemic, fiscal instability, educational receivership, inconsistent and selective enforcement, and systemic inequity.
It was from that day, we celebrated the election as a turning point, a page to the next chapter turned by Holyoke voters. In this new chapter of our proud city, we were given an opportunity to dismantle historic inequities and structural barriers with the goal of improving the quality of life and health outcomes in every neighborhood – from West Holyoke to South Holyoke. And I remember during that speech, I made a promise to end short sighted decisions, govern consistently under the rule of our policies, and laws. And also to build a government focused on long-term stability.
Today, I stand here again, and I can tell you with my whole heart, mindful of the challenges before us, and energized by the opportunities that will help us overcome those challenges, strides have been made. We advanced economic development, we are improving public safety, we are investing in our schools, and we are strengthening our neighborhoods. Now I know in today’s climate many of us are feeling the weight of the challenges – affordability, housing shortages, homelessness and addiction, the need for better infrastructure, and so much more that contribute to the everyday concerns of Holyokers from every corner. The challenges we face require robust partnership, cooperation, and resources from all levels of government. I do want to extend a great deal of gratitude to our state partners (from our state delegation representatives to the Governor’s administration) who pick up the phone when I call and who work together with us to think outside the box on how we can tackle quality of life challenges. Unfortunately, we have seen limited to no meaningful support from our federal partners on our domestic priorities. Federal funding has been inconsistent, reduced, or taken away, leaving cities such as ours to shoulder the burden alone at a time when families are struggling with rising costs and community needs are greater than ever. But understand that, progress is a journey, not a destination. And it is a journey that requires us to listen more deeply and to act more intentionally.
As we prepare to begin this next term, I am mindful of how our local landscape has a little of everything across the spectrum: including people who have lost hope and people who restore hope; visionaries, people who stubbornly love this city, and we have doubters; we also dividers and we have uniters. In times that test our resolve and challenge our spirits, it is so important that we stay focused and supportive of each other as Holyokers. Because I will say this, our moment in time is not unique to today. We have been here before. Forty-four mayors have taken the oath of office since 1873 when Holyoke became a city – including acting Mayors, am I right Joe. They addressed gatherings like todays in times of war and peace, prosperity and struggle. Their stories sound familiar to what we experience today, just a different moment in time. And the consistent theme across each one continues to be resilience and Holyoke remaining true to our core values: compassion, determination, and decency. Faith in God and faith in one another. And as Mayor, with the guidance of our core values, as well as our governing laws and policies, we will continue to tackle blight and housing needs, strengthen code enforcement and protect tenants; continue to respond to community concerns around public safety and quality of life with our community response team we are building up and with our Fire Department and Holyoke Police Department, and members of our very engaged CERT team; we are going to continue to leverage our economic development opportunities and promote our assets that make our city competitive in the Commonwealth. And speaking of economic development, I want to congratulate Aaron Vega our former Director of Office of Planning and Economic Development and is now the CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, and welcome our new Director who starts today – Eric Nakajima; we are going to continue to improve student outcomes and attendance in our schools; we will support our educators and other public service providers in our local government through ongoing contract negotiations and doing so responsibly; we will continue to invest in our infrastructure that will transform neighborhoods in a way that improves mobility safety and enhances community pride; we will continue to invest appropriate resources that help address the social determinant of health disparities of our people. And we are going to finally implement the Municipal Finance Modernization Act…We are looking forward to new initiatives – zoning and special permitting reforms specifically designed to facilitate responsible and sensible development, eliminating inefficiencies that have contributed to Holyoke being recognized as not business friendly. Lastly, but not the least, we look forward to possibly building another middle school. AND, we are going to do this together, as neighbors – no matter where you fall in the social spectrum.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your trust. Thank you for allowing me to continue my work for the city that I love. And thank you for a Council and a School Committee that believe in the direction we are going. God bless you all, and the City of Holyoke, in this great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.