Joshua A. Garcia
American politician (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua A. Garcia (born February 28, 1986) is an American politician from Holyoke, Massachusetts. He was elected Mayor of Holyoke in 2021, and is the first Latino to serve as mayor of Holyoke.[2][3]
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Alex Morse
Josh Garcia | |
|---|---|
Garcia in 2023 | |
| 45th Mayor of Holyoke | |
| Assumed office November 15, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Terence Murphy (acting) Alex Morse |
| Town Administrator of Blandford | |
| In office October 1, 2018 – November 4, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Angeline Lopes Ellison |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Dunne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 28, 1986[1] Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Stefany Escobar (m. 2014) |
| Education | Westfield State University (BA, MPA) |
| Website | Government website Campaign website |
Early life and education
Born and raised in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Garcia received a Master's in Public Administration from Westfield State University and worked for the Holyoke Housing Authority and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.[4][5] His mother and grandmother came to the United States from Puerto Rico.[6]
Career
Before being elected as mayor, Garcia served as town administrator in Blandford, Massachusetts and as a fire commissioner, and school committee member in Holyoke.[7][8] He became the first Latino to be elected mayor of Holyoke.[4]
Mayoral tenure
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Although Garcia's term as mayor officially started in January 2022, starting on November 15, 2021, Garcia served the remainder of acting mayor Terence Murphy's term.[9]
Among early key priorities, Garcia has pushed for improved management practices, citing during his campaign his prior experience as a town administrator. Testifying before the Commonwealth's municipal finance oversight board, Garcia stated he intended to draft a longterm capital plan for the city, seeking to strengthen internal controls, and work toward eliminating structural deficits to make it less reliant on bonding.[10] In 2024, Garcia announced he was working to expand the city's payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program with Holyoke's nonprofit property owners, to address shortfalls in taxes to provide city services.[11]
Personal life
Garcia has served as a member of the board of directors on the Holyoke Community College Foundation, as well as the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, since 2018.[12][13] In 2015 Garcia was named in BusinessWest's "40 Under 40" for his work with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.[14] Garcia is also a Freemason and an active member of the Mount Tom Lodge A.F. & A.M..[15]