Lisa A. Wong | |
---|---|
Town Manager of South Hadley, Massachusetts | |
Assumed office 2021 | |
Preceded by | Mike Sullivan |
Mayor of Fitchburg,Massachusetts | |
In office 2007–2015 | |
Preceded by | Dan H. Mylott |
Succeeded by | Stephen DiNatale |
Personal details | |
Born | August 13,1979 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Anthony Soto (m. 2014) |
Occupation | politician |
Lisa A. Wong is an American politician who is the town manager of South Hadley,Massachusetts and the former mayor of Fitchburg,Massachusetts. She was the city's first Asian American mayor and the first Asian American female mayor in the state of Massachusetts. [1]
Wong is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who came to the United States in 1970. [2] She grew up in North Andover. [3] Her parents owned a Chinese restaurant named Hong Kong Kitchen in Haverhill,Mass.,where Wong helped out as a child. [4] Her parents encouraged her to receive an education so that she could take control of her own life. [2] She was also active in sports;playing baseball (she was the only girl in her league),swimming and playing tennis. [5]
Wong began working in Fitchburg at the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority in 2001 and was the executive director by 2004. [1]
In 2007,at age 28,Wong was first elected as mayor of Fitchburg,Massachusetts. [6] When she took the position of mayor,the city "was on the edge of financial ruin." [3] She was considered a "fresh young voice in an old mill city." [4] During her first term in office,she had to make tough choices to help boost the cities financial situation. These included turning off half of the streetlamps across the city,cutting library hours and pushing to use the city's river as a "recreation magnet" and partnering with the university. [4] She also reduced her salary when she took office and refused raises. [1] By 2013,she had built up the city's reserves from $10,000 to $3 million,prompting Standard &Poor's to give the city's bond rating two upgrades. [7] [8] Wong won reelection three times before announcing in 2015 that she would not seek a fifth term as mayor. [8]
As Soto seeks to become the first Hispanic mayor of Holyoke,Wong is not seeking a fifth term as mayor,and is instead moving to Holyoke. [3]
In 2011,Wong served as one of six selection committee members for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. [9]
On November 1,2018,Wong became town manager of Winchester,Massachusetts. [10]
On November 1,2021,Wong was sworn in as the town administrator of South Hadley,Massachusetts. [11]
Wong met Anthony Soto at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte,North Carolina. [3] Wong is married to Anthony Soto,who is a city councilor in Holyoke. [12] The ceremony took place in November 2014. [13]
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County,Massachusetts,United States,that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census,the city had a population of 38,247. Located 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield,Holyoke is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area,one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts.
Hadley is a town in Hampshire County,Massachusetts,United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield,Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around the Hampshire and Mountain Farms Malls along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding communities.
South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County,Massachusetts,United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield,Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Donald Rathbun Dwight is an American newspaper executive and politician who served as the 64th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1971 to 1975.
Eileen Donoghue is an American politician who is the former city manager of Lowell,Massachusetts (2018–2022),a former member of the Massachusetts Senate,where she has represented the First Middlesex District from 2011 to 2018,as well as a former city councilor (1996–2008) and mayor (1998–2002) of Lowell. She ran in the Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District special election in 2007 to fill the United States House of Representatives seat vacated by Marty Meehan,narrowly losing the Democratic primary to Niki Tsongas. In the Massachusetts Senate,Donoghue has been a staunch advocate for small businesses,economic development in gateway cities,and public higher education. She has spearheaded efforts to reduce student loan debt and create pathways to stable jobs.
Martin John Dunn was an American lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of Holyoke,Massachusetts and in the Massachusetts Senate. Dunn served two terms as the Mayor of Holyoke before successfully seeking election to one term in the Massachusetts Senate before retiring after one term.
Michelle Wu is an American politician serving as the mayor of Boston,Massachusetts,since 2021. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants,she was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Boston City Council,from 2014 to 2021,and acted as its president from 2016–2018. She is the first woman and first non-white person to have been elected mayor of Boston. Wu is a member of the Democratic Party.
Alex Benjamin Morse is an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Holyoke,Massachusetts from 2012 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party,he was elected the youngest mayor of Holyoke at age 22. He was reelected three times,with his final term expiring in January 2022. Morse resigned on March 26,2021,to accept a position as the town manager of Provincetown,beginning on April 5,2021.
Maura Tracy Healey is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 73rd governor of Massachusetts since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party,she served as Massachusetts Attorney General from 2015 to 2023 and was elected governor in 2022,defeating the Republican nominee,former state representative Geoff Diehl.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts were held on November 6,2018,electing the nine U.S. representatives from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices,including a gubernatorial election,other elections to the House of Representatives,elections to the United States Senate,and various state and local elections. The primary election for contested nominations was held on September 4,2018.
The 2018 Massachusetts general election was held on November 6,2018,throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 4. Early voting took place from October 22 through November 2.
Andrea Joy Campbell is an American lawyer and politician who is serving as the attorney general of Massachusetts. Campbell is a former member of the Boston City Council. On the city council,she represented District 4,which includes parts of Boston's Dorchester,Mattapan,Jamaica Plain,and Roslindale neighborhoods. A member of the Democratic Party,she was first elected to the council in November 2015 and assumed office in January 2016. She served as president of the council from January 2018 until January 2020. Campbell unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Boston in 2021,placing third in the nonpartisan primary election behind Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu,the latter of whom would go on to win the general election.
Alice Driscoll Burke was an American politician who was the mayor of Westfield,Massachusetts,from 1940 to 1943,1954 to 1955,and 1958 to 1959. She was the first woman mayor in Massachusetts and New England.
Alice M. Corbett was an American woman who disappeared in 1925 from her residence hall at Smith College in Northampton,Massachusetts. Her case remains unsolved.
The 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 8,2022,to elect the governor of Massachusetts. Republican former state representative Geoff Diehl,Democratic state attorney general Maura Healey,and Libertarian Kevin Reed sought to succeed incumbent governor Charlie Baker,who did not seek re-election after two terms. The race was one of six Republican-held governorships up for election in 2022 in a state carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and the only race in which the incumbent was retiring despite being eligible for re-election.
From the beginning of the city's history as the western bank of Springfield,Irish families have resided in and contributed to the development of the civics and culture of Holyoke,Massachusetts. Among the first appellations given to the city were the handles "Ireland","Ireland Parish",or "Ireland Depot",after the village was designated the 3rd Parish of West Springfield in 1786. Initially occupied by a mixture of Yankee English and Irish Protestant families,many of whom belonged to the Baptist community of Elmwood,from 1840 through 1870 the area saw a large influx of Irish Catholic workers,immigrants to the United States,initially from the exodus of the Great Famine. During that period Irish immigrants and their descendants comprised the largest demographic in Holyoke and built much of the early city's infrastructure,including the dams,canals,and factories. Facing early hardships from Anti-Irish sentiment,Holyoke's Irish would largely build the early labor movement of the city's textile and paper mills,and remained active in the national Irish nationalist and Gaelic revival movements of the United States,with the Holyoke Philo-Celtic Society being one of 13 signatory organizations creating the Gaelic League of America,an early 20th century American counterpart of Conradh na Gaeilge.
Elizabeth “Betsy”Scheibel is a Massachusetts lawyer who served as the first female district attorney in Massachusetts.
The 2021 Boston mayoral election was held on Tuesday,November 2,2021,to elect the mayor of Boston,Massachusetts. Incumbent mayor Marty Walsh was eligible to seek a third term. However,he resigned as mayor on March 22,2021,after being confirmed as secretary of labor in the Cabinet of Joe Biden. This left the Boston City Council president,at the time Kim Janey,to hold the role of acting mayor until the victor of the election would take office.
The 2022 Massachusetts Attorney General election took place on November 8,2022,to elect the next attorney general of Massachusetts. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey was eligible to seek a third term,but instead announced she would run for governor.