HOLYOKE — In his weekly newsletter to the public, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia shared some insight through his role as mayor working on issues of gun violence.
Recent shootings in July just two days apart — one taking the life of a Holyoke man on West Street, and another non-deadly incident where stray bullets struck the City Hall Annex, shattering a window on the third floor of the Board of Health Office — have once again brought the issue of gun violence to the city’s forefront.
Garcia opened his comments by saying he is prideful to be Holyoke’s mayor and stays motivated working for his community to make tangible differences in people’s lives. While he is proud to be serving the city as mayor, he added there are also some drawbacks as the public looks to their mayor to tackle complex issues.
“More often than ever, mayors don’t have direct control over matters that created the issue(s). But mayors are uniquely positioned to facilitate collaboration and initiatives to advance community interest that make lasting impact,” Garcia said. “Some of these issues, however, really get under my skin. One in particular is this nonsense around gun violence and also the opioid pandemic that plagues our streets. It’s frustrating because these are national and global problems that none of us created or asked for, nor do we have the resources to solve the world problems. But yet, people look at the mayor and say, ‘Hey mayor, what are you going to do about these problems?’”
Garcia added what becomes even more frustrating is that whatever decision is made locally often creates debate and divide among the community while folks continue to suffer. Still, he hopes this moment can be used to refocus the public to come together and do what they can to combat the issue.
“As the debates continue and new ideas are developed and implemented, the public can always count on me to be honest with the issues. I know what I signed up for, to be your mayor of this city, and I know in my bones if we can stay focused as a community and work together, demand the expectations we want for our city, we can prevent the next tragedy and even put Holyokers on a better path forward away from crime,” he added.
With the summer seeing an uptick in gun violence in the city, Garcia stated in his newsletter he has been working with Police Chief David Pratt and incoming Interim Chief Isaias Cruz to ensure there is a plan in place best fit to combat these issues.
“Coupled with youth programming and other intervention strategies being done today to help people get on a stronger path, some of the other strategies implemented to date such as Operation Safe Streets, citywide cameras, ShotSpotter and the HPD/BHN Race Street community center team among other initiatives have been extremely helpful with responding quickly,” Garcia explained.
“But, please know that I can not do this alone. I need the citizens of Holyoke to demand accountability from each other. Work together as neighbors to fulfill the expectations you want for your neighborhood.”
Garcia added while these strategies, along with the work done by the city’s Flex Squad to combat blight, have been helpful in mitigating quality-of-life-issues that attract crime, he is the first to admit there is still so much more work to be done.
“This issue of gun violence makes me lose sleep every day since the death of the unborn child [Ezekiel] back in October. And just last week, we lost a Holyoker, the death of a High School friend, Dexter Ortiz,” Garcia said in the newsletter. “Everyone in our city should feel safe to drive, walk, visit, play, work and live in every neighborhood from Ward 1 to Ward 7 and I am deeply committed to ensuring our citizens know that their local government cares about their safety.”
