Joshua A. Garcia
Joshua A. Garcia is an American politician from Holyoke, Massachusetts. He was elected Mayor of Holyoke in 2021, and is the first [Hispanic and Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino Americans|Latino] to serve as mayor of Holyoke.
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. His mother and grandmother came to the United States from Puerto Rico.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. He became the first Latino to be elected mayor of Holyoke.Mayoral tenure
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.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. In 2024, Garcia announced he was working to expand the city's payment in lieu of taxes program with Holyoke's nonprofit property owners, to address shortfalls in taxes to provide city services.