At 22, his first job out of college will be Holyoke mayor

[MarkCharles]

Source: Boston Globe

"HOLYOKE - The first thing Alex Morse wants you to know is that he is Holyoke born and raised. He attended Holyoke public schools for 12 years. His family - his mother and father, two older brothers, cousins, aunt, nephews, and niece - all live in this old industrial city just north of Springfield. Even for much of his time at Brown University, he came home almost every weekend to stay involved with community organizations he joined in high school.

His local roots, Morse said, give him plenty of local experience, even if, at age 22, being mayor of his hometown is his first job out of college.

Morse, who graduated from Brown in May, was elected to Holyoke’s chief executive office Tuesday night, making him the youngest person ever to hold the position. He beat the incumbent, 67-year-old Elaine Pluta, by 608 votes."

"Morse is also gay. He founded the school’s chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance, then established the city’s first LGBT organization, planning a statewide prom for gay and lesbian teenagers.

Read more: http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/11/10/hometown-son-makes-big-right-out-school/nBMHbiGB24oCe8d0uP9eYL/story.html

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There's of course, much more in the article about him than simply being gay.

All power to young people like this!

I wish him good fortune, Holyoke is not an affluent city, and not without lots of economic and cultural and crime problems.

[HopeHoops]

1. Hey, Holyoke is more substantial than Wasilla. More power to him.

[joeybee12]

2. Recc'ed and still at zero...assholes...this is good news...knr

[MarkCharles]

3. Don't worry...I'm sure it will go up soon.

This guy is not only smart, (Brown University grad) but caring and courageous.

I can't imagine starting a student gay/straight alliance in Holyoke 5+ years ago! That city isn't exactly Wellesley or Newton, or Brookline, it's a poor old working class and drug and gang infested mill town next to poor old Springfield, MA, 100 miles from Boston. But it DOES have people who care, the schools are filled with committed teachers, the police and fire depts are not corrupt.

[freshwest]

4. It sounds like he will support the schools and community, we need more of this.

[MarkCharles]

6. He is in a difficult city, with a shrinking employment base, but with

some hopeful signs, a state community college which was given a big private grant for a building, a state relocation of a facility for some computer cyber state records management, attracting high paid workers, a local shopping mall, and the Connecticut River flowing through on the east, and mountains (really just big hillsides) to the west. It COULD BE a pretty town, in a few years, after the burned out buildings, tenements and abandoned factories, are torn down and replaced with something with a more "green" footprint.

[freshwest]

8. Umm. But will those green jobs employ the displaced workers; will private grants influence policy?

I'm against privatization in every form, for if the public does not own the basics, they will be OWNED by those who do.

But I realize that in a severely depressed economy, with the 'starve the beast' mentality that gives no support to communities in hopes of feudalizing them by the 1%ers taking them over, there are very limited choices.

While gentrification may be envisioned for the area, and I admit it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it doesn't always increase the tax base nor support employment. It's a form of land grab that may or may not increase the property tax base and drives out the working class people from home ownership or even affordable housing.

But despite the problems besetting their new leader, he has youth, education which have given him new ideas, energy and a great attitude on his side. All the best to him in helping to revitalize his hometown. There is too much 'rust belt' in this country.

[MarkCharles]

9. Unless he's mayor for 20-30 years, I doubt he will totally transform Holyoke!

It's a troubled city. There's a long agenda, some infusion of cash from any source is needed.

I doubt he will allow an "urban renewal" slash and burn approach to blighted neighborhoods, not with strong family ties and a vibrant Irish/American heritage, (annual St Patrick's day parade) combined with a newer influx of Puerto Rican and other Latino and other cultures.

A mix of cultures in Holyoke is an asset, I think he gets it. Holyoke may be far from Boston, but it is not far from Amherst, Northampton, a college area, in the center of the Pioneer Valley in Western Mass. Find employment for the people of Holyoke, either there or close-by, find places to house workers from surrounding towns in the "lower rent" neighborhood Holyoke offers, find ways to streamline alliances with other prominent Western Massachusetts assets, and find ways for all public employees to contribute and be rewarded for their contributions, police, fire, education, other employees, and he will have done a big service for the city.

Holyoke used to have a state "soldiers' home" for veterans, it's still there, not a major employer, almost shut down from cutbacks at the state level. It sits on prime property with a commanding view of the Pioneer Valley, from Vermont to Connecticut, from the hillsides to central Mass. Developing that into an affluent housing complex, there's ideas for all of this, just no capital in this economy.

There's lots of ideas, lots of potential, there. I hope he can transform ideas and potential into reality.

[intheflow]

12. I am a Holyoke Community College alum.

Got my Associates there in the late 80s. Went on over the next 15 years to get my BA and then a Masters through other colleges (long story), but the best education I ever had was at HCC.

[AmericaIsGreat]

5. Awesome! n/m

[TBF]

7. Our young people give me hope - best wishes to him. nt

[Bombero1956]

10. I live in Holyoke

I have a hard time with this kid being elected mayor. I don't care about his sexuality and I didn't learn of this until after the election and I still don't care. My main problem is his lack of experience. Experience counts for a lot in my book. How many here would get on a plane if they knew the pilot was fresh out of flight school and making his first trip with passengers? This city has a $68 million annual budget and I just don't think a kid who is working his first real job is up to the task. My personal feeling is he got elected on one issue alone, casino gambling. He came out against it early on and the current mayor was for it. Ward 7 where I live is near where the casino would be located if it comes here and he worked this section of town more than any other. The other thing was his staff was made up of college friends who don't even live here and have no investment in what will happen here. I hate being part of an experiment.

[MarkCharles]

14. Another interesting perspective on this young man.

Seems like the majority of voters preferred him to his more "experienced" current mayor. Unlike the pilot of a plane, a mayor doesn't have to do the job of city management all on his own. City accountants, and all employees of the city are still in place to manage such a budget and carry out all the day-to-day tasks of providing services to the city's people.

[alp227]

11. Good achievement but incredibly privileged given the mass unemployment among 20s

Morse should stand up for the 99%. It's time for a new generation of politicians for the PEOPLE, not the corporations and lobbyists!

[Odin2005]

13. You go, Kid!

:yourock: