A rare, January election will be held in Holyoke, Massachusetts, tasking voters with deciding if they themselves will get to keep picking the city’s treasurer or let the city council appoint one – with the latter option recommended by a number of officials, including the treasurer himself.
City Treasurer Rory Casey has been making a unique pitch ahead of a special election on Tuesday, January 28.
“Most politicians - and I mean, I did run for this office, so I’ll put myself in that category – most politicians would stand up in front of a group of voters and say, you know, ‘Please, hire me,’” Casey said during a press conference broadcast by Holyoke Media on Thursday. “I'm a little bit different. I'm standing here in front of the voters saying, ‘Please, fire me.’”
First appointed to the role in the interim in 2022 and elected after running unopposed in 2023, he’s calling for voters to consider not voting on a treasurer ever again.
Casey was joined by Mayor Joshua Garcia, City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti and others Thursday to spotlight the potential charter change.
“Small towns might have elected boards of health and elected treasurers and elected assessors - that works for them, but in cities like Holyoke, with $196 million budget, with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets invested, we're the only one with a standalone, elected treasurer,” he said. “The mayor has no oversight over the treasurer, the council has no oversight over the treasurer.”
He said four of the city’s last five treasurers have resigned early. Casey himself was appointed by the council to replace his predecessor, who left after months on the job to take a position elsewhere.
Before being elected, that treasurer filled in for another who resigned in 2021 before her term ended.
Another reason to move toward an appointment model, officials say – anyone can run for treasurer, regardless of qualifications.
“There is no requirement for these candidates to possess specific financial expertise or a solid understanding of municipal finance,” Garcia said. “The lack of qualifications hinders our city's ability to tackle complex financial issues, and it leaves us vulnerable. By reviewing previous annual audits over the last decade, members of the public can conclude that a lot of the material weaknesses are in the treasurer's office.”
Those audits can be found on the official “Yes on 1-28” website.
Among the documents is a 2007 letter from the state Inspector General’s Office, laying out findings that included poor internal controls in the Office of the Treasurer that could threaten the city’s bond ratings, lax recordkeeping, and the fact that employees could access the treasurer’s official stamp used for checks and documents.
The treasurer’s office also made headlines in 2018 when it was revealed a phishing scheme fleeced the city of almost $10,000.
“We have had money be wired fraudulently, because people have fallen victim to these phishing attacks through no fault of their own, I mean … innocently, but this has happened,” he said. “These are the types of material weaknesses that get cited. If we don't have a professionalized operation in our treasurer's office, in our financial offices - we're setting ourselves up for failure.”
Officials say agencies such as the Massachusetts Department of Revenue have recommended Holyoke change how the treasurer is picked.
City leadership has largely agreed, with the mayor’s office and city council working to implement financial and administrative reforms involving the office.
The city petitioned the legislature for the charter change, which only recently received Governor Maura Healey’s signature – making for a tight turnaround, as preparations for elections in the fall get underway.
Saying it’s one of the few issues the city council unanimously agrees on, Murphy-Romboletti acknowledged it’s all in the hands of the voting public.
“We're not in favor of this change because we want to take away the will of the voters or are seeking to gain power,” the council president said. “This is a practical solution that will take the politics out of municipal finance, ensuring the best governance for Holyoke. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the decision lies with the voters, and we do respect that wholeheartedly.”
Casey says if passed, he would remain in office until the end of his term and exit sometime around February 2026.
Those seeking the position afterwards would have to apply before the council ultimately appoints the next treasurer, Murphy-Romboletti said.
Casey told reporters he has no interest in being appointed treasurer again.
