Councilor Lisi’s Campaign Kick-Off: Bringing the Holyoke Community Together

HOLYOKE- At-Large City Councilor Rebecca Lisi drew a large and diverse crowd of friends, neighbors and community stakeholders to celebrate her 2009 campaign kick-off at the Delaney House on Wednesday, May 27. At the event, Lisi shared her vision for a revitalized Holyoke that builds on a strong sense of community.

“The hard work before us is rebuilding a sense of community and an environment of trust that includes the entire city,” Lisi said.

In her platform, Lisi marked her commitment to Smart Growth principles and mixed use development downtown, claiming that these policies can increase job and business opportunities by attracting private sector investments and creating areas of clustered housing, workforce, and transportation options. She also stressed the importance of taking steps to ensure that our schools can provide quality education to our students, as well as developing collaborative relationships with non-profits and community organizations that can help leverage resources and cut costs throughout the city.

Lisi believes that the city is heading in the right direction as evidence by a renewed atmosphere of hope and political involvement. Lisi is excited by the number of young and new citizens who are actively attending public meetings, talking about downtown development, and running for political office. She credited these positive changes to the efforts of CRUSH (Citizens for the Revitalization and Urban Success of Holyoke) of which she is a founding member, as well as other community events that have been bringing residents from throughout the city together to talk about a shared vision for Holyoke’s future success.

Lisi said, “The plan for the future is clear. Residents from throughout the city continue to identify downtown development, preservation of historic buildings, attracting green business and industry to the city, and appreciating our community diversity as ways to improve our quality of life in Holyoke. To move forward on these initiatives the city will need support from dense and intricate networks of community member involvement”.

Lisi begins her door-to-door campaign on June 1. For more information, visit: www.votelisi.com.

Councilor Lisi announces candidacy for re-election

from The Sun

April 24-30, 2009

Holyoke - After a successful first year serving the City of Holyoke as an at-large city councilor, Rebecca Lisi took out nomination papers for her re-election campaign for the position. , Councilor Lisi is committed to continuing to represent the diverse needs of the people and neighborhoods throughout the city with a strong and independent voice.

“I’ve worked very hard in this first term to learn about the different issues that have come through the Council and I have considered it my responsibility to publicly share that information with Holyoke residents, so that they can make educated decisions about how they would like to be represented on those issues,” said Lisi.

As in her last two runs for office, Councilor Lisi plans to pursue an extensive door-to-door campaign because she believes that good government requires reaching out and listening to the specific needs and concerns Holyoke residents. For several years, Lisi worked as a policy advocate and community organizer with Clean Water Action and understands that citizens need to be engaged in the democratic process for government to function efficiently and effectively. She is passionate about politics and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Councilor Lisi is excited about the upcoming campaign season and is energized by the number of new and young candidates who are following her lead and finding local politics a valuable way to make positive changes in the quality of life for residents throughout the city. She hopes that as a new generation of Holyokers begins to take leadership in city government and work together with new ideas and guidance from seasoned mentors, real progress can be made toward revitalizing the city.

Lisi commented, “Holyoke’s future success rests on our ability to come together as a community and share our ideas, resources, and skills. As a founding member of c.r.u.s.h. (Citizens for the Revitalization and Urban Success of Holyoke) I have seen that we in fact have that capacity and I am confident that we are already on the right path”.

Councilor Lisi will be discussing more of her platform at her upcoming campaign kick-off event on May 27 at the Bungalow at the waterfront Tavern The Delaney House. For more information about the campaign and opportunities to get involved, visit www.votelisi.com.

Lisi’s Campaign Kick-Off; A Future Rooted in History

press release; June 19, 2007

HOLYOKE- Wednesday, June 13, At-Large Candidate Rebecca Lisi of 25 Reservation Road celebrated her campaign kick-off at the Delaney House with friends, neighbors and community stakeholders. At the event, Lisi shared her vision for a re-vitalized Holyoke that makes use of the city’s historic past.

“We need to move forward with an appreciation and admiration for the work and the structures established thus far… Smart Growth Principles build upon the existing infrastructure of our industrially planned city,” Lisi said.

Smart Growth encourages compact development in a city’s urban core that protects historic resources, preserves green spaces, and promotes mixed industrial, commercial, and residential uses. These principles can increase job and business opportunities by attracting private sector investments to areas near clusters of housing, workforce, and transportation options.

Lisi said, “Directing development downtown makes economic avenues clear and predictable and develops a tax base that can help relieve the city of its massive subsidies. When we invest in… downtown, we create a Holyoke that is safe, attractive, and affordable for young people, families, and seniors to live”.

Lisi also mentioned the need for increased resident participation in city government and organizations. She stated that supportive partnerships and shared responsibility between the city, its residents, businesses and the numerous non-profits located in Holyoke can make our community more effective as a group.

“The people in Holyoke are this city’s greatest resource. We need to make use of their interest and commitment to this community. I am going door-to-door to connect with residents face-to-face so we can work on overcoming challenges together”.