Statement

from

Holyoke City Clerk

Brenna Murphy McGee
I have had the honor of serving the residents of Holyoke as their City Clerk since
my initial election in November of 2013. During that time we have implemented
the process of online transactions and payments for ease of access by our residents
and businesses, as well as launched a new business certificate application policy
engineered to help streamline the overall process for businesses to be filed in the
City of Holyoke.
During the 2014 Gubernatorial and State Legislative Elections our office
successfully managed the set-up and execution of the citys Election Day processes
internally rather than contract with an outside vendor, which had been the past
practice. This led to a successfully completed election process that also resulted in
a cost savings of thousands of dollars for Holyoke residents and taxpayers.
And most recently during the 2015 Preliminary Municipal Elections the efforts of
our staff and their professional execution of their duties on Election Day saw a four
percent (4%) increase in overall voter turnout compared to the 2013 Preliminary
Election.
Despite all of the progress we have made, I anticipated that there was the very real
possibility that some individuals, whatever their motivations may be, may try to
raise questions about my impartiality in the current election cycle given the fact
that my husband Todd A. McGee is a currently elected Holyoke City Councilor and
is a candidate for the open Ward 7 City Council Seat.
First of all, I want to reiterate to the residents of Holyoke that I have proudly
served as Holyokes City Clerk, while at the same time my husband Todd has, in
fact, served as an elected member of our City Council.
Secondly, I have also taken the additional steps of contacting the Massachusetts
State Ethics Commission to explain the situation to them and request their
guidance on the proper procedures to follow with respect to my husbands
appearing on the upcoming November Municipal Election Ballot.

Based on the advice and guidance of the Massachusetts Ethics Commission, the
only activity I will be involved with on Election Day, Tuesday November 3rd in
Ward 7 will be to cast my vote.
All other Ward 7 Election Day activities including the monitoring of Election Day
in Ward 7, reporting of any election anomalies, or complaints, or the handling of
any, and all, absentee or provisional ballots for Ward 7 will be conducted by and
managed by my staff.
I will continue to monitor and oversee the Election Day process for all other Wards
and Precincts in the city on November 3, 2015 and will provide updates to the
general public whenever necessary.
I want to assure the residents and voters of Holyoke that I, and the members of my
office, believe that the integrity of our voting system is our top priority and we will
continue to do everything we can to assure the publics trust in their elections
system.