Kevin Jourdain for Holyoke City Councilor At Large

08/21/2025

Should the State spend $6.8 million putting a rotary at this intersection or should we lobby them to give us those funds instead to repave streets in Holyoke? (Holyoke only receives a little over 1 million per year in state funds for road work so this would be a huge infusion if achieved). Also interested to hear if you think this intersection change would be an improvement or not. Please let me know your thoughts. I will share your collective views with state and local leadership. Thank you.

A proposed design to reconstruct a busy intersection in the city of Holyoke was presented Wednesday evening, during a public hearing.

08/16/2025

I have the privilege of chairing the joint meeting of the City Council and School Committee. Thank you to Holyoke Media for publishing yet another excellent and informative meeting we conducted on Holyoke school related topics.
At this particular meeting we discussed:
Traffic safety around our schools
The School department budget and our state and federal funding.
The future of Metcalf school.
Transition back from Receivership which recently became official and the exit assurances we provided to the State.
Opening of the new Peck Middle School

Schools open on August 25 and the Joint Committee of the School Committee and City Council addressed issues including crosswalks, transportation costs and the soon-to-be-open Peck Middle School. Superintendent Anthony Soto is in the picture. Story and video here: https://holyokemedia.org/back-to-school/

08/09/2025

Special thank you to Holyoke Fiestas Patronales and Mayor Joshua Garcia for inviting me to meet Mayor Irvin Rivera Gonzalez and the other dignitaries of Comerio, Puerto Rico. Truly an honor to be with everyone at the Festival again this year. The Festival continues to get better and better every year. As a City Councilor, I am always thankful for another opportunity to celebrate fellowship, fun, culture, food and Puerto Rican pride! God bless everyone who came out to this beautiful weekend in Holyoke. Very thankful for the many organizers and volunteers. Already looking forward to next year's celebration! It was a great time!

04/29/2025

Holyoke City Council also passed a resolution against this and they are now not coming to Westfield. A good thing for Pioneer Valley.

04/20/2025

Happy Easter!

03/24/2025

What a beautiful day. What a great parade. And the best part was marching with my son Kevin Jr. God bless him and Holyoke!

02/07/2025

Holyoke Fiscal Update

I will begin publishing a series of Holyoke Fiscal Updates pointing out various issues and concerns on Holyoke Finances. To those who follow City Council meetings I have spoken out on many of these topics but I understand many people do not have the time to watch; therefore, I am doing these summaries for your review.

Report 1: Property Taxes

The new tax levy was set recently for FY25 and 3rd Quarter Property Taxes were due on February 1. This bill and the 4th quarter bill (due May 1) represent the “true up” bill for the whole fiscal year.

Think your Property Taxes are high? It is because they are.

One common myth is that your property taxes are going up because your values are going up. However, one has nothing to do with the other. If the tax levy does not go up and property values do go up, then the city simply lowers the tax rates to balance the two. The problem is your property taxes are going up because the Mayor keeps raising the tax levy by record amounts and using all of our excess levy capacity to tax to the maximum allowable levy limit.

Mayor Garcia increased the Tax Levy in FY24 by 5% in one of the highest increases of all-time. To beat his own record, he raised your property taxes again in FY25 by 6.2% for the largest tax increase in Holyoke history.

Just weeks before his decision to impose the largest tax increase, 66% of Holyoke voters voted for a 0.5% CPA tax rate cut. So Holyoke government's takeaway from the people voting themselves a 0.5% cut was to give them a 6.2% increase instead? Sounds tone deaf to me.

Most people understand that more modest 2-3% (like Proposition 2.5 envisioned) annual increases are needed to adjust for inflation. We need to get back to more manageable tax increases because these record increases on an ever increasing levy are very unaffordable for most residents who expect their city government to use the same fiscal discipline they have to.

More reports to follow on city finances.

01/29/2025

Unofficial Results!

01/27/2025

Holyoke mourns the loss of Ronnie. He loved Holyoke and contributed so selflessly to serve our city for what seems like an eternity. Our Auxiliary police do amazing work and he was the foundation of that great work. Very special person. He will be deeply missed by many!

On behalf of the Holyoke Police Department, Chief Brian Keenan extends his condolences to the family, friends and police family of Ronald A. Dietrich. He passed away on January 22nd.

Ronald was the Chief of the Holyoke Auxiliary Police for 38 years and served the city of Holyoke for more than four decades.

We have requested that any member of law enforcement, active or retired, report for 3:00 p.m. for the law-enforcement walk-though.

Calling hours are from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday January 28th at Messier Funeral Home, 1944 Northampton Street, Holyoke, MA. The funeral service will follow at 7:00 p.m.

Obituary for Ronald A. Dietrich
The City of Holyoke has lost a man who dedicated his life working as a volunteer for the community he loved. He generously gave his time and talent to the Holyoke Auxiliary Police Division and brought that Division to become one of the largest and most active Auxiliaries in Western Massachusetts.

Ronald Alfred Dietrich, 86, lifelong resident of Holyoke and beloved husband of 39 years to Jean L. (Remillard) Dietrich, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 22, at his home in Holyoke with his loving family at his side. Born on April 3, 1938, in Holyoke, son of Alfred and Elma (Camerlin) Dietrich, he was raised and educated in Holyoke and was a graduate of Perpetual Help High School and later served his country honorably for 9 years in the Army National Guard. Ron was employed by the Wall Street Journal for 41 years as an Administrator and Supervisor of Circulation Operation for the National Distribution of Dow Jones Publications before retiring in 2001. He was involved with the Holyoke Police Department since 1960, when his first assignment was duty during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on High Street. 2024 marked his 64-year assignee for the March St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Ron served as Chief of the Holyoke Auxiliary Police, for over 38 years, and transitioned into Director of the Holyoke Auxiliary Traffic Division since it was revamped 3 years ago. He was a member of Junior Jaycees’ and worked on many Beauty Pageants. Also, a longtime member of the Beaver’s Club. Ron leaves his loving wife, Jean of Holyoke, stepson, Steve A. Roy and his wife, Albina of Chicopee; grandchildren, Stefanie Jean Methe and her husband, Sam of Chicopee, Cassandra George and her husband, Calvin of Wyoming, and Benjamin Roy of Holyoke and great grandchildren, Lydia, Miles, and Arlo Methe. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his stepdaughter, Christina Roy in 2018. Family and friends are invited to gather on Tuesday, January 28, for visitation for Ron from 4-7 PM at Messier Funeral Home, 1944 Northampton St., Holyoke, followed by service at 7 PM in the funeral home. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ron’s name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. For online condolences please visit www.messierfuneralhome.com

To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Ronald A. Dietrich please visit our Sympathy Store - https://www.messierfuneralhome.com/store/funeral-service?icn=desktop_memorial_obituary_link #

12/25/2024

Happy Hanukkah!

11/29/2024

https://thereminder.com/local-news/holyoke-creates-an-ethics-and-compliance-hotline/

Thank you to Tyler Garnet from the Chicopee - Holyoke Herald for the excellent article describing the new Ethics and Compliance Hotline I advocated for and had adopted at City Council. I also appreciate the Mayor, Personnel Director and my fellow Councilors embracing this initiative and supporting the funding and ordinance.

Holyoke government works best when we stand for integrity and are transparent. This important step for accountability signals we are serious. More to follow on our new hotline.

HOLYOKE — The Ordinance Committee amended Ethics Ordinance 2-69 to make amendments to the Ethics and Compliance hotline that the City Council approved during its meeting on Nov. 19.

03/31/2024

Happy Easter Everyone!