Lisa Wong's Fitchburg legacy
Matt Volpini
Elected at age 28, Lisa Wong was the first minority mayor of Fitchburg and the first female Asian American mayor in Massachusetts.
In the mid-2000s, Fitchburg City Hall, and the community itself, was a much different place than it is today.
Traditionally, the city had been run by local politicians hailing from Fitchburg or immediately surrounding communities; finances were precarious; and the city had almost no cushion. Meanwhile, like many once-great Massachusetts industrial cities, Fitchburg battled ongoing economic depression as it struggled to come back from the end of the golden days of manufacturing.
Meanwhile, outsider Lisa Wong was busily at work, helping to revamp the city at the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority. Wong arrived in Fitchburg fresh out of Boston University. Armed with a master’s degree in economics, as well as two bachelor’s degrees, Wong advanced from her role of economic development assistant at the authority to executive director within a few years.
She had set her sights even higher in the city she now called home.
Wong wanted to make a difference
“The reason I wanted to run for mayor was in response to a lot of the issues I saw going unaddressed,” Wong said, citing the city’s former BBB- bond rating, lack of savings and inattention to investment in the public school system, which was in danger of being taken over by the state because of poor student performance.
“I really wanted to make a difference,” said Wong, a North Andover native and the daughter of Chinese immigrants who were in the restaurant business.
Wong ran for mayor in 2007 and clinched the win in a landslide victory, beating out opponent Thomas Donnelly, a Fitchburg local and veteran city councilor. She took office at age 28, beginning a four-term, eight-year stint as mayor that ended this week when State Rep. Stephen DiNatale was sworn into office. Wong married Holyoke City Councilor Anthony Soto last year, and cited a need to give priority to her family as well as spend time on other pursuits, when she announced in April she would not seek re-election.
Aside from her remarkable youth, Wong was noted by media outlets, including the New York Times, for becoming the first minority to serve in the city’s 243-year history. Wong was determined to build her Fitchburg legacy on much more than those factors.
As she tells it, Wong set out to address the following issues, in order: financial stability, improvement in the public schools, economic development and investment in cultural institutions.
- The economic recession hit soon after Wong was in office, and that redirected much of her attention for the first couple of terms. She feels she accomplished what she set out to do.
- The city now has a healthy stabilization fund and an ‘A+’ bond rating, which has put the city in a much better position to borrow money for needed infrastructure improvements.
- Wong, who as mayor chaired the Fitchburg School Committee, noted Fitchburg has seen strong improvement in test scores and graduation rates, and is now home to two Level 1 schools, the state’s highest ranking based on education quality, as well as a Level 2 school.
- While unemployment in Fitchburg and surrounding areas is still higher than the state average, Wong said work the city did to entice Great Wolf Lodge to open an indoor water park in the city last year was a major win for the city, as it draws people to Fitchburg from all over the New England.
- Investment in vacant mill buildings from private companies, most recently Winn Development, is a realization of one of Wong’s longtime goals for development of new housing options and retail businesses on the outskirts of downtown, even though Main Street still struggles with vacant storefronts.
- Finally, Wong took the Fitchburg Cultural Council’s recognition as 2014 Council of the Year by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as more good news for the city, after the group actively worked to promote the city’s cultural assets and advocacy for the arts.
Fitchburg is now an attractive option to young professionals who would live in Boston, if not for the cost, said Tony Marcotte, the project manager for the New Hampshire developer that bought and renovated what is now a mixed-use apartment complex, Riverside Commons.
“It’s the affordability that draws them in,” said Marcotte, whose building is 98-percent leased.
Building on Wong's successes
The city is certainly in a much stronger position than it was when Wong took office, and that will give DiNatale a head start on his own initiatives, said Roy Nascimento, president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.
“She’s done a great job and … I think Steve is looking to continue some of the progress she has made,” Nascimento said.
DiNatale, too, recognized that his job will be far easier after Wong handled the grunt work of shoring up key areas, especially city finances. DiNatale said he will continue Wong’s strategy to move Fitchburg toward a single-tax rate to tax businesses and residents equally.
“She had an outstanding handle on what to do about the city’s financial situation,” DiNatale said.
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