WESTFIELD – Richard Holcomb wants to bring responsibility to the Westfield City Council.
A candidate for an At-large seat, Holcomb said there is a lack of follow-up on projects, no long range plans, and no one taking hold of the city’s economy.
“There is no fiscal responsibility in this city,” he said. “I think we’re overpaying for a lot of things, and I think it’s about time we had a budget that’s realistic.”
Holcomb, who is a retired Ford Motor Co. mechanical engineer, said he lives on a fixed income and the city has to do the same.
“We need to say ‘This is the money we’ve got and this is what we can spend’,” he said. “I grew up in a time when if you didn’t have money, you gave up something to get something else, or you just didn’t get it.”
Holcomb said the lack of planning leads to fiscal irresponsibility.
“The Cross Street School is a prime example of that,” he said, “as well as the Ponders Hollow land transfer.”
Holcomb was born at Noble Hospital during a blizzard in 1944 and was raised in Springfield. He graduated from Springfield Technical High School and received his mechanical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts. He worked for Pratt and Whitney before joining Ford.
He traveled the world for work and lived in Japan and Korea before retiring in 2011 and returning to his birthplace.
“I have tons of family here,” Holcomb said of his decision to move to Westfield. “My family was in Westfield before it was Westfield.”
Holcomb is a member of the Grandmother’s Garden board, the Dollars for Scholars Board of Directors, and is an avid gardener.
“I’m usually in the garden weeding,” he said of his spare time. “I have been part of the garden tour twice. I love gardening – it’s a tension reliever.”
Holcomb said common sense is needed in government, and his goal, if elected, will be to influence and promote the concept of forward planning, fairness, transparency, and financial accountability in city operations.
