Wong wins Fitchburg 3rd Term

News Update: Boston Globe Nov 9, 2012: Wong Wins 3rd Fitchburg Term as Mayor

Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong, the state’s first Asian American woman mayor, staged a remarkable comeback to win a third term yesterday, and a 22-year-old political novice won a stunning victory to become mayor of the western Massachusetts city of Holyoke.

Wong, who was trounced in the September primary by City Councilor Joseph Solomito, outpolled her challenger by about 900 votes, or 4,200 to 3,300, according to her campaign staff. Wong lost the September primary to Solomito.

“We put boots on the ground,” a breathless Wong, 32, said last night by telephone. “A lot of people came forward who said they hadn’t voted in the primary and we wanted to make sure people came out.”

Wong spent the day knocking on doors in the small central Massachusetts city of about 40,000. Campaign workers called voters, checking names at the polls and holding signs at the city’s 12 polling places. “We won because of the hard work by many people who believed in the vision I set four years ago, to protect tax dollars and to revive a city with a lot of creativity,” she said.

In Holyoke, 22-year-old challenger Alex Morse stunned incumbent Elaine Pluta, winning 4,513 to 4,121, according to the Holyoke clerk’s office.

Elsewhere, four new mayors were elected to replace mayors who did not seek reelection, while other incumbents held onto their seats in municipal elections.