Devine has been a councilor for 16 years.
Holyoke City Councilor Patricia C. DevineHOLYOKE – Councilor at Large Patricia C. Devine said she is running for another term to continue efforts like opposing a chicken ordinance and working with the new police and fire chiefs.
“I enjoy the homework, I do the research, and I speak out on those issues that are important to the people of Holyoke,” Devine, 60, wrote in an email Wednesday.
Devine has been an at-large councilor since 2005 and was Ward 6 councilor from 1990 to 2000.
She was perhaps the most vocal foe of a proposal to permit the keeping of backyard chickens, arguing it was the wrong fit for a city with such densely populated areas and would be hard to enforce. The proposal was withdrawn in June.
Devine is chairwoman of the council Public Safety Committee and is on Mayor Elaine A. Pluta’s police chief candidate screening committee. Pluta said she expects to choose a new chief by late June.
The Fire Commission is establishing an assessment center to review fire chief candidates.
Devine wrote the nuisance ordinance that lets police ticket people hindering the quality of life of others by doing things like playing loud music, littering or doing major car repairs on the street.
“I am prepared for the issues that face us and based on the research I do, I am not afraid to speak up for what is right, such as the chicken ordinance issue. I knew the consituency was against this and I fought hard for them,” Devine said.
Still, she said, in seeking another two-year term, “I hope I bring a little political wisdom, humor and insight to the issues in Holyoke.”
Devine is employed as fixed asset inventory control specialist with the State Lottery.