For Immediate Release
July 24, 2014

Contact: Travis Shofner
Phone: 617.939.0800

MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC PARTY THANKS REPUBLICAN CHARLIE BAKER-KARYN POLITO TICKET FOR FINALLY HIGHLIGHTING OUR STATE’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS

Downtown Holyoke on the Move Thanks to Public-Private Investments Spurred by Massachusetts Democrats

HOLYOKE – While Republican Karyn Polito is touring the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) and Holyoke Canal Walk today, she will be highlighting economic development success achieved through public-private partnerships fueled by Massachusetts Democrats.

The Patrick administration joined with local officials, and business and education leaders to form the Holyoke Innovation District, a public-private partnership boosting infrastructure, transportation and workforce training and education. This includes the MGHPCC, a $165 million public-private data center with partners including Harvard, MIT, UMASS, Northeastern, EMC and Cisco.

“Western Massachusetts has seen significant investment thanks to Governor Patrick and Democratic leaders. The Computing Center and Canal Walk are examples of the work going on in Gateway Cities around Western Mass and across the state,” said Coordinated Campaign Chair Ben Downing. “While it’s been nearly 150 hours since good job growth numbers were released and Republican Charlie Baker has still said nothing about that news, we are pleased the Republican Baker-Polito ticket is noting the early success of our efforts in Holyoke. Today’s visit recognizes the success of Governor Patrick’s economic leadership, which has us at an all time high in total jobs, unemployment at 5.5%, and headed in the right direction. Electing another Republican Governor would send us backward to when cities like Holyoke were not a top priority and fiscal shell games with the Big Dig siphoned money away from infrastructure elsewhere.”

In June, local, state and federal officials broke ground on Phase II of the Holyoke Canal Walk, showcasing the redevelopment of downtown Holyoke. The Holyoke Innovation District also includes a $2.5 million passenger rail stop along the Knowledge Corridor. Development has already spurred private investment in Holyoke such as Gateway City Arts, an award from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Cities Challenge, VertitechIT and Simple Diaper & Linen.

The Republican Baker-Polito ticket is best remembered in Holyoke for Republican Baker trying in 2010 to fool western Mass voters with a phantom campaign office on South Canal Street, afeature story CBS 3 covered.

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