SPRINGFIELD – City Councilor Sean Curran wants to create a state undersecretary of economic development focused on Western Massachusetts, saying many good ideas for business and tourism growth have not made it past the planning stage.
Curran, a former state representative who is chairman of the City Council’s economic development committee, wrote to Gov. Maura Healey last week asking her to consider creating the position to focus on Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.
“The role will provide a platform to crystalize economic development initiatives here in Springfield, as well as in the four western counties,” Curran said in a letter to Healey.
The request came as Yvonne Hao stepped down from her role as state secretary of economic development. Curran said he feels the time is right for the proposal, saying Healey could examine the entire department and consider restructuring.
Hao’s undersecretary, Ashley Stolba, is leading the department as interim.
Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are reviewing the letter, said Karissa Hand, press secretary for the governor.
Healey has made efforts to promote the four counties. She doubled the size of the governor’s Western Massachusetts office, created the position of rural affairs director in 2023 and added a west-east passenger rail director, Hand said.
“We always welcome ideas about how we can best represent and support Western Mass.,” Hand said. “(The administration has) made significant investments in economic development, housing and transportation in Western Mass.”
Curran agreed that Healey and Driscoll have been strong advocates for Western Massachusetts, but said he believes one person focused on the region could be a game changer.
“I think with an undersecretary, you could bring more jobs here and create a larger awareness of Western Mass. and the talent here,” he said.
In 2023, Curran led a council task force that looked at ways, large and small, to boost economic development in the city, such as creating a basketball sports complex tied with the Basketball Hall of Fame, opening a food hall similar to those in Boston and Worcester and expanding the satellite University of Massachusetts campus in Springfield.
An undersecretary could step up efforts to place state employees in vacant offices downtown, assist with work being done to build a new Springfield courthouse and continue advocating for Western Massachusetts to Boston commuter rail.
The person could also meet with companies in Boston to sell Western Massachusetts and be a voice for bond bills that would support improving infrastructure and initiatives for the region, he said.
While much of Curran’s advocacy focuses on Springfield, the region’s largest city, he said he wants an undersecretary to work with all Western Massachusetts communities including towns and the smaller cities such as Pittsfield, Chicopee and Holyoke.
Other economic development officials say they were intrigued by the idea. If a position is created, they would like the undersecretary to be closely tied with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council and other similar organizations.
“There are a lot of small municipalities in Western Massachusetts that don’t have a lot of economic development capacity and it is not a bad idea to have a centralized person,” said Timothy Sheehan, chief development officer for Springfield.
Even some of the larger cities do not have a person dedicated to economic development. Having an undersecretary coordinate and involve communities would help everyone, he said.
Having one person who can market the area, especially if they have funding attached to the position, would benefit all, said Aaron Vega, director of the office of planning and economic development in Holyoke.
“Someone who is focused regionally would be helpful to Holyoke as we market properties and/or businesses get established here,” he said.
