Meet Lisa Wong, the First Asian Female Mayor in Mass.

Lisa Wong was sworn in as the new mayor of Fitchburg in January 2008. (NEWz courtesy photo: Office of Mayor Wong)

Story Location

Fitchburg, MA

United States

See map: Google Maps

Name: Lisa Wong

Occupation: Mayor of Fitchburg, Mass., since Jan. 2008

Age: 28

Heritage: She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who ran a restaurant in Haverhill, Mass., until 2000. They now run a Chinese eatery called Royal East in Central Square, Cambridge.

Education: She is a graduate of North Andover High School, where she was valedictorian, and of Boston University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in international relations.

Other jobs: Most recently, she was the executive director of the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority.

Of note: She is one of 11 female mayors in Massachusetts.
 

Fitchburg Mayor Discusses Her First Thursdays and "Wong Wedges"

Fitchburg's new mayor, Lisa Wong, has been in office for a little longer than two months.

Wong made history by becoming the first Asian female mayor in the state's history when she won the general election in November 2007. (The first Asian mayor was North Attleboro's Kai Shang.)

In her campaign, Wong planned to "add to the quality of life for existing residents" through economic growth.

Another goal was to encourage families to stay in the city and participate in activities in Fitchburg, which is called "The River City" because of the Nashua River that rushes through it.

One way to build that kind of family participation has been to set up monthly First Thursday celebrations.

These downtown events not only provide entertainment and bring together out-of-towners and residents, but also keep more money in the coffers of the downtown-area businesses, she says.

The program kicked off in February as a celebration of the Chinese New Year.
March's First Thursday was a "Celebration of the Arts" in the city. (For a YouTube look at the March celebration, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjbVwgHMgoA)

The third First Thursday, scheduled for April 3, will have an Earth Day theme. (For more information about the event, go to www.discoverfitchburg.com/First_Thursdays.html.)

Recently, EthnicNewz.org spoke one-on-one with three people to find out a little bit more about the new mayor of Fitchburg: the mayor herself, a political science professor, and one of the mayor's high school teachers. Their comments follow.

Part I: Five Questions for Mayor Wong

You now have had two First Thursday monthly celebrations in downtown Fitchburg. How did you get the idea for the First Thursday celebrations and do you expect an economic benefit from these celebrations?

I knew about the First Thursdays from various other cities - Lowell, New Bedford, Rockport, Gloucester and Salem.

The events may be able to help the downtown businesses financially if those people [at the First Thursdays], who saw an item [in a downtown store, for example] one week, come back the next week to purchase what they had seen.

I believe, however, the First Thursdays are more about people having fun and getting outside. They are more about exercise and health with the people walking around while they enjoy the events.

You recently held a Candidate Development Workshop at the Fitchburg Library that was designed to show people how to become active in politics. What can you tell EthnicNewz.org readers about a topic you discussed?

Sally Cragin [a member of the School Committee in Fitchburg] and I held one session at the library. Up to 30 people attended from Fitchburg and the surrounding communities. I was pleased with the turnout.

I taught what I called the "Wong Wedges" -- building those wedges so people could keep the doors open to get into political office. I was not at all challenged if someone wants to know how to take any position, including my own, as mayor.

I am just content with all of the interest that was shown by the people wanting to get involved in the political process.

Are there a series of meetings set up?

I held the first meeting in January, while the people were still very interested in the process. I am considering setting up another class because of the interest shown at the first meeting and how well it went.

Since you had a decisive victory in both the primary and mayoral elections, did you see a problem reaching out to the supporters of your rival, whose supporters had backed him for many years in the City Council?

I have seen no problem whatsoever with crossing the aisle and working with his supporters. There have been no problems at all. I am working with everyone, including the opposition, to execute the plans to move the city forward.

What is the biggest issue you face now in Fitchburg?

I see in the immediate future - though we have many plans in place for a lot of items which need to be dealt with and are in the works - the need to deal with the economic regeneration of the mill buildings along the waterfront.

There are eight mills on each side of the water, mostly zoned for business rather than residential. They need to be dealt with in various ways. We have many plans for them already.

I have only been in elected office for two months. Some of these items -- though, we have plans in place (for them) -- can't be completed overnight.

Part II: Prof. Paul Watanabe on the Significance of Wong's Win

(Paul Watanabe is a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is also the director of the school's Institute for Asian American Studies.)

A victory such as Wong's can bring "instant respect," said longtime political observer Paul Watanabe.

This is especially true, as in Wong's case, "when a different outcome was anticipated by her opponents and some scoffed at the prospect of a young, female Asian American mayor of a major city," said Watanabe.

He added, however, that there's work to do.

"Certainly the victory will make people sit up and take notice," Watanabe said. "Yet that's only part one. She has earned the respect. It's useful, but not long-lasting in the sense that towns, like Fitchburg, have many issues to be addressed by the mayor. The people will now judge her performance. It is too early to tell whether she can change and deal with the problems which face that city."

One of the significant aspects of the 28-year-old Wong's victory -- regardless of her heritage or gender -- might lie in her relative youthfulness and her energy.

"Massachusetts has a history of electing young people to fairly prominent positions as elected officials," Watanabe said. "The new state representative from Arlington is 23 years old. When Michael Dukakis was elected, he, too, was young." (Dukakis was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives at 28 and became governor at 41.)

The election of someone of Asian background makes sense, historically, Watanabe added. "There has been a solid block of Asian Americans in [Boston] Chinatown for a century," a recent one being Korean-born Sam Yoon, who was a housing activist in Chinatown before being elected to the office of at-large Boston city councilor.

There is now a female Asian American alderman in Newton, too.

Part III: High School Teacher Pat Maloney-Brown Remembers a Star Student

Heading for retirement at the end of this school year, Pat Maloney-Brown, a longtime English teacher in North Andover schools, fondly remembered Lisa Wong, whom she taught in the seventh and 12th grades.

Thinking of her first encounters with Wong, Ms. Maloney-Brown recalled a girl who was "smiling, funny and a bit of a cut-up, though in general she could be quiet." Wong was "a take-charge person, but only of herself."

Even in her senior year, Wong "also had a lack of hubris and had great humility."

In addition to having what Maloney-Brown called a "quiet expression," Wong "was dedicated to the swim team and work at her parents' restaurant. The flower does not grow without the seed."

Ten years ago, the teacher said, Wong was one of only a few Asians in the North Andover school system. Maloney-Brown acknowledged that Wong didn't appear headed toward a public life, which often requires an extroverted lifestyle.

However, Wong was memorable to Maloney-Brown. She called the current mayor as being "one of the stars in my constellation of students."

Faye Woffenden-Phillips is a journalism intern at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Source: EthnicNewz.org

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the news source. Contact Newz for more information.

Mayor Lisa Wong and her mother, Christina, celebrated their political victory at the mayoral inauguration ball at Fitchburg High School in Jan. 2008. (NEWz courtesy photo: Office of Mayor Wong)