Public safety was a recurring priority at the bilingual candidate forum in Holyoke, with candidates citing policing, neighborhood conditions and infrastructure as core elements of safety.

Jenny Rivera, Ward 1 city councilor and chair of the council’s public safety committee, said strengthening trust and transparency between residents and law enforcement is central to her work. “My priorities are to continue to center on public safety, housing, and quality of life here in Ward 1,” Rivera said.

Juan Anderson Bocles, Ward 6 councilor, described personal experience of a home break-in as a motivation for his focus on safety and said he maintains a dedicated constituent phone line and a neighborhood Facebook page to coordinate responses. “To answer the question directly, it's public safety,” Bocles said.

Other candidates linked safety to visible municipal services: cleaner streets, speed control, functioning sidewalks and proactive constituent service. Richard Purcell, a Ward 4 candidate, said slowing drivers and addressing noise and litter are part of improving quality of life and safety.

Candidates presented policies and outreach ideas rather than binding measures; no policing policy changes were adopted at the forum.