Lisa Wong: 13 to Watch in Central Mass in 2013

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Tuesday, January 01, 2013

GoLocalWorcester Editors

When Lisa Wong was first elected Mayor of Fitchburg back in November of 2007, she was the first minority mayor in the city's history and the first female Asian American mayor in Massachusetts at just 28 years of age.

Right off the bat, Wong was faced with a financial crisis that saw municipal budgets take a major hit. But the mayor was able to reduce the number of city departments by more than 50 percent, build up Fitchburg's stabilization fund from $10,000 to over $3 million by doing more with less. In the process, she balanced the city's budget and saw the city's bond rating receive two bumps up along the way.

Her election to a third term in 2011 followed a rockier road to victory than the previous two campaigns, but she prevailed again.

Wong's fiscal leadership in Fitchburg has made for a remarkable comeback over the past five years, and with so many municipalities still struggling from the effects of the financial crisis and global recession, the mayor's skills may be in high demand elsewhere in the Commonwealth, both in the public and private sectors. Whether she'll stay in local politics or make the jump to the state level or even to private industry, Wong will definitely be one to watch in 2013.