User:Megalibrarygirl/Lisa A. Wong

Lisa A. Wong is an American politician. She is currently serving as the mayor of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. She is the first minority mayor in that city and the first Asian American mayor in the state of Massachusetts.

Biography
Wong is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who came to the United States in 1970. She grew up in North Andover. Her parents owned Chinese restaurants, where Wong helped out as a child. Her parents encouraged her to receive an education so that she could take control of her own life. She was also active in sports, playing "baseball as the only girl in her league," swimming and playing tennis.

Wong began working in Fitchburg at the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority in 2001 and was the executive director by 2004. Wong was first elected as mayor at the age of 28 in 2007. When she took the position of mayor, the city "was on the edge of financial ruin." She was considered a "fresh young voice in an old mill city." During her first term in office, she had to make tough choices to help boost the cities financial situation. These included turning off half of the streetlamps across the city, cutting library hours and pushing to use the city's river as a "recreation magnet" and partnering with the university. She also reduced her salary when she took office and refused raises. By 2013, she had built up the city's reserves from $10,000 to $3 million.

Wong is married to Anthony Soto, who is the councilor at Holyoke. The ceremony took play in November of 2014. She met Soto at a Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. As Soto seeks to become the first Hispanic mayor of Holyoke, she is not seeking a fifth term as mayor, and is instead moving to Holoyoke.