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William S. Taupier (September 24, 1936 – December 3, 2014) was an American politician and city manager who served as
Taupier realized that he would be unable to do many of the things he wanted to do as an alderman so he decided to run for mayor in 1967. He defeated incumbent Daniel Dibble by approximately 600 votes. Among his most enduring accomplishments was the creation of the Friends of Holyoke Community College in the wake of a massive fire that nearly forced the college to permanently close. That organization subsequently became the Holyoke Community College Foundation which manages its endowment and donor-funded scholarships today. Taupier was reelected in 1969, 1971, and 1973, but decided not to run in 1975.
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...
from 1968 to 1975 and City Manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
of Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
from 1975 to 1979.
Early life
Taupier became interested in politics at a young age. He attended his first Board of Aldermen meeting at the age of sixteen. Taupier was twice elected class president in high school. He envisioned himself becoming campaign manager. Taupier attendedBoston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, where he earned a degree and met Patricia McGuire. The two married in 1960 and a year later they settled in Holyoke. Once in Holyoke, Taupier began attending alderman meetings and looked for a candidate to manage. Unable to find one, he decided to run himself and was elected as an alderman-at-large in 1963.
Mayor
Taupier realized that he would be unable to do many of the things he wanted to do as an alderman so he decided to run for mayor in 1967. He defeated incumbent Daniel Dibble by approximately 600 votes. Among his most enduring accomplishments was the creation of the Friends of Holyoke Community College in the wake of a massive fire that nearly forced the college to permanently close. That organization subsequently became the Holyoke Community College Foundation which manages its endowment and donor-funded scholarships today. Taupier was reelected in 1969, 1971, and 1973, but decided not to run in 1975.
City Manager
On October 15, 1975 Taupier was selected to serve as Lowell City Manager by a 5 to 4 vote of the City Council. He was chosen overArmand Mercier
Armand P. Mercier (November 8, 1933 – January 13, 2012) was a mayor and city councillor of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Early life and career
Mercier was born in Lowell on November 8, 1933, to the late Peter & Lillian (Rodrigue) Mercier. He was a st ...
and Robert W. Healy after sixteen ballots. Taupier succeeded Paul J. Sheehy
Paul Joseph Sheehy (November 1, 1934 – March 10, 2014) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Massachusetts Senate and was City Manager of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Sheehy was born in Lowell. He atte ...
, who resigned after he was convicted of bank fraud. Taupier resigned in 1979 to accept a job with a private company in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
.
Civic involvement in Lowell
Taupier returned to Lowell, where he worked as a real estate developer and was the owner of two real estate agencies. In 1995 he was elected to the Lowell School Committee. He finished in fifth place with 5,904 votes in a race where the top six vote getters were elected. He was elected to a second term in 1997. When theLowell Lock Monsters
The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
franchise was about to leave the city, Taupier worked with the "Save the Lock Monsters" citizens committee to save the team. He also served on the Lowell Memorial Auditorium
The Lowell Memorial Auditorium is an indoor auditorium in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is dedicated to local veterans of war.
The 2,800-seat venue was built in 1922 by the architectural firm of Blackall, Clapp & W ...
Board of Trustees.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taupier, William 1936 births 2014 deaths American real estate businesspeople Boston College alumni City managers of Lowell, Massachusetts Mayors of Holyoke, Massachusetts