Young Alum Takes Charge of Struggling City

On a snowy day in January, newly inducted mayor Lisa Wong walks the streets of downtown Fitchburg, Mass., waving to drivers, who honk good-natured greetings in return. In this city of 40,000 residents, nearly everyone recognizes Wong, who, at 28, is one of the city’s youngest — and only its second Asian-American — elected public officials.

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Wong (CAS’00, GRS’00) was born in Massachusetts. She grew up in North Andover and has lived in Boston and in Sydney, Australia. But she feels most at home among Fitchburg’s bricked-up warehouses and quaint storefronts.

“I love everything about Fitchburg — the people, the history, the buildings,” Wong says. “And I feel that I can be a part of a big transformation here.”

After graduating from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in economics, Wong spent a semester teaching global economics at the University of Wyoming and traveled to Australia.

She joined the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority in 2001, three years after the General Electric plant closed, which cost the city an estimated 600 jobs, with an annual payroll of about $30 million. During the next six years, Wong helped implement a number of urban renewal projects, including the creation of a $1.5 million riverfront park and the transformation of the former GE facility into an eight-acre complex with manufacturing, research and development, and office space.

But Wong believed that more needed to be done. “I decided to run for mayor because I wasn’t hearing much discussion among other candidates on ways to get the city on a path to financial stability and economic growth,” she says.

She announced her intention to seek election in April 2007 and launched an intensive grassroots campaign shortly after. “My strategy was to go after registered voters who don’t typically vote in local elections,” she says. “And it worked. I had 19- and 59-year-olds tell me that they voted for the first time ever because they wanted to be proud of their community.”

Less than a month into her two-year term, Wong is tackling the city’s economic problems with fresh ideas, an open mind, and a new slogan: “Fit, Fun, and Funky in Fitchburg.” The concept, she says, is to spur economic growth by bringing to Fitchburg the kind of vibrant, youthful social life often found in larger cities, such as Portland, Maine, and Providence, R.I.

“The change is already happening,” she says. “I often joke that the yuppies have come to town, and that’s a good thing.” They’ll find a Main Street lined with coffee shops, diners, antique stores, a bakery, and even a martini bar. Developers have turned the 110-year-old Johnsonia building, a former five-star hotel, into 42 luxury condominiums that sell for under $200,000, and a new gallery across from city hall displays work by local artists.

Fitchburg has natural attractions as well. The city 50 miles west of Boston sits along the banks of the North Nashua River at the base of Wachusett Mountain, a popular skiing and hiking destination. An avid hiker and kayaker, Wong dreams of the city someday offering whitewater rafting courses and building bike and walking paths along the river. “Outdoorsy, artsy cities are huge draws,” she says, citing Asheville, N.C., as an example.

Still, Fitchburg gets a bad rap. “One of the biggest challenges I’m facing right now is helping Fitchburg overcome its reputation as this dilapidated, crime-ridden town,” Wong says. “While it’s true that we have enormous financial challenges, we’ve overcome a lot in the past few years. We have a solid bone structure — our buildings and our hills. We just need a bit of sprucing up.”

Wong plans to stick around to see that happen. In fact, she intends to seek reelection in 2009. “This is where I want to be,” she says. “This is home.”

Vicky Waltz can be reached at vwaltz@bu.edu.