After Framingham Council Win, Alexander Aims For Civility

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham District 5 Councilor-elect Noval Alexander already has a goal for his first City Council meeting.

The first-time Councilor plans to address the culture and civility on the Council the first chance he can get. It's an issue he heard about on the campaign trail, and one that he thinks needs to be brought into the open.

"I think that's something that needs to be said right off the bat," he said.

Alexander, 52, won his seat on Nov. 2 by 109 votes in a race against Cheryl Gordon. Incumbent Robert Case chose not to run for reelection this year. The win was a relief for Alexander, who ran for the same seat in 2019 and lost to Case — and gave up a School Committee seat to do it

"I'm relieved and exhilarated, and pretty exhausted as well," he said last week reflecting on the 2021 campaign.

He believes he won this time after building up his reputation following the 2019 run, and after serving on School Committee and the board that oversaw the construction of the new Fuller Middle School.

Alexander will be the first Black man to sit on the Framingham Council, although he credits former District 9 councilor Edgardo Torres — who left the Council in 2019 after one term — with breaking the racial barrier.

"I feel like I can't claim that," he said of Torres. "We can share it, I guess."

Apart from the civility of the Council, Alexander says he wants to begin his first term by introducing a smart-growth plan for Framingham. He envisions bringing more agencies and boards into the process of approving new residential developments.

"A lot of people have been kind of shocked and dismayed about the growth in apartments, and how it's going to look and impact city services and our environment," he said. "It's something I really want to push hard in the first year and get that into an ordinance of some kind."

Alexander is also looking forward to working with mayor-elect Charlie Sisitsky, who Alexander supported in 2021. He worked with Sisitsky on the Fuller building committee, and forecasts "a lot more give-and-take from this mayor." He also said he's looking forward to collaborating with fellow Councilors — and he recently had coffee with incoming District 7 Councilor Leora Mallach, who shares coverage of the downtown area.

"The idea of selfless service and sacrifice and just trying to put your best foot forward, that's pretty much what I'm all about," he said.

Related: Leora Mallach Is The 'First-Time Homebuyer' Framingham Councilor