Framingham Candidate Profile: Christine Long For City Council

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham will have several contested races in the November election, including the District 1 City Council seat, which is a three-way race. District 1 is included in the Sept. 17 preliminary election. Like many other Districts on the ballot, District 1 has no incumbent running as more than half of the sitting councilors announced they will not seek re-election.

Framingham Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Christine Long is running for District 1 City Councilor. Her opponents are Gerald L. Bloomfield and Joseph C. Norton. Long works as a Capital Asset manager in Newton and has sat as the president of Framingham's Planning Board for several years. She has two adult children.

Are you running for office in Framingham? Contact Samantha Mercado at samantha.mercado@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Framingham Patch.

Previously on Patch: Tides Are Turning In Framingham City Council: Election Season

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing District 1 is the threat of over development and undesirable redevelopment proposals, traffic that exists and is associated with redevelopment in the Nobscot Village District and the continued threat and loss of open space. If elected, I will work with council members, the Mayor and stakeholders to ensure that zoning ordinances are thoroughly vetted with the public interest in mind; I will vote to fully fund the second phase of the City-wide traffic study to ensure that we make progress on ways to mitigate and solve our many traffic issues in Framingham (particularly since we are the recipient of a large percentage of cut-through traffic from other abutting communities; consider the possibility of adopting some form of CPA to ensure that a mechanism to preserve open space is in place rather than always responding to crisis after the fact. CPA current match is at an all time low of 11.57% but there is a Senate Bill 1618 (Creem) and House Bill 2463 (Ferrante) currently that proposes to increase the match to 40% in FY2021. CPA can only be applied to open space preservation, historic preservation, outdoor recreation and affordable housing. We, as a community, need to come to agreement on how to address all these issues. These are long standing city wide problems and the Council and the Mayor's office need to work together with residents and staff to solve them. In addition, the Community and Economic Development Dept. needs a complete overhaul to provide clear direction and guidance to businesses and prospective businesses as to commercial and residential multi-family proposals that Framingham may or may not be interested in entertaining and that should be in harmony with our Master Land Use Plan.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

No other candidate has my deep knowledge and expertise in planning and zoning. Instead of remaining on the Planning Board in an advisory role I am stepping up to serve as a voting member of the Council where I can better serve and represent you by directly impacting outcomes.

I have served for over two decades in key leadership roles in both the town and city government structures. I take on tough issues and get favorable results. I am not afraid to take a position and defend it.

I work as a Capital Asset Manager and State Procurement Officer in Newton. My skills are strong and my standards are high. I take on tough issues to find the best solutions free of any conflicts from involvement in Framingham real estate. I have a Puritan work ethic whether it is for my paid job or as a volunteer.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

If elected, I will begin immediate review of the budget to look at all areas and find those that need to be addressed to maintain level services, but to cut out excess spending that continually causes the municipal budget to increase annually. Taxpayers are being taxes out of their homes, particularly the elderly, and we need to find ways to ensure that we are not placing excessive financial burdens on those 16,000 residential taxpayers carrying the burden of taxes. The current tax rate for residential is $15.38/$1000 and commercial tax rate is $33.61/$1,000.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As a self-supporting single mother, I started my own successful construction business, Castle Construction, in 1982, which operated until 2014, at which time I retired it. Soon thereafter, I was solicited by Newton Housing Authority to work for them as a capital asset manager. I have both private and municipal experience in finances, budgets, managing employees, and know how to work collaboratively with others in many venues and disciplines to get things done. As a goal oriented individual, I have a long standing reputation as a person who is very energetic, welcomes a challenge, finds solutions, brings people together and accomplishes goals. Actively serving on Town Meeting for 11 years and initiating and presenting multiple articles and reviewing past budgets qualifies me for this position. I am known as a "go-to" person in the community when residents have a municipal issue needing to be addressed.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Always stay true to yourself and choose your friends wisely. Do what you love to do and do what you do for the right reasons - because they reflect your ethics and values.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My pledge of integrity is to
• Focus on residents interests first
• be an effective & vocal neighborhood advocate
• maintain total transparency & open communications
• Find collaborative solutions to issues