Framingham Candidate Profile: Christine Long For City Council

FRAMINGHAM, MA — With the retirement this year of Councilor Charlie Sisitsky, the District 1 seat is wide open. The two candidates vying for the seat — Joe Norton and Christine Long — both have a long civic resumes.

Long has been a member of the Planning Board since 2008, but has served as a Zoning Board of Appeals alternate, and on various committees handling economic development, zoning, and utility rates. Long is a longtime Framingham resident, works as an asset manager, and used to be an owner of Castle Construction Corp.

Here's how she answered the Patch candidate questionnaire:

The single most pressing issue facing our city 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 that is associated with redevelopment in the Nobscot Village District that has been newly rezoned. More importantly, the continued threat and loss of open space to District 1 and the community as a whole thus effecting our overall quality of life in Framingham. If elected, I will work with council members, the Mayor and all stakeholders with emphasis on neighborhood issues being a priority, 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 that is long overdue to ensure that we make progress on ways to mitigate and solve our many traffic issues throughout Framingham. This is a priority issue since we are the recipient of a large percentage of cut-through traffic from abutting communities; seriously consider 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 currently has a State match that is at a low of 11.57% but Senate Bill 16718 (Creem) and House Bill 2463 (Ferrante) currently proposes to increase the match to 40% in FY2021. CPA monies can be applied to open space preservation, historic preservation, outdoor recreation and affordable housing creation and redevelopment. We, as a community, need to come to an 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 the residents and staff to solve these issues but more importantly - take action and not just talk! The current political stalemate needs to be broken so that we can move forward. The Community and Economic Development Department needs a complete overhaul to provide clear direction and guidance as to a strategic vision and plan for business development and redevelopment for existing and prospective businesses, both large and small. Informed decisions are not possible without leadership direction being provided by this department regarding commercial and residential multi-family proposals that Framingham may or may not be interested in entertaining and that should be in harmony and planned with the guidance of our current 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. In addition, my many years of business experience as a construction manager combined with my unique ability to manage multiple, complex projects prepares me to handle all the challenges regarding zoning, budgets and policy creation that would be presented to the City Council. I have decided that 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 to find the best solutions free of any conflicts from involvement in Framingham land use matters. I get favorable results in this way. 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 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 taxed 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 18,000+ residential taxpayers carrying the burden of taxes. The current split tax rate is as follows: for residential taxpayers it is $15.38/$1,000 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 and financed my own successful construction businesses, Castle Construction Corp. and Castle Care Inc. in 1982 which both operated until 2014 at which time I retired them both. Soon thereafter I was solicited by Newton Housing Authority to work for them as a capital asset manager. I have both private and public municipal experience in finances, budgets, managing employees and I 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 budges qualifies me for this position. I am known as a "go-to" point person in the community when residents have a municipal issues needing to be addressed.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Always stay true to yourself and choose your friends wisely. Follow your heart and passion and do what you do for the right reasons - your actions reflect who you are as a person, your ethics and values. Talk is a cheap commodity that is not in demand!

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

My pledge of integrity as a public servant is as follows: To focus on residents interests first. Be an effective & vocal neighborhood advocate. Maintain total transparency and open communications. Find collaborative solutions to issues.