Questionnaire: Feeney On Run For District 3 Seat

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Voters in Framingham's District 3 will have a choice between two candidates in 2021: two-term incumbent Adam Steiner and Mary Kate Feeney, who is running in her first Council election this year.

Feeney, a former Deval Patrick staff member, is not entirely new to electoral politics. She ran in a 2018 Democratic primary for the seat left vacant after the death of state representative Chris Wash, placing third in a four-way write in campaign. State Rep. Maria Robinson (who will soon vacate the seat for a job in the Biden administration) eventually won the seat.

Feeney, 38, says she's running for Council in 2021 to take part in the pademic recovery, and because she believes Framingham government is "stuck in the past."

Patch sent both Steiner and Feeney a questionnaire to find out why each one is running in 2021, and what they want to do with a new two-year term. Here's what Feeney said:

Why do you want to represent District 3?

Framingham is my home. My love of Framingham is why I moved back after college and started my business here. It is why I volunteer to make it a better city for everyone.

We deserve a city government that embraces the values, energy, and talent of its community.

Instead, Framingham’s government is stuck in the past with little creative, forward-thinking, while drowning in needless petty arguments. It has lost its focus on what is important: You, its residents.

As Framingham emerges in this post-pandemic recovery, we need leaders who know the challenges we face as a community can be addressed by empowering our people, thinking creatively and taking action.

What the pandemic has also shown is that Framingham’s traditional ways of operating no longer serve us as a community. Framingham needs a new generation of councilors who are ready to be innovative and take action to make our city a better community for everyone and stop kicking the can down the road.

This is why I am running for District 3 Councilor.

I am a resident of Pheasant Hill, small business owner, former public servant and pragmatic progressive.

I have spent my life in service of others, first by working for Governor Deval Patrick and more recently as a voice for change on topics such as our increasing problems with traffic, public transportation, sustainability and growing our economy.

As someone who is not a former town meeting member or a longtime member of Framingham’s politics, I bring a fresh perspective to the Council.

As your Councilor, I will focus on:

• Advocating for our schools: Support the building of a new southside school so that no 6 year old is stuck on a bus for an hour going to and from school every day. As Councilor, I will work for policies and budgets that provide our kids with more opportunities to thrive and will push for more funding to repair school roofs and buildings;
• Tackling traffic in our neighborhoods: I will work with neighbors and the Traffic Commission to find solutions that will make our streets safer;
• Boosting economic development efforts: Our economic development efforts are a mess — and now is the time to review our efforts, seek new ideas on attracting new businesses, and finally become a serious contender in MetroWest. The success of Downtown Framingham is a success for all of us. It is our most vibrant center of commerce with huge potential. I’ll work to support businesses and attract more customers by setting up pop up shops on the Downtown Common, and public music and art programs;
• Expanding our public health: Champion the addition of social workers and mental health professionals in our Department of Public Health and Framingham Public Schools, including expanding social and emotional resources for students, and age-friendly community initiatives for seniors;
• Working towards a greener future: Push for a strategic green plan to reduce our carbon footprint by 2035, expanding services at the recycling center such as composting and reuse/swap programs, increasing the availability of charging stations and the use of electric vehicles in the city fleet, and increasing solar on municipal roofs and canopies in parking lots. Bring government partners together to develop a plan acquiring, designing, and opening rail trails and other alternative public transportation projects.

We need Councilors who acknowledge that Framingham is a changing community, and its government needs to reflect those changes.

As District 3 Councilor, I will be your strongest advocate. You will have my energy, my passion, my skills. I believe in Framingham and our collective future. In two years, we’re going to reflect on what we have accomplished and refocus on the next challenges. We won’t be simply talking about the same issues over and over again and acting like we did something.

You and incumbent Adam Steiner are both advocates for trails in Framingham (walking, biking, rail conversion), so how would go about expanding the city's network in 2022 and beyond?

I love rail trails!

Not only am I a lifelong biking enthusiast and an advocate for trails and transportation, but I moderate a Facebook group called Framingham Rail Trails.

I imagine a day where Framingham is the Hub of Trails in MetroWest. In every corner of Framingham you find old rail beds, trails and aqueducts. Imagine connecting them together in an official network so you can get from Winter Street to the Sherborn town line or going from Saxonville to Framingham Centre. Trails are more than recreation, but a fabulous form of transportation.

So, instead of writing more about how awesome trails are, here is my 3 step plan to get this done:

1. Establish a Trails, Bike and Sidewalk Committee made up of residents — we have an active biking hiking community, and they need to be a part of this vision and planning — who will work with municipal leaders. This Committee has been stuck in the Council’s Environmental Subcommittee since March. If no action is taken by the end of this session, I will refile it in January. Developing our trail system needs to be citizen-driven — not driven by city officials. We must hear from you.
2. Work with the Committee, the Mayor and city officials, to develop an ambitious trails master plan outlining acquiring, designing and opening rail trails, such as the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail and the Upper Charles Rail Trail, and connecting existing trails and aqueducts.
3. Work with our state and federal delegations to identify and obtain the funding to make this plan a reality.

What's the biggest issue facing District 3, and what would you do about it?

I have walked through every neighborhood in D3, knocked on doors and listened to residents. From Millwood Street to Belknap Road to Pleasant Street to Waveney Road, speeding is an issue.

Three years ago, I wrote an op-ed encouraging the city to develop a Vision Zero plan, an international transportation initiative embraced by Boston, Cambridge and Somerville aimed at reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes to zero. Part of the plan was to reduce the default communitywide speed limit on local roads to 25 mph. This was eventually adopted by the city, but it is not enough to lower the speed limit. More needs to be done.

Our Charter created a unique opportunity for us to address traffic issues by establishing the Traffic Commission. The citizen-driven Traffic Commission can adopt, amend, or repeal any rules or regulations regarding traffic on Framingham-owned roads.

In FY20, the Commission requested $200,000 yet the Mayor’s budget earmarked $25,000. In March 2020, the Council, after a lengthy debate and shutting down of public comment by Councilor Steiner, tabled a motion to send the Mayor a letter encouraging her to provide an additional appropriation of $150,000 to the Commission.

The lack of funding is leaving residents frustrated. They go to the Traffic Commission to plead their case and are often left disappointed. I went in front of the Commission in November 2019 asking for feedback signs on Waveney Road. I never heard another word.

On the state level, Senate President Spilka inserted the following into the Transportation
Investment Act (Chapter 383 of 2021): "… provided further, that not less than $400,000 shall be allocated to the Framingham Traffic Commission for downtown traffic studies in the city of Framingham; provided further, that not less than $100,000 be expended for the purchase of radar speed signs in the city of Framingham …"

$100,000 for feedback signs would make a huge difference in many neighborhoods. Yet, where is this money?

Here is what I pledge to do as a Councilor to address speeding in our neighborhoods:

• Work with you and the Traffic Commission to find solutions that will make our streets safer. That means I will stay on an issue until there is a resolution, speak up at meetings and be in constant communication with you as we work on the neighborhood’s issue.
• Champion fully funding the Traffic Commission and ensuring that the Commission is citizen driven, instead of driving citizens away.
• Advocate for the creation of a Traffic Department, which was a recommendation in the Charter.
• Fight for repairing our sidewalks so that everyone can use them safely and that they comply
• with the American with Disabilities Act.
• Encourage our city planners to think about designing our streets to move people, not just cars. Not making this a priority is a reason why we did not get a right hand turn in Nobscot.

It is time to stop kicking the can down the road. At some point that can is going to get run over.

How will you work with either a new mayor or the incumbent to get things accomplished in 2022 and beyond?

As District 3 Councilor, I am committed to bringing people together to get things done and not hold up progress due to personality conflicts. My former boss, Governor Patrick, would always tell us to never present a problem without a solution. This is my mantra. I never come to the table unprepared for collaboration and creative thinking.

At the recent candidate’s debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Framingham Patch, Councilor Steiner spoke about his friendship with Mayor Spicer and how he wished he "had done a better job helping her navigate better ways to connect with the Council."

I am glad he can admit his friendship with the Mayor clouded his work on the Council. It did not make Mayor Spicer a better Mayor, our Council more productive nor did it make Framingham a better city.

He and the Mayor’s supporters on the Council could’ve used their relationships to bring actual change and collaboration, instead of operating in a vacuum and not holding themselves accountable to the people of Framingham.

This is why I am running for District 3 Councilor. I will be there for you and will work for the future of our city. The time for talking and talking is over. The time for rubber stamping what isn’t working is over. I will ask the tough questions, regardless of friendships, and make decisions based on what I think is best for the district and for Framingham. But you will never find me engaging in petty arguments or grandstanding for the cameras.

I have a proven record of working with everyone in business, in my volunteer work and in my activist work, to make the place we call home a better place for everyone. That won’t change upon being sworn in as District 3 Councilor. My hand is always extended to my neighbors and my colleagues to bring out the best of Framingham.

Related: Why Adam Steiner Wants 3rd Framingham Council Term