Spicer, Sisitsky Show Differences In LWV Candidate Forum

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The two candidates vying to be Framingham's next mayor tried to highlight their different approaches to governing during a candidate forum on Saturday sponsored by the city's League of Women Voters chapter and Framingham Patch.

Mayor Yvonne Spicer and challenger Charlie Sisitsky, a former Councilor and selectman, met for an hour to answer questions on issues ranging from police in schools to zoning and even the design of the city website.

Perhaps the most tenuous exchange came over financial management. Spicer touted that she's delivered a balanced budget each year of her first four-year term. Sisitsky countered that state law requires cities to deliver balanced budgets each year.

That opened up the discussion about deficits in the Framingham water and sewer funds — one that prevented the state from certifying Framingham's tax rate last winter, leading to a delay sending out tax bills.

Sisitsky blamed Spicer for mismanaging the water and sewer funds and using up reserves to avoid rate hikes in recent years. But the mayor said the mismanagement of the funds predates her time as mayor, going back to when Sisitsky was a selectman. After a state order in 2007, Framingham embarked on a five-year, $160 million water and sewer upgrade project, which is still being paid off today. Previous Framingham leaders, she said, used reserves to offset rate hikes as recently as 2015. The pandemic, meanwhile, took away water and sewer revenue as offices and restaurants shut down, leading to the most recent deficits.

Spicer and Sisitsky also differed on their approach to police in schools. The group Framingham Families for Racial Equity in Education (FFREE) and local students have since 2020 been pushing for the removal school resource officers (SROs) from Framingham High School and Keefe Tech. Spicer said she supports their removal while Sisitsky said he does not.

After a question about how the city could support residents who lose jobs or are on fixed incomes, Spicer said she might support using federal stimulus funds to provide direct payments to residents. Sisitsky said he supported organizing local social service agencies to more efficiently provide resources to locals.

The two candidates also agreed on a number of initiatives. They both support allowing accessory dwelling units, asking the police department to participate in the FBI's use-of-force data collection, and both believe the city's tax rate is "about right."

Framingham voters will go to the polls Nov. 2 to vote for mayor, City Councilors, School Committee and library and cemetery trustees. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 13.

Watch the full mayoral candidate forum here: