Why Adam Steiner Wants 3rd Framingham Council Term: Questionnaire

FRAMINGHAM, MA — In 2021, voters in northwest Framingham's District 3 have a choice between incumbent Adam Steiner and challenger MK Feeney.

If reelected in 2021, Steiner would be one of only three Councilors who won a seat in the city's first election in 2017 (Michael Cannon and George King Jr. are the other two remaining). For the past two years, Steiner has been the Council vice chair. He has also been chairman of the powerful Council Finance Subcommittee, giving him a front row seat to some of the city's biggest challenges, including the ongoing deficit crisis in the water and sewer funds and the annual budget process.

Outside that committee, Steiner has been one of the Council's foremost proponents of environmental issues — and he just won an endorsement from the Sierra Club for those efforts —most recently pursuing the preservation of the former Belknap Pool and Tennis Club, and advocating for Framingham's adoption of the Community Preservation Act.

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 Steiner said:

Why do you want a third term on City Council?

It has been an honor to represent District 3 on the City Council for the past 4 years and I'm running for re-election for the same reason I ran for the Council in the first place — because I believe that Framingham needs leaders who will think creatively about the challenges we face and who will work collaboratively to take effective action.

I grew up in Framingham and learned firsthand as a K-12 student in our public schools that what makes our city great is our diversity of people, places, and ideas. This diversity is central to our history as a community but that does not mean we can take it for granted. We have to continue to strive to be a community that welcomes all types of people, that strengthens the rural, suburban, and urban elements of Framingham, and that values a variety of perspectives. As we continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19, it is more important than ever that we have city leaders who have a relentless focus on working toward a better future for our entire city. That is what I've done for the past 4 years and what I would continue to do if reelected.

You're an advocate for trails in Framingham (walking, biking, rail conversion), so how would you go about expanding the city's network in 2022 and beyond?

Framingham has the potential to be an alternative transportation hub in MetroWest. We have potential in the form of several existing and future rail trails, paved walking paths, and our aqueduct trails. What is needed now is a new approach that envisions our walking/biking trails as an essential element of our transportation infrastructure and to take action to create connections between them and Framingham’s residential and commercial centers including Downtown, Route 9, and the Tech Park and 9/90 areas of District 3.

Residents and workers in Framingham would benefit greatly from being able to bike to work or shop or play. That means developing high-quality interconnected trails and working with the city’s biggest employers to offer this amenity to their employees — providing a benefit for the businesses and for the residents of Framingham.

We also need to start putting bike friendliness on the top of the list in our planning and zoning rather than an afterthought. More specifically, for District 3, we need to purchase and develop the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail as a key spoke that connects Sudbury and Route 20 through our district all the way to Framingham Centre and we need to adjust the Nobscot Plaza project so that it supports pedestrians and bikers. On a personal note, we live off of Edgell Road and my family would be very excited to be able to use the bike trail to access the McAuliffe Library and shopping areas in Framingham and Sudbury, as they are not comfortable biking on such a busy street.

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

Having been a City Councilor for four years, people are always sharing their concerns about our city with me and the issue that most consistently comes up in District 3 is traffic.

There has been so much residential development in Framingham and the surrounding towns over the years and with most people driving to work, so few corner stores, and very little emphasis on anything other than car traffic, it means more traffic.

There's no simple solution to the traffic challenge but rather a series of approaches that we need to take. First, we need to think critically about any new residential development within Framingham. The moratorium was a helpful pause and we need to continue resisting the outside urge to build out every open space into apartments and McMansions. Second, we need to increase the walkability and bike-ability of Framingham so that it is feasible for people to get around without driving. Third, we need to build a new southside elementary school that would serve our students better and alleviate some of the bus traffic across our city, and we need to improve reliable bus transportation for all Framingham students, so that bus ridership will be a more attractive option than driving in so many separate personal vehicles. Finally, we need to work with the owner of the Nobscot plaza to provide good neighborhood shopping options for District 3 residents.

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

I am prepared to work with either Mayor Spicer or Mayor Sisitsky to get things done for the people of Framingham. In fact, I've had a good working relationship with both of them, with the mayor over the last four years and with Charlie when he was a City Councilor.

For me, it is always about establishing common goals for the city of Framingham and working together to achieve those goals. This has been true for me with all of the Councilors over the last four years. While I haven't agreed with them on every issue, I've maintained a productive relationship with all of them and that is one reason why I was elected vice chair of the council for this past term.

At the start of the next term, the mayor and Council should meet regularly without waiting until we have challenging agenda items to address. These working sessions would be used for brainstorming, for sharing ideas, and for building a rapport that will pay off when there are challenges. The City Council should also do this to help us work better together as a team.

Read more Framingham 2021 election coverage:

• Video: Mayor Yvonne Spicer On The Future Of Framingham
• Why I'm Running In 2021: Framingham D8 Councilor John Stefanini
• 4 Question For Framingham D2 Councilor Cesar Stewart-Morales
• 4 Questions For Jake Binnall, Framingham D2 Council Candidate
• William LaBarge On 2021 Framingham School Board Run
• Meet Jennifer Moshe, New Framingham School Committee Member
• Meet Valerie Ottaviani, Future Framingham School Committee Member