Why I'm Running In 2021: Framingham D8 Councilor John Stefanini

FRAMINGHAM, MA — There are four incumbent Framingham Councilors who are running unopposed in 2021: District 3 Councilor Michael Cannon, District 1 Councilor Christine Long, District 6 Councilor Phil Ottaviani and District 8 Councilor John Stefanini.

Even though their reelections are a given, Patch wanted to ask them a few questions to find out why they chose to run this year, and what they want to do in the next term — and how to get more citizens to participate in local politics.

Stefanini was first elected in 2019 to the District 8 seat, but it certainly wasn't his first election. He previously served as a selectman under town government, was the city's state House representative (the seat now held by Jack Lewis, and before that Senate President Karen Spilka) for nearly a decade and ran for mayor in 2017. Here's what Stefanini said about his 2021 run:

Why did you choose to run for reelection in 2021?

As Councilor, I will work to provide a strong voice for the issues and concerns long ignored by our municipal government. It is time for our local government to represent all of us. Our kids spend hours each day on buses, more than a thousand apartments are approved with little or no process or oversight, and traffic and public safety concerns are ignored. We need to recommit ourselves to the transparency and participation that good government requires to advance the social, economic and environmental justice that our community deserves. We have much work to do. It starts with working together in a respectful process. We can and must do better!

You're running unopposed this year. Does that concern you? What's one way the city could get more citizens involved in local politics?

Competition is good for our local democracy. So too is civic participation. Over the past two years we have significantly increased the number of residents in District 8 volunteering on local boards and commissions to 23 and District 8 now has several active local resident groups. We need to continue this positive engagement and work collaboratively to the benefit of our neighbors.

Also, two years ago I committed to work collaboratively with all my colleagues in local government to file 16 ordinances, and I happily report that 13 of these were passed by the Council:

• Establish goals to make Framingham sustainable, including 100% use of renewable energies by2030, with a Green Commission chaired by the Mayor to identify strategies to achieve these goals;
• Require community benefits in exchange for any real estate tax incentives for developers or businesses;
• Create neighborhood area groups to advise municipal decision-makers on local development projects, capital improvement needs and other matters of local concern;
• Petition the Legislature to expand the Board of Health from 3 members to 5 members;
• Increase transparency and public input into the formulation of the operating and capital budgets;
• Provide a temporary moratorium on new apartments;
• Create a Blue Ribbon panel to develop a masterplan for our seat of local government;
• Establish resident only parking stickers for certain neighborhoods;
• Increase the municipal officials designated to complete an ethics disclosure statement;
• If reelected, I will continue to work collaboratively with my colleagues in government to adopt policies, budgets and ordinances that embody our values, speaks to our dreams, and meets our needs.

What's your top priority for your next term?

Our neighbors and neighborhoods, places of worship and activities, small businesses and schools, connect us together like a jigsaw puzzle. Our respect for our human differences is our foundation, but it is the activities, associations and places that connect us that make Framingham special. In this time of national conflict and ugly discourse we need to remind ourselves that the things that bind us are so much stronger than those things that divide us.

The Council needs to recommit us to the transparency and participation that good government requires to advance the social, economic and environmental justice that our community deserves.

We have much work to do. It starts with working together in a respectful process. We must do better!

In concrete terms, the Council must bring voters’ values and voices to local decision-making by supporting appointments, budgets and policies that will:

• Increase the quality and positive outcomes of our schools;
• Encourage Smart Growth economic development;
• Strengthen the character, security, vitality and environmental integrity of each of our neighborhoods;
• Improve the community's collective health by curbing substance abuse;
• Make efficient use of taxpayer resources to keep our costs affordable;
• Respect and celebrate our diversity;
• Advocate for strong sustainability programs to reduce our carbon footprint;
• Empower the Traffic Commission by fully funding and staffing it;
• Preserve open spaces and increase recreational opportunities;
• Work together to ensure the promise of our Charter — a more open, transparent, ethical and participatory local government — is fully realized to all of our benefit.

In short, the Council has much work to do.

Question from resident Bill Sell, "What is the most pressing issue in YOUR district and how
will you go about addressing it?"

It is time for our local government to represent all of us. Our kids spend hours each day on buses, more than a thousand apartments are approved with little or no process or oversight, and traffic and public safety concerns are ignored.

As Councilor, I will be a strong voice for the issues and concerns long ignored by our municipal government. I will work to promote and support the fledgling Coburnville-Tripoli Neighborhood Association and Waushakum Pond Association, collaborate with the police department and Traffic Commission to identify creative solutions to local traffic concerns, and insist on more diverse, representative appointments to our municipal boards, commissions and committees.

I will collaborate with my neighbors in District 8 to continue to identify, study and propose solutions to our challenges to federal, state and local leaders.