Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer Will Seek Re-election In 2021

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer confirmed Thursday she will run for a second term in 2021, setting the stage for a competitive election year with at least one other candidate already in the race.

Spicer announced her re-election bid in a video posted early Thursday, which reviews her first term as Framingham's first mayor, and as the first Black woman to lead the community either as a town or city.

"I am excited to launch my campaign for re-election, to connect with thousands of residents over the coming months and talk about our vision of the community we hope to continue building together," she said in a news release. "We’ve made great progress over the past four years, but there’s more work to do, and I am just getting started."

Spicer, 58, was elected in 2017 during Framingham's transition from a town to a city. She was a town meeting member and a member of the local Democratic party, but had no prior electoral experience. That year, she defeated now-Councilor John Stefanini, a lifelong Framingham resident and former state representative and selectman.

Spicer is originally from New York, but came to Framingham in the 1980s to work as a teacher. She was a vice president at the Museum of Science in Boston before taking the mayor's seat.

Two weeks ago, former City Council member Charlie Sisitsky announced he would run in 2021. In a statement, he said he had been encouraged to run by residents "concerned with the trajectory of our current administration and its many shortcomings that are putting our city at a competitive disadvantage."

In contrast, Spicer on Thursday highlighted 29 "significant accomplishments" from her first 3-1/2 years in office. Those range from the city's response to the coronavirus pandemic, to beginning the cleanup of the General Chemical site and promoting Framingham's first Black police chief, Lester Baker. Spicer also completed one of her key initiatives this fall when, after years of trying, she was able to get funding to hire the city's first diversity and equity chief.

Read: Spicer Campaign Spent Big On Vote Building Tool In April: OCPF

Spicer has also had difficulty in her first term. In November, the Framingham Source published a tranche of text messages showing Spicer's distaste for several Councilors. She has also had lots of turnover in city departments, most recently with the departures of health director Dr. Sam Wong and Chief Financial Officer Mary Ellen Kelley. The Council has also disagreed with her on key issues like the apartment moratorium, her picks for city boards and commissions and the purchase of the Perini building.

Late in 2020, a deficit in the city's water and sewer funds brought Spicer into direct conflict with the City Council. During one particularly contentious meeting in January, Spicer accused Councilors of holding Framingham "hostage" over the deficit, which prevented the city from sending tax bills.

The mayor, an ex-officio member of the School Committee, has also clashed with school leaders over funding. Spicer's 2022 budget proposal sliced $1.4 million off the Framingham Public Schools (FPS) funding request, which the School Committee found out about five days before the budget was due. That was the sixth budget cut since April 2020, School Committee members have highlighted.

Framingham's 2021 election season officially kicks off June 1 when candidates can begin pulling papers. In addition to the mayoral contest, all School Committee and all City Council district seats are up for election in 2021. So far, only District 7 Councilor Margareth Shepard has formally announced her 2021 plans.