McKenna To Suspend Framingham Mayoral Campaign

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The field of candidates running for mayor in Framingham in 2021 got a little thinner on Thursday with Rick McKenna, a local business owner, saying he'll suspend his campaign.

McKenna said he'll be busy this summer with the new "Restaurant Rush" promotion, and McKenna wants to support longtime friend Charlie Sisitsky, who has so far mounted the strongest effort to unseat Mayor Yvonne Spicer.

"The city has gone through almost four years of mismanagement, which has set us back dearly, both from a budgeting perspective and socioeconomically," McKenna said in a news release Thursday. "Our ‘brand’ has suffered immensely, I believe, in the eyes of MetroWest and the Commonwealth. I truly believe that Charlie Sisitsky’s years of municipal management experience will help to bring Framingham back to its potential greatness. For that reason, I am 100 percent supporting Charlie’s candidacy for mayor, and offer any assistance that may be of help to get him elected."

With McKenna out of the race, that leaves just Spicer, Sisitsky and Brazilian Immigrants Family of America CEO Carlos Valadares in the race. Although all three candidate have pulled papers to run in 2021, none had returned the requisite signatures to get on the ballot as of Friday morning, according to the City Clerk.

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