New Framingham District 2 School Committee Member Picked

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A joint meeting of the Framingham City Council and School Committee picked Ricky Finlay as the new District 2 school board member to serve for the remainder of 2021.

The selection of a new member was an emotional moment for many officials — they were replacing Karen Foran Dempsey, who died unexpectedly on Dec. 24. Dempsey was active in Framingham government, founding the Framingham Disability Commission, and was the sister of At-Large Councilor Janet Leombruno.

"We're all here because of Karen," Finlay said after his election. "I will live up to Karen's short-term legacy on the School Committee. What she did was unbelievable the way she advocated for people, and I will continue to do that."

Several officials, including Leombruno and Dempsey's husband, Mark, advocated for Finlay. He served as the District 2 School Committee member immediately before Dempsey, but stepped down to run for City Council. He is a Hoops and Homework volunteer and a Framingham football coach. But he's also a disability advocate and current chair of the Disability Commission — a reflection of Dempsey's legacy.

Candidate David Gordon came in second place with seven votes to Finlay's 11. Officials who wanted Gordon highlighted the need to diversify the committee, plus his experience with school finances with the fiscal 2022 budget process beginning Wednesday. Gordon is the finance director at the Tenacre Country Day School in Wellesley.

Kelly Garofalo, a mother of Framingham students and a teacher in Brighton, got one vote from District 7 Councilor Margareth Basilio Shepard. A fourth candidate, Brandon Ward, did not gain any votes.

"I would be happy to serve with each of the four applicants and feel that their application, interview, and life and professional experiences all make them qualified for this role," School Committee Chair Adam Freudberg said, noting that he landed on Finlay after creating a matrix to evaluate each candidate's qualifications.

Dempsey was elected to the seat in November 2019. Finlay will only serve the remainder of her term, but will be eligible to run for another full term in the fall.

School Committee member Geoffrey Epstein highlighted there hasn't been a contested race for the District 2 School Committee seat since Framingham became a city.

"My hope is this evening will introduce a new face, so at the end of the year people will be encouraged to run for the school committee from District 2," he said.

Freudberg said Finlay will be sworn in on Wednesday in time to sit for the school board meeting that night.

Here's how the vote for the four candidates broke down:

School Committee

• Beverly Hugo — Gordon
• Scott Wadland — Finlay
• Adam Freudberg — Finlay
• Priscila Sousa — Finlay
• Geoffrey Epstein — Gordon
• Tiffanie Maskell — Gordon
• Jessica Barnhill — Finlay
• William LaBarge — Gordon

City Council

• Adam Steiner — Finlay
• Michael Cannon — Finlay
• Robert Case — Gordon
• Philip Ottaviani — Finlay
• Margareth Basilio Shepard — Garofalo
• John Stefanini — Finlay
• Tracey Bryan — Gordon
• Janet Leombruno — Finlay
• Christine Long — Finlay
• Cesar Stewart-Morales — Gordon

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly omitted that Leombruno is a District 2 resident.