Former Framingham CFO Donates Thousands of Dollars To Mayor Spicer & Two Councilors For Re-Election Campaign

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FRAMINGHAM – The former City of Framingham Chief Financial Officer Mary Ellen Kelley has jumped into politics in a big way since retiring earlier this year from the Spicer administration.

First, she joined Mayor Yvonne Spicer’s re-election campaign as its treasurer.

Then, Kelley made four donations totally $1,000 to the committee to re-elect Spicer.

Kelley also donated $1,000 each to the two City Councilors running for re-election, who have endorsed the Spicer to be re-elected as Mayor.

Kelley donated $1,000 to District 2 City Councilor Cesar Stewart-Morales, who is facing a challenger for the District 2 Council seat from Jake Binnall.

Stewart-Morales has endorsed Spicer for re-election publicly and appeared on campaign literature mailed to households endorsing Spicer for Mayor. ( see flyer below).

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Stewart-Morales is a member of the City Council’s finance subcommittee that was in charge of approving the Mayor’s budget that was presented to the Council by then-CFO Kelley.

Earlier this year, Stewart-Morales was typically on the losing end of 3-2 votes by that subcommittee to cut the Mayor’s office budget, including her travel expenses and expensive memberships. Councilors George King, Michael Cannon, and Janet Leombruno wanted to cut the Mayor’s budget and Councilors Stewart-Morales and Adam Steiner did not.

The votes were the same 3-2 in 2020 during the finance subcommittee meetings, with Councilors Steiner and Stewart-Morales not wishing to cut the mayor’s office budget.

Kelley also donated $1,000 to District 9 City Councilor Tracey Bryant.

Bryant, who is retired, has endorsed Spicer for Mayor, and like Stewart-Morales appeared on a campaign flyer to re-elect Spicer for Mayor.

Bryant is facing a challenge for re-election by the first-ever City Councilor in District 9 Edgardo Torres. The District 9 race features two people of color.

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Of the 11 City Councilors, eight are endorsing the Mayor’s opponent Charlie Sisitsky in the November 2 election, along with Framingham State Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis & Maria Robinson.

Three City Councilors are supporting Spicer for re-election. Two of the three City Councilors endorsing Spicer have their own races on November 2.

Kelley, who sold her house before she retired from the City of Framingham as CFO, now lives in an apartment in the Town of Ashland.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has no record of Kelley donating to political campaigns before 2021, except for one donation to a Framingham Republican in 2010 for $250.

Kelley is not the only high-profiled former Spicer administration department head campaign for the Mayor for re-election.

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The Framingham Human Resources Director Dolores Hamilton resigned this fall, but this week she submitted a letter to the editor to SOURCE for publication endorsing the Mayor.

The letter was received after the news outlet deadline for political letters to the editor and not published. The news outlet reject a handful of letters that were received after Sunday’s deadline.

For an election primer on who is on the November 2 ballot click here. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.