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FRAMINGHAM – Former City Councilor and retired Natick DPW Director Charlie Sisitsky defeated Mayor Yvonne Spicer overwhelmingly on Tuesday, November 2.
Spicer called Sisitsky to concede the race before 8:30 p.m, as the results from the City’s 18 Precincts had her losing the race by an more than a 2 to 1 margin.
The Spicer administration did not even release the results of the election until 10:15 p.m.
The unofficial results from the City Clerk’s office, had Sisitsky with 8283 votes and Spicer with just 3,909.
“Thank you so very much! I think I could spend the next several hours or more thanking all the people that helped make tonight’s results possible and it still wouldn’t be enough. First, I have to thank all the people who came out and voted, especially those who supported our message of bringing better collaboration, more cooperation and respectful, professional government back to Framingham City Hall – thank you,” said Sisitsky at a campaign party at the Framingham Elks. “Most importantly – thank you so much to my wife Robin Kaye, my son Adam, and to our wonderful family, all of whom sacrificed so much of their time and energy to help our campaign. I could not have done any of this without you.”
Sisitsky, 76, said throughout the campaign that he was running to put the City of Framingham back on track and to bring management experience to the Mayoral position.
Spicer, 59, was the City of Framingham’s first-ever Mayor and the Commonwealth’s first-ever elected African-American woman Mayor. She was elected in November 2017 and sworn in for a 4-year term on January 1, 2018.
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““I have just called Charlie Sisitsky to concede the race,” said Spicer in a press release just before 8:30 p.m. “Serving as the Mayor of Framingham has been the honor of my life. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been Framingham’s very first Mayor, and the First African American Woman to be elected Mayor in Massachusetts. I am proud of successfully transitioning a 317-year-old town into a brand new city, of leading our city through an unprecedented pandemic and to have expanded inclusion with the most diverse administration, boards and committees in our history. I am proud to leave Framingham in a better place than when I took office.”
The Mayoral race was about leadership, management, and Spicer’s record.
Many voters told SOURCE they were unhappy with the mayor over her lack of handling the coronavirus pandemic and the mismanagement of the water-sewer enterprise funds.
All 9 District City Councilors were elected on Tuesday, but four of the races were uncontested. Re-elected to a third term without a challenger was Michael Cannon, in District 4.
Re-elected to a second term uncontested was Christine Long in District 1, John Stefanini in District 8, and Phil Ottaviani Jr. in District 6.
There were 5 contested City Council races with the closest race in District 3 between current City Council Vice Chair Adam Steiner and his challenger Mary Kate Feeney.
“What a day! Thank you to all of my supporters. It is clear our message resonated and that people are seeking change. While the unofficial results are razor tight, they have the result as 995-992 with me down by 3 votes against the incumbent Vice Chair of the Council. A recount is likely. So stay tuned. Win or lose your message to reform the way we do business was heard loud and clear,” said Feeney on Tuesday night.
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The unofficial City Clerk results have Steiner the winner by just two votes – 997 for Steiner and 995 for Feeney.
“As you have probably seen, the unofficial City of Framingham results have me winning my race by 2 votes 997-995. I’m thankful for your support but awaiting word on whether my opponent will seek a recount,” said Steiner on his campaign’s social media page.
More than 12,000 of the City almost 40,000 registered voters participated in the election, according to the unofficial results – or just over 30%.
In District 2, Cesar Stewart-Morales was re-elected as a City Councilor for two years in a race. He defeated challenger Jake Binnall 1,058 to 679 votes.
The District 5 City Councilor Robert Case chose not to seek re-election, and former School Committee member Noval Alexander defeated former School Committee member Cheryl Gordon. Alexander won 628 to 509.
The first result of the night came from District 7 were Leora Mallach won a seat on the City Council in District 7. She defeated Magda Janus, 526 to 285 votes. The current District 7 Councilor Margareth Shepard chose not to seek a third term.
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“I’m so excited and humbled to be chosen as your District 7 City Councilor! I have been listening and learning and I am ready to get things done. I have enjoyed meeting residents, even the skeptics, and seeing their gardens, and will continue to do so as your Councilor,” said Mallach in a statement to SOURCE. “I look forward to further meetings and conversations, talking and building connections and finding common ground. There is so much that we can do together. Thank you for your support and your faith.”
In District 9 current City Council Tracey Bryant defeated former City Council Edgardo Torres.
All 9 School Committee seats were unopposed on the ballot, but District 9 School Committee member was facing a write in-challenge by Scott Hayes. LaBarge won with 200 votes. There were only 28 write-in votes.
Besides Mayor, and the 5 contested City Council races, there was a contested race for Library Trustee with 8 candidates for 6 seats.
Current Library Trustee Chair Ruth Winnet topped the ticket. Fellow incumbent Steve Malchman finished third and was re-elected.
The youngest person on the City of Framingham ballot Isabella Petroni, 20, finished second in the Library Trustee race.
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Current Vice Chair of the Library Trustees Heather Klish, who was appointed to the 12-member board, but in her first election lost.
Also elected Library Trustee was Heather Woods, Leslie White Harvey in 5th place, and Jenny DeArcangelis in 6th place.
There were three Cemetery Trustees on the ballot for 3 seats. Dennis Cardiff was re-elected and topped the ticket. The oldest person on the ballot Veteran Council member Nick Paganella won as did Julie Ferrari.
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In full transparency, Petroni is the daughter of the editor/publisher of SOURCE.
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