Share, email, print, bookmark SOURCE reports.

[broadstreet zone=”53230″]

FRAMINGHAM – Tonight, June 15, the eight remaining members of the Framingham School Committee will interview three men who seek to replace former District 2 School Committee member Ricky Finlay.

Finlay resigned from the School Committee seat to take a position with the City of Framingham.

On Tuesday, June 21, the 8 members of the School Committee and the 11 members of the Framingham City Council will hold a joint meeting to vote one of the three men as the District 2 School Committee member.

Former Town of Framingham School Committee member Donald Taggert is one of the three candidates. The other two candidates are David Gordon and Brandon Ward.

Both Ward and Gordon applied to be appointed a School Committee member in 2021, after School Committee member Karen Foran Dempsey died in December 2020.

[broadstreet zone=”54526″]

Finlay received the most votes at the joint meeting of the School Committee and City Council in March of 21 with 11 votes. Gordon received 7 votes.

In November of 2021, the District 2 School Committee seat was on the ballot for a 2-year term.

Finlay ran unopposed and received the seat.

Neither Gordon nor Ward pulled papers to run for the seat.

But when Finlay resigned this year, both men put their names back in contention for the seat.

Whoever is appointed on June 21, will serve as the District 2 School Committee member through December 31, 2023.

Ward is a senior program manager for fellowship operations at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Gordon is Director of Finance & Administration for the Westborough Public Schools.

Both Ward and Gordon attended Framingham Public Schools.

Taggart is a retired educator who has previously served on the Framingham School Committee.

[broadstreet zone=”58893″]

SOURCE requested the voting records of all three from the City Clerk’s office. They are public records.

Only Taggart voted in the special election in December 2018 on a vote to authorize funding for the new Fuller Middle School.

In the last 2 decades, Gordon has only voted in one local election – last year on November 2, 2021 in Framingham.

Since 2008, Ward has only voted in four local elections, but only three of those were in Framingham.

Taggart has voted in 20 local elections since 2022.

[broadstreet zone=”59940″]

[broadstreet zone=”59947″]

[broadstreet zone=”59945″]

[broadstreet zone=”59982″]

By editor

Susan Petroni is the former editor for SOURCE. She is the founder of the former news site, which as of May 1, 2023, is now a self-publishing community bulletin board. The website no longer has a journalist but a webmaster.