State rep. wants to be Framingham's first mayor
Mass. Political Almanac
State Rep. Chris Walsh said he is considering running to become Framingham's first mayor.
With Framingham poised to become the newest city in Massachusetts, state Rep. Chris Walsh says he's seriously considering a pursuit to become the first mayor of the fifty-seventh city.
"In political parlance, I'm considering it very strongly," Walsh told the News Service on Tuesday. "It is a very interesting time in terms of where Framingham is, the kinds of things going on. I've been an advocate for the revitalization of downtown Framingham for almost 30 years now. I have a really strong interest in that."
Framingham voted on April 4 by a narrow margin to turn the state's most populous town, with over 68,300 residents, into its newest city.
City clerks plan a recount on April 24 after the charter change won approval by just 108 votes, but if confirmed the new form of government will require elections this fall to choose the city's first mayor.
Walsh, the House vice chairman of the Committee on Education, said he doesn't know how many people are considering a run for mayor, but expects the field to start to take shape early next month when nomination papers are due to become available.
"I love my job as a state rep. It's one of the best jobs I've ever had. But the ability to effect things at this local level as the first mayor, I think, is wildly interesting and I'm going to prusue that a little bit and see how possible it is," Walsh said.
The new mayor of Framingham, under the charter change, would take control of the city on Jan. 1, 2018 and work with a new 11-member city council and nine-member school committee. The charter calls for the mayor to be paid the same salary as the current town manager - $187,639 - and the council would set future mayoral salary levels.
Walsh said that Framingham, like many small cities, faces economic challenges and "structural financial issues" that will need to be dealt with to pay for education, transportation and other city services.
"Like every community, we suffer from that widening gap between people who have means and people who don't and Framingham, probably more than a lot of places, we have both ends. We're not a real bedroom community per se. We're one of the largest jobs importers in the MetroWest region with a lot of people coming into Framingham," Walsh said.
Walsh said he supported the charter change to transform Framingham into a city, but held back from getting too involved in the effort so as not to appear too self-serving knowing that he might be interested in running for mayor.
An architect by trade, Walsh previously served as a member of Town Meeting and is one of three House lawmakers that represent parts of Framingham. Reps. Jack Lewis and Carmine Gentile also share parts of the city with Walsh.
If he runs, Walsh will join two other Beacon Hill legislators eyeing a move to local city halls with Rep. Paul Heroux already running for mayor of Attleboro and Sen. Thomas McGee running for mayor of Lynn. Walsh said he would almost certainly give up his seat in the Legislature if he were to win the mayoral seat.
"I don't thnk you can do both jobs effectively or well, but we'll cross that off when we get there. It's a ways off," he said.
Walsh called the chance to become Framingham's first mayor a "once in a lifetime opportunity," but said he won't make the final decision until he feels "comfortable" that it makes sense for his career and that the pieces necessary to run a successful campaign are in place.
"There's a charter in place. The lines are there. But the real important piece for me now is how that gets colored in," Walsh said.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments