YVONNE M. SPICER
Mayor
City of Framingham
Residence: Framingham
College: State University of New York-Oswego, UMass Boston
As the first mayor of Framingham, which incorporated in January, Spicer has the unique ability to set the city’s tone and attitude toward businesses for generations to come. A main reason for last year’s campaign by the unofficial “America’s largest town” to become a city was to encourage more development, as then Town Manager Robert Halpin said his push to become more business friendly could only go so far, saying a mayor like Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant was good at attracting the attention of both businesses and state officials handing out local assistance. Spicer was initially against the idea of Framingham becoming a city – proposing instead to create a more streamlined approach to development – but once the strong-mayor form of government was approved by a scant 105-vote margin, she set about uniting the two sides and running a successful “The People’s Mayor” campaign. The first six months of her tenure have been rocky, as expected, as Spicer and the new city council struggle over first-time issues like a city budget and who has what authority, all while dealing with intermediate issues like marijuana legalization and downtown development. Yet, through this day-to-day work, Spicer is writing the first chapter in the City of Framingham’s book.
Read about the WBJ’s 2018 Power Players:
Retail
Harry Kokkinis, Table Talk Pies
Steve Rotman, Rotman’s Furniture & Vystar
Ernie Herrman, TJX Cos.
Michael Dundas, Sira Naturals
Ralph Crowley Jr., Polar Corp.
Christopher Baldwin, BJ’s Wholesale Club
Amy Lynn Chase, Crompton Collective & Haberdash
Food & Culture
Robb & Madeline Ahlquist, Worcester Restaurant Group
Troy Siebels, The Hanover Theatre
Karim El-Gamal, Rail Trail Flatbread Co., New City Microcreamery, Less Than Greater Than
Eric, Sam & Jack Hendler, Jack’s Abby Brewing
Lynn Cheney, Lettuce Be Local
Sandy Dunn, DCU Center
Higher Education & Nonprofits
Ann T. Lisi, Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, College of the Holy Cross
Javier Cevallos, Framingham State University
Michael F. Collins, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Jill Dagilis, Worcester Community Action Council
Dr. David A. Jordan, Seven Hills Foundation
Laurie Leshin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Corner Office
Kate Sharry, Group Benefits Strategies
Tina M. Sbrega, GFA Federal Credit Union
John C. Roche, The Hanover Insurance Group
Elaine Osgood, Atlas Travel
Michael P. Angelini, Bowdtich & Dewey
Susan Mailman, Coghlin Electrical Contractors
Edward F. Manzi Jr., Fidelity Bank
Manufacturing
Dinesh Wadhwani, ThinkLite
Ravi Vig, Allegro Microsystems
Nobuhiko Tamura, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals
Daniel McGahn, AMSC
Michael Mahoney, Boston Scientific
Jeannie Hebert, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce
Valentin Gapontsev, IPG Photonics
Chris Coghlin, Coghlin Cos.
Health care
Kevin O’Sullivan, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives
Kurt Isaacson, Spectrum Health Systems
Tarek Elsawy, Reliant Medical Group
Jeffrey M. Welch, Saint Vincent Hospital
Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial Health Care
Holly Chaffee, VNA Care
Richard P. Burke, Fallon Health
Economic Development
Ann K. Tripp, Opus Investment Management
Robert Walker, RA Ventures
Yvonne Spicer, City of Framingham
Cliff Rucker, Worcester Railers Hockey Club
Sherri Greene Pitcher, Fidelity Bank
Timothy P. Murray, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
Anthony Consigli, Consigli Construction Co.
Jennie Lee Colosi, E. T. & L. Corp.
