Framingham voters must decide between two groups for local Democratic Committee leadership

FRAMINGHAM — When city Democratic voters visit the polls for the March 5 presidential primary, the most exciting race on the ballot may well be one that contains the names of several of their neighbors.

That's because the Framingham Democratic Committee has two competing slates of candidates, after a schism occurred among leaders of the group.

Normally, voters need only to fill a single oval electing up to 35 people to serve on the committee. But this year they must choose between two separate slates, each of which contains several notable Framingham political figures who are seeking election to the committee.

Mary Kate Feeney, a FDC member since 2018, is part of the second slate, identified on the ballot as “Group 2.” Feeney said the reason there's a second slate of candidates is because of a desire to encourage more new members to join the FDC.

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“I’ve only been involved in local politics for the past six years, but over that time there are not many of us that are new,” Feeney said. “I find that Framingham’s leadership is stuck in the status quo, and it's time for new voices and new leadership. That's part of the reason we're running this slate — we need new voices.”

Feeney says newer activists don't feel welcomed by longtime Democrats

Feeney said that when speaking with potential new members, she finds that the "toxicity" and reputations associated with some of the longtime members discourage people from getting involved.

“When I talk to new activists, they see the toxicity and they want nothing to do with it, and they don’t feel welcome into the Democratic Party,” she said. “That's a huge problem for me. We should be having a lot more people coming to our meetings than what we currently have. It should be open and accessible.”

Both slates contain well known local political figures. Group 1 includes state Rep. Jack Lewis, City Councilors Adam Steiner, Tracey Bryant, Brandon Ward and Leslie White Harvey, and former Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer. Members of Group 2 include state Rep. Priscila Sousa, City Councilor George King, School Committee Chair Jessica Barnhill and School Committee member Adam Freudberg.

"Framingham has been blessed with a lot of activists who are dedicated, knowledgeable and really know their stuff," Sousa said. "However, too often we see local elections go uncontested. We have people that have interest, that have the ability to run for office, but somehow we can't seem to get the talent to pull papers. The intent is to expand candidacy, expand engagement and create more maturity in civic engagement here in Framingham."

Sousa noted that it can be difficult for new people to join the FDC, even when they're elected to public positions. She said that even as a member of the School Committee, it took her several voting periods for her to gain membership.

"It took me a few rounds to be able to attain full membership into the town committee," Sousa said. "That isn't to say I'm any more or less deserving, but it just shows as an indicator, how hard it can be to get a seat."

State Rep. Lewis disappointed to see division in FDC

Lewis, a member of Group 1 on the ballot, said he's discouraged to see two slates, saying Democrats need to promote unity as opposed to fighting amongst themselves for positions within the party. He believes Group 2 is aiming to remove some Group 1 members from the FDC.

Lewis said that upon learning a second slate was going to run for election, he and others in Group 1 attempted to create a unified slate, with candidates from both slides, but were unable to reach agreement.

“What the Democratic Party doesn’t need right now is a public battle between two competing Democratic slates, which I personally believe is based less on politics and more on personal histories,” he said. “After making great efforts on our part, we were told that they were not interested in making a unified slate.”

Voters can pick from both slates of candidates

Group 1 contains 34 candidates, while Group 2 contains 24. Former State Sen. David Magnani is running as a “non-group” candidate, with Lewis noting that the reason Group 1 has 34 candidates is to reserve the 35th spot for Magnani.

“We all have a tremendous amount of respect for former Sen. Magnani, and many of us intend to vote for him in addition to the 34 candidates in Group 1,” Lewis said.

Voters do not have to vote for one full slate or the other; they can instead choose to vote for a maximum of 35 candidates from among the 59 candidates listed among both groups. Because Group 2 has just 24 candidates, some candidates from Group 1 will also be voted to the committee. But Sousa said Group 2 hopes having fewer candidates creates more opportunity for other members to eventually come along and join the FDC.

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"We have left space open for new people, because we want to see them get involved," she said. "We want to tell people that if they want to join, they're not going to have to elbow their way into a position. There is space for you."

Group 2 also contains two candidates, John Stefanini and Jerry Desilets, who are lifetime FDC members. Lifetime members are residents who have been part of the organization for at least 25 years, and do not need to be reelected.

Lewis was critical of their inclusion on Group 2’s ballot, saying they're taking spots that could be claimed by new members.

“Including life members, in order to cushion their numbers, only highlights how much the choices being made are out of the traditional approach,” Lewis said.

Both sides expect campaigning to occur ahead of March 5 primary

With the primary less than a month away, both sides say they anticipate campaigning to encourage those who plan to vote Democrat on March 5 to vote for their respective slates. Massachusetts has an "open" primary, meaning unenrolled voters can choose which party's primary ballot to cast.

“We are talking to a lot of people in the city, and a lot of people are looking for change at all levels here in Framingham, and that is what is appealing to people on our slate,” Feeney said. “I don’t know if we're going to have campaign events, but you will certainly see signs and we're going to make sure our message is heard.”

Lewis said that while he would rather dedicate time to campaign for national leadership positions, his group is committed to getting its slate of candidates reelected.

“Yard signs are going up," he said. "When we were told the purpose of an alternative slate was to reset the local party, and that there was an effort to remove certain members — all of us are committed that our diverse and dynamic group of volunteers are elected. While we would rather be investing this time to reelect our U.S. senator (Elizabeth Warren), and reelect our president, we need to make sure we reelect a group that is committed to Democratic values and isn’t putting personal politics above the party.”

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Despite their differences, representatives of each group expressed similar opinions on the purpose of the FDC.

“Their role is to represent the interests of the Democratic Party and engage with residents and local organizations and advocate for the issues that are important that align with our values,” Feeney said. “It’s also to encourage people to run for office and to help them achieve that goal.”

Lewis said membership comes with substantial volunteer work and contains real responsibilities that must be taken seriously.

““The bread and butter of the committee is electing Democrats," he said. "That means knocking on doors, making phone calls — some members of our slate were just in New Hampshire working on that presidential primary. This comes with work, it isn’t a popularity contest and it isn’t something you just do.”

In Framingham, neither the Republican nor the Libertarian ballot indicates any election for committee members.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham Democratic Committee split means two slates at MA primary