John Stefanini seeks return to Framingham MA City Council. Why he says he should win
One of Framingham's longest-serving elected public officials is seeking a return to the City Council.
John Stefanini, who represented District 8 on the council before being defeated by Leslie White Harvey in the 2023 city election, has pulled papers to reclaim the seat. In an interview with the Daily News, he said he's running due to unmet issues in Framingham's south side.
'South Framingham has had a backlog of issues that have not been addressed for a long period of time,' Stefanini said. He said those concerns include getting school busing under control; building the new south side school; revitalizing Lake Waushakum; expanding Cushing Memorial Park; and expanding the trails in South Framingham.
Stefanini also called for government to become more transparent. He announced his intent to run on Facebook, saying that "the chaos in Washington is creeping into our backyards. ICE raids, threats to our school funding, and uncertainty about health care and it's unacceptable. We need a strong, unwavering voice in Framingham to stand up for our values. We need to build a community where everyone feels safe, respected and valued."
In wake of his loss to White Harvey two years ago, Stefanini said he plans more outreach in Precinct 6 (an area that includes Farm Pond, Cushing Memorial Park and parts of the Coburnville neighborhood) this year.
2023 Framingham election: Leslie White Harvey defeats defeats Stefanini in District 8 race
'I need to spend more time going door to door, talking to people, listening and doing the things I need to do,' he said. 'The biggest challenge I had two years ago were pieces of the district that were brand-new (after Census-related redistricting). All of Precinct 6 was brand-new to the district, which I hadn't represented before, and I didn't obviously do enough outreach because it was the only piece of the district that I didn't do so well.'
Besides door knocking, Stefanini pointed out that 47% of Framingham has lived in the city for 10 years or less.
'That means there are a lot of new folks looking for ways to become part of and involved and integrated into the community, and we need to do more," he said. "I need to do more to help build community."
As of June 11, White Harvey had yet to pull papers for reelection. She did not return a voicemail on Wednesday.
Stefanini is a staple in Framingham's political scene. He previously served on the Board of Selectmen from 1991 to 1997. He was a state representative from 1992 to 2001.
Stefanini was a member of the panel that helped write and create Framingham's city charter, which changed Framingham into a city in January 2018. Stefanini ran to become Framingham's first mayor in the November 2017 election, but lost to Yvonne Spicer.
OPINION: Stefanini says city must refine its charter, focus on the future
Framingham's biennial election is Nov. 4. All nine district city councilor seats are up for election; the two at-large seats are four-year terms, and are not up for reelection until 2027.
Nomination papers are available at the City Clerk's Office. Papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Former Framingham City Councilor Stefanini is running to reclaim seat
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
26 minutes ago
- Fox News
GOP Senator Ron Johnson says he's 'trying to force reality' on DC
When it comes to the nation's federal government, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is "not a fan." He believes that it "causes or exacerbates more problems than it actually solves," telling Fox News Digital during an interview on Wednesday that the bulk of his oversight is "to expose how awful government is" in order to obtain "public support for reducing it, limiting its size, limiting its cost, limiting its influence over our lives." "As our federal government grows, our freedoms recede," he said. "You see what the federal government does, how it wastes money." The national debt has ballooned to the eye-watering sum of more than $36 trillion, with lawmakers and presidents from both parties presiding over the deficit spending that has led the nation to this point. Johnson said he's "trying to force reality" upon everyone in the nation's capital, regardless of whether they want to face that reality. He said for decades the nation has been suffering a "chronic debt crisis," illustrating the dramatic decline in the value of the U.S. dollar by noting that "the dollar you held back in 1998 is now only worth $0.51 cents," while "a dollar you held in … 2019 is only worth $0.80 cents." The senator referred to inflation as "the silent tax." But he's certainly not staying silent. Johnson indicated that the elected leaders are mortgaging the future of American children, but "don't talk about it." "I'm forcing everybody to look at it," he said, noting that his "primary role" is to force "acknowledgment of our problem." But as keenly as Johnson advocates the idea of slashing the sprawling tentacles of the massive federal bureaucracy, right now he's just pushing to pare spending down to pre-pandemic levels. The conservative fiscal hawk has been making headlines for taking a stand against the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cleared the GOP-controlled House of Representatives last month. But Johnson told Fox News Digital that he actually likes a lot of the measure. "I'm really not critical of the bill as far as it goes," Johnson explained, noting that he's a "big supporter" of much of what's in it, though he noted that has not read all of it — the measure is more than 1,000 pages long. "My main beef is it just doesn't go far enough," he said, noting that after the COVID-19 pandemic Democrats failed to return to pre-COVID spending and deficit levels. The Congressional Budget Office's estimated budgetary impact for the measure indicates that the net effect on the deficit would be a more than $2.4 trillion increase over the fiscal years 2025-2034. But White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has said the measure would decrease deficits. "The bill REDUCES deficits by $1.4 trillion over ten years when you adjust for CBO's one big gimmick--not using a realistic current policy baseline. It includes $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings, the most in history. If you care about deficits and debt, this bill dramatically improves the fiscal picture," Vought said in a post on X. Johnson also noted during the interview that there has not been a "reckoning" regarding the "abuse" at all levels of government during the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that he does not refer to the COVID-19 jab as a vaccine. Instead, he referred to it as an "injection," asserting that it is "not a vaccine," and that it caused injuries and death. The senator said that he thinks the shots should have "black box warnings." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states that the "CDC recommends a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for most adults ages 18 and older" and claims that the "vaccine helps protect you from severe illness, hospitalization, and death." Johnson, who has served in the Senate since 2011 and won election to a third term in 2022, said he'd prefer not to seek another term in office. "I don't covet this job," he said, noting that he wants to leverage his post to help save America and aid those who are "ignored by the system." While he's not ruling out another run, Johnson, who turned 70-years-old earlier this year, said he'd "be happy" to return to Oshkosh and "live a nice, peaceful life."
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Law must prevail over force — There's no invasion of LA except for federal troops
Despite what President Donald Trump and his border czar Tom Homan claim, the only invasion of Los Angeles is by the illegally mobilized National Guard and Marines, brought into the city against the will of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The anti-ICE protests in L.A. were being contained and handled by local law enforcement, the robust LAPD and even larger Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. And today Newsom's lawsuit has a hearing in federal courts to end the military deployments even as the governor is facing idle threats of arrest from Homan and Trump himself. There is a thick stack of red lines that the administration has crossed just in the last few days. Troops in the streets? Check. Those troops conducting domestic law enforcement in clear violation of the law? Check; we are already seeing images of National Guard soldiers actively backing masked federal agents up as these round people up, reportedly soon joined by the Marines. In a speech, Newsom said: 'Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there.' Trump openly admires foreign strongmen who put down dissent. Here he gets to try it out here at home. There is no emergency, other than the one that Trump has manufactured. But for a few spots here and there, 99% of L.A. is going about their daily live without incident. Trump is using apocalyptic language and deploying the troops not because he wants the situation to de-escalate but precisely because he wants very badly for there to be escalation, as that gives him additional latitude to crack down. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, long Trump's preeminent anti-immigrant zealot, has given the game away yet again with his descriptions of what's so wrong with L.A. that federal troops need to be brought in to fix it, moaning on Twitter that 'huge swaths of the city where I was born now resemble failed third world nations,' by which he really just means they're full of nonwhite people. This whole effort can best be understood as more akin to an occupation than an attempt to preserve order that the L.A. authorities are perfectly capable of maintaining themselves. Other cities, New York included, need to prepare given reports that ICE is surging special units to Seattle, Chicago, Philly, northern Virginia and New York as large protests are planned for this weekend against the ICE raids and Saturday's D.C. military parade on Trump's birthday. Knowing that there are nationwide protests planned against his procession, Trump has said that protesters will be met with 'very big force,' not bothering to distinguish between constitutionally protected speech and violence, because he neither understands nor cares about such distinctions. We hope that the courts will ignore the DOJ's mealy-mouthed defenses and act fast to state the obvious, which is that Trump is way overreaching his federal powers, and we hope that such rulings are expeditiously enforced, unlike the administration's track record so far of defying federal judges. For our service members who may be called upon to enact Trump's designs, we will remind you that your oath is not to the president, but to the Constitution. There are some lines that cannot be uncrossed. _____
Fox News
42 minutes ago
- Fox News
Anti-ICE riot funding investigated after ‘numerous high budget requests' for paid agitators were reported
An investigation is underway into who is funding anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots disrupting Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities after a major company revealed it had received requests for help. Crowds on Demand, a California-based company that specializes in providing on-demand crowds for protests, told Fox News Digital it received "numerous high budget requests" to get involved with the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and other cities but declined to participate. A company spokesperson said it declined to get involved in what is happening in Los Angeles because it did "not want to get close to any form of illegal activity, including violence, vandalism or blocking off roads without a permit." "We receive inquiries regarding practically every major social cause imaginable, and the anti-ICE demonstrations are no exception," the company said. "The fact that we receive requests does not mean we take them, in many cases, because the budget does not match the ambition." The company added it only takes on "impactful commonsense causes both for liberals and conservatives, but always represent(s) the commonsense position." "Even organizing peaceful demonstrators around this issue (anti-ICE) could put those demonstrators at risk due to the presence of violent agitators and the difficulty for law enforcement in distinguishing between peaceful and violent activists," the company said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said anyone found to be abusing the law will be held accountable. "We're not here to negotiate with criminals. Break the law, attack our agents — you will be arrested, prosecuted, and held accountable. No exceptions," the agency vowed in a statement on X. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, shared that the committee is sending letters to multiple organizations believed to be behind the funding. One of the organizations called into questioning by Hawley and Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, an advocacy group believed to be at the center of the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. "Who is funding the LA riots? This violence isn't spontaneous. As chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism, I'm launching an investigation to find out," Hawley posted in a statement on X. Hawley's letter noted that "credible reporting" has indicated the organization has provided "logistical support and financial resources to individuals engaged in these disruptive actions," referring to the Los Angeles riots. "Let me be clear: bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct. Accordingly, you must immediately cease and desist any further involvement in the organization, funding or promotion of these unlawful activities," Hawley wrote. Kiley also questioned who was behind the funding for the rioters and suggested that California Gov. Gavin Newsom's motive may be a conflict of interest. "The 'nonprofit' behind the LA riots donated almost $500,000 to support Newsom's campaign. It then received $34 million in state funding. I'm sure this is all a coincidence," Kiley wrote in a post on X. Kiley also shared with Fox News Digital that CHIRLA has reportedly also sponsored a campaign to abolish ICE in the past. "The NGO known as CHIRLA was centrally involved in the LA riots. The organization, which has previously sponsored a campaign to abolish ICE, alerted the rioters to where ICE operations were occurring in real time. The agitators would then show up and disrupt ICE activities, including through the use of violence," Kiley said. "This group is a major campaign contributor to Gavin Newsom and has received $34 million in state funding. An investigation is absolutely appropriate and necessary." IRS records obtained by Fox News show CHIRLA has received $34 million in government grants, including three from former President Joe Biden's administration for $750,000. The Million Voter Project, which received a portion of these funds and opposed Newsom's recall, has also supported anti-ICE protests, according to records. It is not clear whether either group funded any protest activity, and there is no evidence that they supported rioting. "It is absolutely absurd that either myself or the governor would be supportive in any way, shape or form to the vandalism and the violence that has taken place in our city," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN in an interview Tuesday. "I have been abundantly clear that what is happening on our streets is unacceptable. Looting is criminal behavior. People will be arrested and prosecuted. I don't believe anybody who vandalizes the city supports immigrants." Bass' office told Fox News Digital she also set a curfew in downtown Los Angeles to "curb bad actors who do not support the immigrant community." "Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted," Bass vowed. Fox News Digital reached out to CHIRLA and Newsom's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
