Voters to Decide Between Pillsbury, Smith for Selectman Tuesday

Editor’s Note: Originally published on Sunday. Updated for Monday’s newsletter.

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Selectman Jason Smith is seeking re-election to his fourth term on the Framingham Board of Selectmen Tuesday.

Town Meeting member Jim Pillsbury said it is time for a change.

Pillsbury is running as a “champion of transparency and accountability in our local government.”

Election day is Tuesday, April 7. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

There is one, 3-year seat available on the 5-member Board of Selectmen.

Last week, the two candidates participated in the only debate for Selectmen candidates this election season. The forum was sponsored by the Framingham Town-wide PTO (TWPTO) and was moderated by one of its former presidents and current Town Meeting member Audrey Hall.

The questions during the forum were heavily focused on the schools.

Questions included the Town’s relationship with the schools, Loring Arena, affordable housing in town, funding for cable television in town, the proposed Mass Bay Community College campus downtown and the possible sale of the memorial Building, dealing with increasing school enrollment, and the reputation of the schools.

“What’s a bigger asset in this community than our kids,” said Smith, who said he would favor building a new elementary school to deal with rising enrollment, but said due diligence is needed to study the issue not just opening a checkbook.

“The senior made Framingham what it is today, and the kid’s are our future and we need to support them any way we can,” said Smith.

“The biggest bang for our buck is investing in education,” said Pillsbury. :It helps prevent crime, illiteracy, bigotry, hatred. It is the future we should invest in.”

But, Pillsbury said we should ”hold the school department and the School Committee accountable.” He said the public should demand measurable results.

Moderator Hall asked the candidates how they can improve the reputation of Framingham Public Schools, as its reputation has never been as solid as districts like Wayland and Sudbury.

“We can’t be compared to them,” said Pillsbury, who said Framingham’s school district is bigger than many towns in the Commonwealth. There are more than 8,000 students in the Framingham Public Schools.

“What is important about the schools in Framingham is the amazing teachers,” said Smith. ”It is not about how much money we have. ... It is about hiring those amazing teachers to keep our kids in line. To keep our kids moving forward. To allow them to get the education they need, to be successful in life. It is not about a dollar sign. It is not about comparing Framingham to Wayland and Sudbury. It is about identifying the amazing teachers in the schools. ... If we don’t look at the teachers being the most important aspect inside the schools, besides our kids, then we have missed something.”

Both Pillsbury and Smith agreed that the town’s funding for cable should continue to be split equally between the Government Channel, the Framingham Public Schools Education Channel and Access Framingham. They both also agreed that the loss of former FPS employee Dan Devlin was a “tragedy.”

Smith said he is a “huge fan” of Mass Bay coming to downtown Framingham, but that he does not support selling the Memorial Building.

“The sale of the Memorial Building has really caused a lot of angst amongst the people who have lived here all their lives,” said Pillsbury. He said if it is a good deal for the Town, he would want the foyer of the Memorial Building preserved for the public.

Pillsbury said he will ”demand and command accountability,” if elected.

Smith said he will to continue to focus on “improving our schools,” ”stabilizing our finances” and “creating economic opportunities” in order to “lower our residential taxes,” if re-elected.

Framingham Patch asked each of the candidates a series of 5 questions. The answers to each of them were published last week. Click here to read their answers.

Residents may watch the entire Framingham TWPTO forum on cable tv. It will air on:

• Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m.
• Monday, April 6 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
  
• Election day, April 7 at 9 a.m.

Residents can view the debate on RCN channel 3, Comcast channel 9, and Verizon channel 43.