Why Adam Steiner Wants 3rd Framingham Council Term: Questionnaire

Framingham MA

19 October, 2021

8:15 AM

Description

FRAMINGHAM, MA — In 2021, voters in northwest Framingham's District 3 have a choice between incumbent Adam Steiner and challenger MK Feeney. If reelected in 2021, Steiner would be one of only three Councilors who won a seat in the city's first election in 2017 (Michael Cannon and George King Jr. are the other two remaining). For the past two years, Steiner has been the Council vice chair. He has also been chairman of the powerful Council Finance Subcommittee, giving him a front row seat to some of the city's biggest challenges, including the ongoing deficit crisis in the water and sewer funds and the annual budget process. Outside that committee, Steiner has been one of the Council's foremost proponents of environmental issues — and he just won an endorsement from the Sierra Club for those efforts —most recently pursuing the preservation of the former Belknap Pool and Tennis Club, and advocating for Framingham's adoption of the Community Preservation Act. Patch sent both Steiner and Feeney a questionnaire to find out why each one is running in 2021, and what they want to do with a new two-year term. Here's what Steiner said: Why do you want a third term on City Council? It has been an honor to represent District 3 on the City Council for the past 4 years and I'mrunning for re-election for the same reason I ran for the Council in the first place — because Ibelieve that Framingham needs leaders who will think creatively about the challenges we faceand who will work collaboratively to take effective action. I grew up in Framingham and learned firsthand as a K-12 student in our public schools that whatmakes our city great is our diversity of people, places, and ideas. This diversity is central to ourhistory as a community but that does not mean we can take it for granted. We have to continueto strive to be a community that welcomes all types of people, that strengthens the rural,suburban, and urban elements of Framingham, and that values a variety of perspectives.As we continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19, it is more important than ever that wehave city leaders who have a relentless focus on working toward a better future for our entirecity. That is what I've done for the past 4 years and what I would continue to do if reelected. You're an advocate for trails in Framingham (walking, biking, rail conversion), so how would you go about expanding the city's network in 2022 and beyond? Framingham has the potential to be an alternative transportation hub in MetroWest. We havepotential in the form of several existing and future rail trails, paved walking paths, and ouraqueduct trails. What is needed now is a new approach that envisions our walking/biking trailsas an essential element of our transportation infrastructure and to take action to createconnections between them and Framingham's residential and commercial centers includingDowntown, Route 9, and the Tech Park and 9/90 areas of District 3. Residents and workers in Framingham would benefit greatly from being able to bike to work orshop or play. That means developing high-quality interconnected trails and working with thecity's biggest employers to offer this amenity to their employees — providing a benefit for thebusinesses and for the residents of Framingham. We also need to start putting bike friendliness on the top of the list in our planning and zoningrather than an afterthought. More specifically, for District 3, we need to purchase and developthe Bruce Freeman Rail Trail as a key spoke that connects Sudbury and Route 20 through ourdistrict all the way to Framingham Centre and we need to adjust the Nobscot Plaza project sothat it supports pedestrians and bikers. On a personal note, we live off of Edgell Road and myfamily would be very excited to be able to use the bike trail to access the McAuliffe Library andshopping areas in Framingham and Sudbury, as they are not comfortable biking on such a busystreet. What's the biggest issue facing District 3, and what would you do about it? Having been a City Councilor for four years, people are always sharing their concerns about ourcity with me and the issue that most consistently comes up in District 3 is traffic. There has been so much residential development in Framingham and the surrounding townsover the years and with most people driving to work, so few corner stores, and very littleemphasis on anything other than car traffic, it means more traffic. There's no simple solution to the traffic challenge but rather a series of approaches that weneed to take. First, we need to think critically about any new residential development withinFramingham. The moratorium was a helpful pause and we need to continue resisting theoutside urge to build out every open space into apartments and McMansions. Second, we needto increase the walkability and bike-ability of Framingham so that it is feasible for people to getaround without driving. Third, we need to build a new southside elementary school that wouldserve our students better and alleviate some of the bus traffic across our city, and we need toimprove reliable bus transportation for all Framingham students, so that bus ridership will be amore attractive option than driving in so many separate personal vehicles. Finally, we need towork with the owner of the Nobscot plaza to provide good neighborhood shopping options forDistrict 3 residents. How will you work with either a new mayor or the incumbent to get things accomplished in2022 and beyond? I am prepared to work with either Mayor Spicer or Mayor Sisitsky to get things done for thepeople of Framingham. In fact, I've had a good working relationship with both of them, with themayor over the last four years and with Charlie when he was a City Councilor. For me, it is always about establishing common goals for the city of Framingham and workingtogether to achieve those goals. This has been true for me with all of the Councilors over thelast four years. While I haven't agreed with them on every issue, I've maintained a productiverelationship with all of them and that is one reason why I was elected vice chair of the councilfor this past term. At the start of the next term, the mayor and Council should meet regularly without waiting untilwe have challenging agenda items to address. These working sessions would be used forbrainstorming, for sharing ideas, and for building a rapport that will pay off when there arechallenges. The City Council should also do this to help us work better together as a team. Read more Framingham 2021 election coverage: Video: Mayor Yvonne Spicer On The Future Of FraminghamWhy I'm Running In 2021: Framingham D8 Councilor John Stefanini4 Question For Framingham D2 Councilor Cesar Stewart-Morales4 Questions For Jake Binnall, Framingham D2 Council CandidateWilliam LaBarge On 2021 Framingham School Board RunMeet Jennifer Moshe, New Framingham School Committee MemberMeet Valerie Ottaviani, Future Framingham School Committee Member