District 2 City Councilor Pam Richardson will not seek re-election next year, citing “increasing demands of my professional career as well as a desire to see other residents of District 2 step into the role and represent the neighborhood,” according to a guest column published in today’s MetroWest Daily News.
In her piece, Pam also outlined several ideas for improving Framingham’s new city government:
Strengthen the council-mayor relationship, including “more of an effort to build bridges and less of a focus on tearing them down.”
“Bring decorum back to our public meetings.”
Give more support to councilors, by either increasing the small stipend offered or realizing that people with full-time jobs can’t be available to attend events and otherwise do Council work during the workday.
She also noted that nomination papers will soon be available for residents seeking to run for the Council.
Pam is the second councilor who has announced they will seek a second term; At-Large City Councilor Cheryl Tully Stoll said last month that she won’t run for re-election. Only At-Large Councilor George King among the three councilors representing District 2 (one district councilor and two at large) will be on next year’s ballot.
Aside: I believe that the $5,000 stipend to be a Framingham City Councilor is too low for the amount of time and effort involved. Being an effective City Council involves a lot more than just attending weekly Council meetings. We should make sure that people who need to work in order to pay their bills aren’t discouraged from serving.
Sign up for the District2Framingham.com email list!!