Petition Drive To Study, Change Framingham's Form of Government Saturday

Are you happy with the Town of Framingham's form of government?

Well, a group of 52 citizens are not happy and have been gathering signatures since 2012, to start the process to change Framingham's form of government.

This weekend, they are doing another push to gather the necessary signatures to put a charter question on the Town of Framingham's ballot in April 2014.

Calling themselves Citizens for a Better Framingham, the group wants to collect a total of 5,500 signatures said former Selectman and group member Dennis Cardiff.

Cardiff said the group is short by 1,500 signatures and plans to go door-to-door on Saturday, Sept. 7 in Precincts 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 14, in the hopes of getting enough signatures by the October deadline.

Cardiff said the group has already gone door-to-door in the other precincts. The group also collected signatures at the polling places during the presidential election in 2012.

The Framingham's Town Clerk's office would need to verify the signatures, before voters could see a question appear on the April ballot.

Framingham Assistant Town Clerk Lisa Ferguson said the group must submit a total of 5,544 signatures. As of Aug. 30, the Town Clerk's office had verified 3,171 signatures, said Ferguson.

If enough signatures are verified, in April 2014 voters will be asked to approve a charter question to study the form of government for the Town of Framingham, said Cardiff.

At the same time, voters would elect nine charter commissioners, who will study forms of government and recommend a form of government for residents to vote on in April 2015.

Any registered voter, who collects 100 signatures of resident voters, can run to be a charter commissioner. Cardiff said he served on the last charter commission, while also serving as a member of the Board of Selectmen.

Twenty years ago in 1993, Framingham voters rejected a non-binding ballot question to change Framingham's town form of government to a city government.

In 1995, a second question to change Framingham from a Town to a City failed, with only 46 percent of registered voters in favor of a mayor form of government.

A year later, 63 percent of voters approved of the creation of a Charter Commission to study the city vs. town question. That Charter Commission recommended a strong Town Manager form of government and expanding the Framingham Board of Selectmen from three members to five members. 

The recommendation was put before voters, and and 57 percent of voters agreed.

That was the last change to the Town of Framingham's form of government.

Cardiff said if Citizens for a Better Framingham does not get the necessary signatures on Saturday, it is considering gathering signatures at Framingham United Youth Soccer games and Framingham Youth Football games.