Politics & Government

Selectman Dennis Giombetti Will Not Seek Re-Election

Giombetti: "Although I am announcing tonight that I will not be seeking re-election I will be here until April 1 of office with the same passion, dedication and vigor that I have had since I was first elected."

Editor's Note: First published at 7:09 p.m. Updated with new photo.

Framingham Selectman Dennis Giombetti announced at Wednesday night's Selectmen's meeting he will not seek re-election.

Giombetti is currently chair of the five-member Framingham Board of Selectmen. He and Selectmen Laurie Lee were both up for re-election in April 2014. Lee does intend to run for re-election.

Below is Giombetti's official statement:

In many respects this was a very difficult decision but in other respects it was an easy decision. Besides being a son, husband, father and grandfather serving as a Selectman in my hometown, the town I was born and raised the town my father was born and raised was by far the best and most rewarding role I have ever undertaken. 

I simply love being your Selectmen I have a deep love and passion for our town. This was the very difficult part of my decision. But I believe it is the right time. 

The reason I ran for the board 9 years ago was because I thought at that time Framingham was heading in the wrong direction. This board with the help of many people has been able to steer the ship in a different direction. I do firmly believe and very proud that the ship is now heading in the right direction and we are in a much better place. 

As always, there is still much to do to continue Framingham on course. As we know Framingham has a strong Town Manager Act and as such the most important decision the BoS makes is hiring the right Town Manager. I firmly believe we have made that right decision. We now have a captain who has the skills, vision and ability to command the ship. 

Just as important he has recently hired or promoted some excellent talent such as Jen Thompson, Steve Ward, Chief Ferguson, Mike Tusino, Art Robert and Jim Paolini to compliment several strong members of the existing team. His team as constituted is well positioned to sustain the right course for the short and long term. 

Having the right captain and team makes it very easy for me to leave. I could not have said this before. The seed for the decision not to run was sowed last winter. I began to think that this might be my last year as a Selectman. As such I developed a Bucket List of 20 initiatives that I and this board have been working on that I wanted to complete before I left office. 

The board again with the help of many others, I was able to cross off 18 of the 20 initiatives such as hiring more police officers, finding a permanent home for Danforth Museum, funding for the Children playground at Cushing Park, Downtown Traffic and Streetscape RFP, expedited permitting, and improvements to the code enforcement task force. 

I still hope for progress on the other two initiatives. Having such outstanding board members makes it easy for me to leave. 

In addition, my wife will soon be retiring and as we all know holding elected office is not easy on our families. I must say I have the support of my entire family on my decision not to run well almost my entire family. Addie my 4 year old granddaughter who has been attending with me many meeting, events, and ceremonies since she was 3 months old is not very pleased. But I am pleased to say we did reach an agreement I promised to groom and mentor her to become the first Mayor of Framingham. 

Although I am announcing tonight that I will not be seeking re-election I will be here until April 1 of office with the same passion, dedication and vigor that I have had since I was first elected. 
I do thank my fellow board members for all of their support and wisdom. I have learned a great deal from you. 

In conclusion I thank my supporters for being there when I was in need, my non-supporter for challenging me to be a better Selectman and especially town employees who are top notch and made me look a lot better than I am.


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