My Fellow Framingham Constituents

My Fellow Framingham Constituents

As your state representative, I pledge to:

•File legislation to revise the Dover Amendment to return
more local control over land use.

•Oppose unfunded mandates that burden property tax
payers and cut into public education budgets.

•Advocate for seniors by working to make prescription
drugs more affordable, ensure quality health care at
reasonable cost, and identify tax credits to keep home
ownership affordable.

•Create economic and community development initiatives
that will keep Framingham vibrant and strong.

•Reach out to constituents, business and community
leaders on an ongoing basis to hear your concerns and
gather your insights on how to solve problems and seize
opportunities.

•Build alliances with legislators whose cities and towns
share Framingham’s challenges and work with them to
build momentum and get results.

•I will move forward with a Plan. The gains for
Framingham will happen because I am and there not just
while I’m there.

Three Democrats are running for this seat in the September
16th primary. The winner will be the only candidate in the
November general election so this is your best opportunity
to decide who you want standing up for you at the State
House. I am the candidate who can represent ALL the people
of Framingham. I have the temperament, the experience, the
dedication and the vision to do the job well.

I respectfully ask for your vote on September 16th, and pledge
to make you proud of your choice.

Chris Walsh

on the Historic Reuse by-law

As an Architect I am always aware how our physical surroundings affect how we live and how we think about ourselves. Framingham, once a very wealthy community, has a legacy of beautiful large older homes that were built by some the most influential and successful people in the Commonwealth. Many of these places have been torn down over the years by developers to maximize their profits by dividing the original parcels into smaller house lots or by the expansion of large state projects such as the Mass Turnpike, Route 9 and Framingham State College. Some beautiful houses like Wallace Nutting ‘s House (including Framingham’s original revolutionary war powderhouse) or the Simpson Mansion in Saxonville were knocked down for no good reason but because people just didn’t know what to do with them; they were deemed “white elephants”. As a response the town has developed, a “Demolition Delay By-law” and a Historic District Commission to address the most egregious demolition by developers (including the State). Our suburban style zoning laws however, prohibit mixed uses – such as bed and breakfasts or reasonable sized home offices so the upkeep of many of these properties are not sustainable by regular residents, there being few brave souls willing or able to take on a long and expensive project such as renovating a large historic house just for fun.

One group that has been given the ability to side step these zoning laws by the State Legislature are non-profit religious or educational corporations who use the “Dover Amendment” to operate “uses” such as a boarding house that would be an illegal option to anyone else. Some of these so called “white Elephants” have been turned into nursing homes or program houses at the very same time they are taken off the tax rolls.

Local residents, unable to use the whole property just for living space for their families and having to actually pay taxes on their properties are not be able to compete for these houses with a corporation, able to generate income from the State based on the number of beds they provide, while paying no taxes. To those of us who pay attention to such things this situation is terribly wrong. The Historic Reuse By-law that town meeting passed this spring is a well crafted law that attempts to balance this situation. This by-law does not deny non-profits the opportunity to bid on these properties but it gives ordinary residents a few tools to help them either keep their cherished older home or to compete on an equal footing for these houses.

Maintaining the character of our neighborhoods by preserving historic homes is important to the future of Framingham, its important to how we see our community in a larger context and Framingham deserves the opportunity to keep some of its very interesting heritage intact.

Link to original Article: MetroWest Daily News State rep candidate's transparency questioned

Three Dems hardly clash in debate

It was immensely gratifying on such a stormy night to have the packed house for the first debate with people who are so engaged and interested in the issues and the quality of life of all Framingham Residents. The only thing that I might take exception to is the paper’s headline: “Three Dems hardly clash in debate” (Tuesday June 24, 2008).

While it is true that here are many similarities in our positions: choice, the rights for all couples to marry and fully share their lives, the need for better school funding, I felt that there were major differences between the other candidates and myself.

One, I believe that the SMOC lawsuit is a deep insult to Framingham, which unlike most of its neighbors, has worked for inclusion and justice over the years. There are serious and far reaching issues here that will affect the town far into the future and we should NEVER back away from vigorously defending our principles and the people who have given so much time and effort to make Framingham a good place to live and raise a family.

This case is about Civil Rights, for free speech and for the right of every resident and homeowner to be free from the intimidation and bullying of a large corporation that doesn’t seem to recognize any rights but its own, that uses a vague and poorly written law as a weapon against dedicated and caring people trying to do the best for ALL residents. The Dover Amendment started out with good intentions but in the real world creates terrible consequences for towns like Framingham.

This lawsuit seems to be designed not only to intimidate people in their professional capacity but to threaten them personally- put their future, their homes, and livelihoods in jeopardy – why? For doing the job that we elected them to do, to look out for the interests of ALL Framingham residents.

Two, I have suggested several bold ideas that Framingham, with the help of the state legislature, could accomplish that would make a real difference in our lives.

1. The Creation of a MetroWest Tourist Bureau which would collect local meals and room taxes and, instead of sending this money to Boston, would use these local taxes to energize the local economy- particularly in the “Creative Arts Economy” supported by Governor Patrick.

2. Reuse the extensive network of railroad owned land that goes to all the surrounding communities to move people –with out their cars. A system like this could be low impact, share the route with walkers and bicycles, use non polluting fuels and be quicker than an automobile on our already congested roads. An added benefit to Framingham would be that the lines all come to downtown where they would connect to the commuter rail into Boston or to Worcester. (see C)

3. Move the “CSX North Rail Yard” and develop the Farm pond waterfront (21 acres) into a benefit for the town instead of a barrier. Copley Square in Boston used to be a train yard and Harvard University is now closing the Allston yard because the land is too valuable to use for train storage. Well the land between the Town Hall and Farm Pond is valuable to Framingham. We can develop this area into businesses, restaurants; brownstone style housing and parkland around Farm Pond- giving Framingham back its waterfront. As an added benefit CSX could develop a modern “in line” yard further west (even in Framingham) which would allow it to finally sink the main tracks.

4. Lastly, allow the Public Works and Engineering Departments to develop a “Framingham Power and Light Division”. Wellesley and Needham save money by buying wholesale electricity and Hull is using its department to generate power from alternate sources such as wind turbines. Some of the benefits of this might be the ability of residents to “trade back” any power that they generate with solar panels and turbines for electricity that they could use at night or in the winter. The town would be able to use its buying power to negotiate good prices from large scale generators and could economically put power and communication wires under the roads making them less vulnerable to storm damage and clear our streets of the wires and poles (allowing the trees to make a canopy over our roads again).

Three- I am the only candidate with a any real business experience. I’ve had hourly jobs- waiter, bartender, delivery driver, draftsman and professional jobs- departmental manager for some large architectural firms. I’ve also owned several businesses where I’ve paid payroll, healthcare costs, hire and unfortunately, lay people off. I‘ve worked as a team member and also as a team leader. I understand from a very basic level how important a good economy and a good job is and how it makes the difference between being able to barely survive or to really flourish. We can do better but we need the educational support and economic diversity to compete globally in the 21^st century.

These are just a few concepts to make Framingham better economically, socially and environmentally. Keeping our town healthy and prosperous for our children and grandchildren will require imagination and determination. It will take standing up to special interests and naysayers; it will require boldness and it will be a team effort.

Chris Walsh, AIA , Candidate for State Representative

Edgell Road Sign Sighting