Leslie White Harvey running for Framingham District 8 City Council

On Out 31, 2023

FRAMINGHAM — As a child, Leslie White Harvey was taught the values of volunteerism and activism. She said her mother was given the second-highest honor for volunteerism in her native Dominica, a small Caribbean island nation.

“Everything I do comes from my mother,” White Harvey said. “Both me and my twin sister are very active in helping out, she lives in Boston and myself in Framingham, and it comes from how we were raised.”

Since moving to Framingham 14 years ago, White Harvey has taken on numerous roles. She has sat on the board of directors for Downtown Framingham Inc., the Framingham History Center and is currently is vice chair of the Board of Library Trustees.

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White Harvey is interested in taking her work to the next level by running for Framingham City Council as its District 8 representative. She is challenging incumbent John Stefanini.

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As an immigrant, White Harvey said she can relate to the experiences of many District 8 residents who came from outside the United States and need to feel included. White Harvey said the city charter was designed to bring fresh voices into government, and she feels like she is a strong example of that.

“Part of the charter process was to bring fresh voices into city government, and that is why I’m here,” she said. “I have a real knack for working with people and a willingness to listen and learn. Coming from a different country, I obviously didn’t know all the rules and customs when I came here. I figured them out by listening, observing and learning. I think my experience is vastly different from that of anyone who wants to sit on (the council) and I think I can bring a new perspective and a new lens.”

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White Harvey, an educator who works in Natick Public Schools, said she has tried to do as much listening as possible during her campaign, knocking on doors and hosting community gatherings. An avid runner who has run the Boston Marathon several times for Framingham charities, White Harvey said she has been hosting strolling events in public parks in District 8.

“I’ve been going to small restaurants in the downtown area and asking people to chat to the councilor and people have been coming,” White Harvey said. “Since I love running and I love being outside, I’ve been doing events where people can come and stroll with the candidate — I’ve been doing it at all the different parks in the district. Last week, I did Bates Park and Waushakum Lake, and I hope to do Farm Pond and Cushing Park to wrap it up.”

Public safety, owner-occupied housing and traffic

White Harvey said ar key issue in District 8 is public safety, a concern that’s been raised to her by residents during the campaign.

“Public safety is one thing I’d like to increase,” she said. “I’d like to talk to the Police Department about having more patrols and having a neighborhood watch set-up. That is something a lot of people have asked about while I’ve been knocking on doors.”

Another issue White Harvey hopes to get before the City Council is the need for more owner-occupied housing opportunities for residents. While the city has built a number of apartment buildings downtown, White Harvey said there’s a real need for more residents of lower and moderate incomes to be able to purchase property.

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“I would really like to see us change some zoning rules to allow for young families to purchase homes and achieve some level of generational wealth,” she said. “We need to start thinking about first-time homebuyer programs, or building condos so young families have an opportunity to buy. We want our young families to be able to sustain themselves in Framingham, we want to have a community that is filled with people of all ages.”

White Harvey said she also hopes for a new traffic study to be conducted, particularly in her district around Waverly Street, which has been a persistent issue that has only continued to get worse as the population of Framingham continues to increase. She’s interested in helping bring a new south side elementary school to Framingham, citing her past experience working on the PTO at the Fuller Middle School when that project was announced.

Crédito: Link de origem

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