Framingham Mayor Warns Shrewsbury: Strong-Mayor System Depends on Who Holds Office

SHREWSBURY — March 2, 2026 — Shrewsbury's Form of Government Study Committee got an unvarnished look at city government from Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky at its March 2 meeting. Sisitsky, a former Framingham selectman and public works director who won the mayoralty after the city's rocky first elected mayor left office, told the committee that Framingham's 2018 charter conversion — which created an 11-member city council and a strong mayor with a $400 million budget — has delivered real advantages in budget flexibility, zoning speed, and state-level attention, but that the system's quality rises and falls entirely with whoever holds the office. "The city's lucky to have me as a mayor," he said, "but it could have been just as bad as the first mayor." The committee voted to approve its annual town report and set a timeline to finalize a Likert-scale community survey by April 6 for distribution in early April, with a guest appearance from former Taunton Mayor and ex-Division of Local Services director Robert Nunes scheduled for March 16 at Town Hall.