This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
Geoff Epstein has officially qualified to be on the ballot for the 2025 Framingham Mayoral election.
Geoff Epstein is running against incumbent Mayor Charlie Sisitsky. The election will take place on November 4, 2025, with a preliminary, if required, on September 16, 2025.
To qualify to be on the ballot at least 500 signatures must be collected and certified citywide, with at least 25 from each of 9 districts. Nomination papers for signature collection were made available on May 30, 2025, with candidates having till July 15, 2025, to collect enough signatures to meet the requirements.
Dozens of volunteers helped with Geoff’s signature collection effort, which achieved its goal a little more than 3 weeks into the authorized 6 week collection period. They came on board the campaign early, and are owed a great debt of gratitude.
The certified signature total was 683.
That kind of support for new ideas, new energy and a new direction for the city of Framingham, is what will drive this campaign to success.
Especially evident in the signature collection effort was widespread support for the major campaign priorities of reversing the downtrend of the school system, community collaboration in development of neighborhoods, and doing a better job of maintaining city infrastructure. There was special concern at the Mayor’s role in favoring over-development in Nobscot, and in generally mismanaging the MBTA Communities Act zoning compliance effort.
Geoff’s campaign is focused on those issues as well as multiple others, including: improving environmental action, where no new solar installations were started in 4 years; ramping up economic development, and expanding senior services (which was cut in the FY26 budget).
Overall, there is a huge deficit in city planning and financial management which needs to fixed with the same approach Geoff brought to the schools, when he served on the Framingham School Committee from 2018-2021, and in his role as Chair of the Finance & Operations Subcommittee, completely reformed school side financial management and operations.
Geoff has 10 years of experience as an elected official in two different cities and has a breadth of city municipal experience unmatched by any current elected official in Framingham, including the Mayor. He has decades of private sector business experience which also differentiates him from the current Mayor, whose entire experience lies in the public sector.
The myriad of problems facing the city can be solved, but only with a totally new approach which focuses on being up front about the problems we face, rather than hiding them, and shakes off the lack of vision, indecision and poor planning of the current administration.
The campaign website is now fully operational at: www.geoffepsteinformayor.com and amplifies the broad range of areas where major improvements are needed and are achievable with common sense planning.
The next phase of the campaign will involve communication outreach to the community and critically important fundraising. To donate to the campaign, go to: https://www.geoffepsteinformayor.com/contribute