Divided ahead of Super Tuesday, Framingham Democrats vow to work together going forward

FRAMINGHAM — While President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump lapped the competition in their respective primaries, most eyes in Framingham on Super Tuesday were on the race between two separate factions competing for 35 slots on the Framingham Democratic Committee.

According to unofficial results, Group 1 took 34 of the 35 available seats, as its slate had collected more than twice as many votes as its rivals.

Group 1 was led by state Rep. Jack Lewis, D-Framingham, who told the Daily News that the competing slates represented an unfortunate occurrence, and that resources spent campaigning between the rival slates can now be better spent on upcoming general elections later this year.

Dueling Democrats: Framingham voters to decide between two groups for local party leadership

"I'm grateful to everyone who ran and voted, (but) there is too much on the line for our town, our state and our country for us to do anything but come together," Lewis said.

During the state primary every four years, committee members are voted in by Framingham voters who take a Democratic ballot. The role of the FDC is to promote Democratic policies in Framingham, through supporting local Democratic candidates during campaigns, advocating for Democratic policies in initiatives in local government, and supporting the party at the federal level.

Democratic voters could select up to 35 of 59 available FDC candidates

This year, the way the ballot was organized, voters could choose a slate of candidates as a singular block, or individually select up to 35 of the total of 59 candidates listed on both slates.

Group 1 ran a slate of 34 candidates, while Group 2, which included state Rep. Priscila Sousa, D-Framingham, and City Councilor George King, had 24 candidates. Former state Sen. David Magnani was the only candidate not affiliated with either group.

While individual vote totals vary, candidates affiliated with Group 1 received about 49% of the vote, while candidates affiliated with Group 2 received about 21%e. The remaining Democratic ballots were blank in terms of voting for FDC members.

Individual winners included the following Group 1 candidates: Lewis, 4,341 votes; Yvonne Spicer, 4,162; Adam Steiner, 4,149; Isabella Petroni, 3,999; Cesar Stewart-Morales, 3,929; Lori Bornstein, 3,892; Joel Winnet, 3,886; Tracey Bryant, 3,875; Brandon Ward, 3,859; Leslie White Harvey, 3,857; Kathleen McCarthy, 3,844; Cynthia Villanueva, 3,844; Katie Murphy, 3,842; Cindy Lee Rubin, 3,812; Audrey Hall, 3,785; Margareth Shepard, 3,777; Jeanne Bullock, 3,771; Barbara Fontes, 3,751; Barbara LeDuc, 3,750; Thomas Mahoney, 3,737; Brooke Harvey, 3,733; Heather Klish, 3,695; Larry Stoodt, 3,692; Brandale Randolph, 3,686; Stephanie Deeley, 3,675; Tilia Klebenov Jacobs, 3,662; Rosamund Hooper-Hamersely, 3,647; Melvin Warshaw, 3,643; Kurt Fusaris, 3,634; William LaBarge, 3,630; Christopher Lorant, 3,602; Doug Lawrence, 3,597; Jim Hanson, 3,590; and Craig Broyles, 3,561.

With Group 1 offering 34 candidates, that left room for a single candidate outside that group to also win election. That ended up being Sousa, who received 2,058 votes — the most of any candidate not affiliated with Group 1.

Rival Democrats agree it's time to move on, work together

The major question moving forward will be whether the rift between the two groups leads has any long-term impact. Members of both slates expressed optimism that they would be able to work together, however.

"We have no choice but to move forward, and there is no use looking back on what has happened," said Lewis, who also won election as a state Democratic committeeman. "We look forward to tomorrow, where we can all work together on our goals. I hope that everyone who ran will still consider coming to FDC meetings. There are still opportunities to become associate members, which are open to anyone."

Op-ed: Time is better spent helping Democrats win the White House, Senate and Congress,

"We are all Democrats, we all hold similar goals and we look forward to working together in the future," Sousa said in agreement.

Tim Brainerd, a volunteer who on Tuesday held a sign urging support for Group 1 while outside Potter Road Elementary School, said that he felt that slate had done an admirable job.

"I've seen the job that a lot of those candidates have been doing, and I'm a fan of the humane work they have done in the city," Brainerd said.

Biden, Trump win local presidential primary vote

Meanwhile, incumbent President Joe Biden easily won the vote of Framingham Democrats, taking 6,497 votes among 7,805 cast (83%). "No preference" earned 558 votes with Democratic challengers Dean Phillips (317) and Marianne Williamson (200) trailing. There were 121 write-ins and 112 blanks.

On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump earned 2,025 of 3,985 votes cast (50.8%), with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley earning 1,793 (45%).

One hundred and one Framingham voters took Libertarian ballots on Tuesday. Chase Oliver collected the most votes of any listed presidential candidate in that party, with 12. Nearly half — 45 votes — indicated no preference.

State Committee races

Each party's state committee is allowed to elect one man and one woman from each of the Commonwealth's 40 state Senate districts. Members of the state committee work to promote the aims of the party, and work in cooperation with the national party committee and with ward and town committees. Members of the state committee also organize and work for the nomination and election of party candidates.

All candidates were unopposed in the Middlesex and Norfolk state Senate district, which includes Framingham. Winners were Lewis (6,71) for committee man and Mary Jo LaFreniere (5,865) for committee woman on the Democratic side; and Nicholas Miceli (2,299) for committee man and Leanne Yarosz-Harris (2,192) for committee woman on the Republican side.

The Libertarian Party did not field candidates for committee man or committee woman.

Total turnout in Framingham was 28% (11,891 of 43,165 registered voters).

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham Democrats say it's time to unite after primary battle