Meet the Candidates for District 2’s Seat on the Framingham School Committee

FRAMINGHAM - A preliminary election for the District 2 seat on the Framingham School Committee will be held on Tuesday, September 16.

Three candidates are in the running for the position: incumbent David Gordon, alongside challengers Luther Evans and Lorena Tovar. The preliminary election will dwindle the field down to two final candidates, who will be on the ballot for the general city election on November 4.

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David Gordon is running for re-election after initially being appointed to the seat by City Council and School Committee members back in 2022. He was chosen to fill a vacancy left by Richard Finlay, who resigned from the post to work for the city itself. Gordon ran unopposed for the District 2 seat in 2023's general election, as he won a full term onto the board.

The Framingham native has worked for nearly two decades in the school finance space, having experience within school districts in Boston, Somerville, and Westborough along with independent schools such as the Tenacre Country Day School in Wellesley and the Belmont Day School. He explained that his involvement with the School Committee in Framingham was initially a way for him to get involved and interact with the local school community, especially as his children moved through the Framingham Public Schools (FPS) system.

“I’m a big believer in collaboration,” Gordon told The Frame.

“I know how much community can impact and has a voice, but what I did notice is: it felt like constituents really didn’t get a seat at the table.”

Transportation remains a major part of Gordon’s platform during his re-election campaign, as he expressed a desire to continue efforts towards making the transition to an in-house school bus transportation model as smooth as possible. He also emphasized resources that are required for students with disabilities; he is looking to work with FPS Superintendent Dr. Robert Tremblay to ensure that those needs are met if he’s re-elected.

Gordon said that the relationship between the School Committee and leaders at the Memorial Building is “critical,” as he hopes conversations between education officials and the City Council along with the mayor can be approached with a “cup half full” perspective. Back in May, the School Committee voted to approved of the $183.1 million figure that Mayor Charlie Sisitsky included in his annual operating budget proposal. School leaders had initially requested $190.4 million for the FY26 budget in March, though they gradually made reductions to their ask before meeting the number that Sisitsky had offered in April.

Gordon touted his financial experience and his background within Framingham as reasons for District 2 residents to vote for him.

“I want people to realize that I’m on their side and that it’s my job to try to make things easier as they navigate life and the nuances of adolescence and everything that’s coming in from outside of that world, too,” Gordon continued.

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Luther Evans is a graduate of Newton North High School’s class of 2017 and Framingham State University’s class of 2022. He’s worked in the computer science field in recent years and as an educator with high school students at Harvard Medical School.

A former student representative for Newton’s School Committee, Evans said he got involved in the race for the District 2 seat due to his desire to serve those in the area. He sees his resume of mentorship within educational spaces as ideal experiences to prep him for the role in Framingham he’s running for, adding that he wants to be “hands on” if he’s eventually elected in November.

“I definitely see an opportunity to implement my skills that I’ve learned in the past to really help out the students here, and I’m just really passionate about that,” Evans said in an interview with The Frame.

With his bid for School Committee, Evans is focusing on improving and upholding educational standards in Framingham. If elected, he said he would look at the budget allocation across the city and explore how to secure new sources of revenue to ensure that FPS can receive as much money as possible. For high schoolers, he would also look to emphasize not only college prep but also workforce development and other facets beyond the classroom.

“We understand that not everybody has the traditional route of going to college,” Evans continued.

“So, I want to talk about financial literacy amongst high school students. The student loan crisis is big here, so we want to make sure they’re well informed about taking out loans and how to go about that.”

Evans said he would be passionate and invested in the role for families across District 2 and Framingham if he eventually wins.

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Lorena Tovar, a resident of Framingham, works as an Assistant Director for Academic Programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She told The Frame that she had not initially intended to run for the District 2 School Committee seat. In spite of not having any prior political experience, she made the decision when she noticed that no one had entered the race for the position; Tovar was the first candidate to pull papers for the role, as well as the first candidate to have their nomination papers certified.

“I care very much about equitable access to education,” Tovar explained.

“I care very much about having all children have positive experiences in the foundational years of their education.”

Tovar added that she was motivated to run after volunteering to assist FPS in their search for a Assistant Superintendent for Pre-K-12 Education, a position that was eventually given to Anne Ludes back in May.

Tovar’s priorities include boosting the first few years of a student’s eduction along with educator retention; she believes Framingham needs to offer more support for teachers in order to keep morale high and to keep educators in the district. She also outlined her goal of boosting student success and subsequent testing scores within the city. U.S. News and World Report notes that 53% of Framingham high schoolers tested at or above proficient reading levels while 50% tested at or above that level for mathematics; those numbers dropped to 29% and 24% respectively for elementary students, while they fell to 26% and 25% for middle schoolers.

Tovar also called for increased transparency and cooperation from local leaders, suggesting that she could utilize community organizations for outreach efforts.

“Decisions are being made, and not all of the voices are at the table,” Tovar said.

“I think that is just so important…Elected officials have the responsibility to reach out and connect with constituents and make sure that their voices are represented in each of the School Committee meetings.”

Tovar told The Frame that, if elected, she’ll speak up at every School Committee meeting and be accessible for residents of the district.

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Polls for District 2 residents will be open on September 16 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The deadline to register to vote in the preliminary election is Saturday, September 6. Registration in person will be available until 5 p.m. that day, while online registration will be available until 11:59 p.m. The deadline to request a vote by mail ballot for the District 2 School Committee race is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9.

More details on how to register to vote can be found on the city of Framingham’s official website.