Yvonne Spicer, a vice president of the Museum of Science, will become the first mayor of Framingham.
Spicer won nearly 60 percent of the vote against John Stefanini, a former state representative and selectman. She has been a town meeting member.
In the spring, Framingham voters decided to switch from being a town to a city, with a mayor and city council replacing a town manager and board of selectmen. With a population of 70,000, Framingham has been the largest town in Massachusetts.
Spicer finished first in the September preliminary election, and Stefanini failed to boost turnout of his supporters enough to overcome her lead.
“And I am so grateful to the people of Framingham for giving me their vote of confidence for giving me their vision, to say yes, we want Yvonne Spicer to lead us into the future,” Spicer told supporters at her victory party.
Many voters hope that future includes a plan to improve Framingham’s four underperforming schools and promote more commercial development.
Spicer said she and Stefanini spoke on the phone after the votes were counted.
Now she is gearing up to take office in January. Her first call, she said, will be to the town manager to start work on a transition plan.
Besides being Framingham’s first mayor, Spicer becomes the second African-American popularly elected a mayor in the state. Eight years ago, Setti Warren in Newton became the first.
