Healey names Framingham mayor to MBTA Board of Directors

Governor Maura Healey appointed Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky to the MBTA’s Board of Directors, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.

Sisitsky, who has served as the suburb’s mayor since January 2022, fills an open seat on the agency’s oversight panel.

In a statement Wednesday, Sisitsky said he hopes to help “make the MBTA more accessible and reliable” through his new position.

“I know what it’s like to live in a community that relies on the MBTA,” Sisitsky said. “I hope to use that perspective to better support the future of Massachusetts’ public transportation.”

Sisitsky is the latest Healey appointee to land on the board, following her April appointments of Thomas P. Glynn, Eric L. Goodwine, and Thomas M. McGee — himself a former mayor.

Healey said Sisitsky has been a local leader for decades, and she believes he will bring valuable perspective to the board, which has been criticized for its distant approach to governance.

A recent law added two new seats to the board, one appointed by the mayor of Boston and the other by the governor. That seat was to be filled by a municipal official representing a city or town served by the T.

Healey said the new seats will “ensure that the communities served by the MBTA have a seat at the table,” adding that she has “confidence that the team we’ve put in place will deliver a more reliable, safe and accessible MBTA for all.”

Earlier this week, Mayor Michelle Wu appointed Mary Skelton Roberts to represent Boston on the board. Wu had long championed for the city, the largest in the T’s service area, to get a seat, writing a a Globe opinion piece calling for Boston and other municipalities to gain seats in 2019.

CHARLIE SISITSKY

His aim is to help ‘make the MBTA more accessible and reliable.’