We are writing to endorse Geoff Lubien for Select Board.
We strongly believe in expanding Belmont’s commercial tax base and local economy. Belmont must diversify its tax base and support vibrant local business centers.
At the fall Special Town Meeting, we presented zoning bylaw reforms that made it easier to open a restaurant in Belmont (along with Paul Joy, chair of the Economic Development Committee, who has also endorsed Geoff). This was Belmont’s first business-friendly zoning bylaw change in decades. Town Meeting will vote on additional pro-growth reforms this spring.
Belmont’s economic and fiscal problems are well-known. Their solutions are also well-known. Yet it took many experienced people dedicating months of work to achieve restaurant zoning reform.
That is why we need Geoff Lubien on the Select Board. We have proven ideas to boost Belmont, but we need proven leaders who can manage the policy process, translating ideas into reality.
Geoff Lubien has those skills. For the past decade, he has demonstrated his commitment to Belmont, pushing fiscal reforms through Town Meeting, the Warrant Committee, and the Financial Task Force.
Geoff is a consensus-builder who can bring diverse groups together: He did it when he saved the town $100M in OPEB payments, and he did it when he negotiated the Town’s leaf blower bylaw. As Chair of the Warrant Committee, he has brought together ideologically opposed groups to address our fiscal problems.
Belmont’s needs are urgent. Select Board service is a difficult job, and we need an experienced leader now. Geoff is the right person for this moment. We are excited at the prospect of what we can accomplish with him in office.
Elizabeth Dionne, Taylor Yates