The Town Moderator runs Town Meeting and makes appointments to critical town committees like the Warrant (finance) Committee.
But we can do this better. I will improve Town Meeting—increasing education and outreach to encourage more of our diverse residents to participate, organizing childcare to help parents attend, improving remote and hybrid options, and ensuring discussion and debate are inclusive and free of unnecessary restrictions.
For the Moderator’s committee appointments, I’m advocating for more transparency and skilled appointees representative of Belmont’s diversity and commitment to public engagement and community-based priority setting — including for the Warrant Committee’s budget work. We also have to see more work on the revenue side of the budget in the Warrant Committee, including a comprehensive review of fees, fines, and other charges levied by the town; periodic reappraisal of new growth estimates; and work that supports expanding our commercial tax base.
I have a long professional background in government finance and budgeting. I’ve served as a Bureau of Labor Statistics economist, a Treasury Department analyst, and a senior financial and policy analyst with the White House Office of Management and Budget. I’ve conducted budget-related research as a Senior Fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice.
I’ve also accumulated years of experience in Belmont as a Town Meeting Member (eight years), a previous Warrant Committee member (six years), and a prior School Committee Member (four years). I’m deeply familiar with Belmont’s Town Meeting and our town government, and plan to use my expertise for the betterment of Belmont.