Mary Byrne
Some new faces will join the School Committee and Select Board following Tuesday’s local election, which saw a voter turnout of roughly 50%.
A familiar face will continue as Town Moderator for at least one more year.
Of 18,336 registered Belmont voters, 9,230 cast ballots Tuesday, according to Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman.
School Committee
Newcomer Matthew Kraft and incumbent Meghan Moriarty bested 19-year-old Angus Abercrombie Tuesday night in a three-way race for two seats on the School Committee.
According to unofficial election results, Moriarty topped the ticket with 5,354 votes, followed by Kraft with 5,176 and Abercrombie with 2,792.
Moriarty, who was first elected to the committee in 2021, said she’s excited to continue working for the town as a member of the School Committee.
“One of the best things is to be able to talk about our students as a School Committee member and to see all the great work our students are doing,” she said.
Moriarty added that she is grateful the Proposition 2 ½ override passed.
“That means we can start to get to work to make sure all of Belmont school students are held highly and that we’re doing best for all of them,” Moriarty said.
Kraft and his family stopped in Town Hall Tuesday night to hear the results.
“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to represent Belmont as a member of the School Committee,” he said. “It’ll be an honor to serve the town I love. I look forward to working with all of our residents, the Select Board, the Warrant Committee, and my fellow members of the School Committee to move us forward.”
In past debates, Abercrombie emphasized his perspective as a recent graduate of Belmont schools and his understanding of the modern classroom. Kraft touted his background as a teacher and his current work in education policy. While Moriarty focused on her experience as a current School Committee member, from negotiating union contracts and managing the budget to helping to guide the district out of the pandemic.
Select Board
Current Warrant Committee member Matthew Taylor won a seat on the Select Board, beating Warrant Committee Chair Geoffrey Lubien and former Marine Alex Howard to claim the seat vacated by Mark Paolillo.
Taylor collected 3,851, Lubien 3,239, and Howard 659.
“I began these discussions a year ago,” Taylor said. “I‘ve had so many wonderful mentors along the way. … Some people think government service is thankless work. I think it’s thankful work. I met so many wonderful people along the way. I’m so excited to broaden the conversation and get to work.”
He said he knocked on nearly 1,700 doors during his campaign and discussed “the urgency around commercial growth.”
“We have a lot of ‘us’ work to do,” he said.
Taylor added that he was grateful the town passed the $8.4 million Proposition 2 ½ override.
“It was a big ask; it was the biggest ask in our town’s history, and we have to follow through,” he said.
Lubien expressed disappointment in the result, but vowed to continue his public service.
“We ran a good campaign,” he said. “We always knew it would be a challenge, and it was. And now the thing is to come together and do what is right for Belmont.”
Lubien will continue as the Warrant Committee chair until his term ends. After that, he said, he would continue to work for the town, as he was reelected as a Precinct 7 Town Meeting Member Tuesday.
Moderator
Michael Widmer was reelected Town Moderator for what he said will be his final term.
Widmer beat challenger Michael Crowley 3,450 to 2,470, his first contested race in his 16-year tenure.
“It is a great vote of confidence,” Widmer said. “I think it was helpful to have a campaign for moderator. So many people don’t really understand what a moderator does, so I think it was important to have the public understand the role.”
Crowley said he enjoyed the campaign and congratulated Widmer on the win.
“I was up against a candidate who has served in that position for a long time, and he wanted another year, and people were inclined in the end to let him have that additional year before we start talking about real changes,” he said. “I think there’s a lost opportunity, but tomorrow also offers new opportunities.”
Crowley said he is leaning toward trying again next year and would start campaigning earlier
next time.
“I accomplished quite a bit with the time I had, but it wasn’t enough,” he said.
Through campaigning, Widmer said he realized there was some confusion about speech at Town Meeting: what is allowed and what is not, and that was a central issue of his campaign.
He said explaining the scope of speech at Town Meeting will be a priority of the new term.
“I’m going to think about this and have several suggestions to explain the scope of discussion
and why it’s limited,” he said.
Widmer said that the position has changed dramatically over the past 16 years.
“We used to have long speeches that went on and were often irrelevant to the discussion,” he said. “Often there was badgering of town officials. We limited speaking to three minutes; we have electronic voting so there is greater accessibility and accountability. I initiated planning meetings that are very extensive, so we have much crisper, focused discussions on Town Meeting floor, and members are much more informed about complex issues.”
Other races
Board of Assessors
Patrick Joseph Murphy, 5,750
Editor’s Note: Murphy will assume his seat if Question 2 fails; however, in the event it passes, the Select Board will appoint a candidate to fill the position.
Cemetery Commissioners
Ellen O’Brien Cushman, 6,292
Board of Health
David Dudzinksi, 5,795
Trustees of the Library (two seats)
Corinne McCue Olmsted, 5,273
Stephanie Cahoon, 5,190
Light Board (two seats)
Stephen Klionsky, 5,517
Michael MacRae, 5,316
For other election results visit the town website at: belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk/pages/elections-election-results.
