Belmont resident Katherine Sigel said approval in 2024 of a Proposition 2½ override — which allowed Belmont to increase property taxes by more than 2½% — sparked her interest in running for a seat on Town Meeting.
“Being involved in the override campaign last year really made me get behind the community and fight for the battles that I believe in,” said Sigel, who serves as director of corporate and foundation relations at the St. Francis House, a homeless shelter in Boston. She is running to represent Precinct 5.
As a parent of two children at Belmont Middle and High School, Sigel said her top priority is the school system. The schools, she said, make Belmont “really stand out.”
Sigel is one of 97 candidates running to fill 102 seats at Town Meeting, which meets several times a year to debate and vote on issues affecting the town and school budgets, zoning regulations, and other issues. The April 1 election also has contested races for Select Board, School Committee, and town moderator, among others.
Both candidates for moderator, Mark Paolillo and Michael Crowley, said they want to see the number of people interested in serving on Town Meeting increase. Of the 97 candidates running, 67 were incumbents hoping to retain their seat. The Voice spoke with seven of the 20 new candidates to understand their priorities and what prompted them to run for a seat on Town Meeting.
Roger Diebold, running to represent Precinct 1, is an entrepreneur who develops medical devices. He said he’s been in Belmont for just over a year and wants to get more involved in the community.
As with Sigel, the override was the driving force behind Diebold’s decision to run for Town Meeting. He has two young children in the school system, which was a big reason he moved to Belmont.
“Override was pretty close to not passing,” Diebold said. “That made me think I should get more involved.”
Jeff Broderick, vice president of product operations for the software company Acquia, started volunteering for the Economic Development Committee last summer and has been increasingly involved in Select Board events, stemming from an increased interest in town politics.
Broderick, who is among the candidates for Precinct 3, wants to bring more business into Belmont and hopes to make the town more friendly to business owners.
“I want to see Belmont invest in an economic development coordinator or a similar role in order to have a concerted focus,” Broderick said.
Michelle Rule, a project manager in the biotechnology industry, said she sees new businesses face delayed openings because of permitting issues. She wants to explore options that “simplify that process.”
Campaigning to represent Precinct 6, Rule sees the town struggling with its budget each year, especially with school funding. For her, the size of classes is a concern. Her kids, who attend the high school, have classes with 26 students in them, Rule said – which she said is high.
“It impacts the quality of education, the individual attention a child can get,” she said.
Precinct 5 Town Meeting member candidate Andrew Flamang, who grew up in town and graduated from Belmont High in 2001, has a background in consulting and is working on a software startup. Belmont needs to balance preserving its character with developing its commercial base, he said, so the town remains an attractive place to live.
Cassandra Biette, who graduated from Belmont High in 2011 and moved back to town in 2019, has been a fourth-grade teacher in Lexington for six years. Biette is running to represent Precinct 6.
Biette hopes to represent the younger generation in Belmont. When she was a child, her mother served on Town Meeting. People her mother served with are still involved, she said.
Biette added that as a renter, she feels she can bring a valuable perspective to Town Meeting.
Cabell Eames, who works for the Charles River Watershed Association, also rents. She agrees that the renter’s perspective is important to have on Town Meeting, as most of the members are homeowners. Eames is hoping to represent Precinct 6.
“When you’ve been in Belmont for 10 years as a renter, that’s a badge of honor,” Eames said. “Because it’s really hard.”
Eli Cloutier is a journalism student at Boston University. This story is part of a partnership between The Belmont Voice and the Boston University Department of Journalism.