We vs. Me: Why I’m Voting To Re-Elect Mike Crowley as Moderator

Belmont’s Town Election is a little more than one week away (Tuesday, April 7th). On the ballot is an important election for a town-wide office that should get you to the polls: the race for Belmont’s Town Moderator.

I will cast my vote to re-elect Mike Crowley, our smart and effective moderator with a career spent working for the federal government and serving on Belmont’s School Committee, Warrant Committee, and Town Meeting. 

In his next term, Mike will build on his accomplishments: refining hybrid Town Meetings to ensure broad, accessible participation—while continuing to foster a respectful, inclusive, and well-functioning deliberative body. And he’ll work with the Town’s leadership to lock in hybrid Town Meetings for our community, even as our state legislature dawdles and drags its feet amidst calls from communities to modernize our state’s open meeting laws. And Mike will continue his work to strengthen transparency through the Moderator’s Advisory Committee: expanding and diversifying committee participation, and improving recruitment to bring more residents into civic life. 

Town Moderator Is About “We” Not “Me”

As I see it: we have a clear choice between an incumbent moderator whose actions have shown a deep commitment to fairness and supporting rank and file Town Meeting members (aka “we”). And then there’s his challenger whose motivation appears to be getting himself back in the Town’s political spotlight (aka “me”). Would that agenda help us, as a community? I have real doubts. 

A Candidate with Vision and Determination

It was just two years ago that Mike challenged longtime moderator Mike Widmer. Mike Crowley and Mr. Widmer had very different visions for moderator. Offering Belmont Town Meeting members hybrid town meetings? Widmer was “no.” Crowley: “yes!” Providing transparency around Moderator committee appointments and other decisions? Widmer: “no.” Crowley: “yes.” Supporting Town Meeting members’ First Amendment rights to voice criticisms of town committees and officials? Once again: Widmer: “no!!” Crowley: “yes.” 

Mike fell short in that race. But he showed the tenacity and commitment to run a year later and defeat Mark Paolillo, Moderator Widmer’s anointed successor and staple of Belmont’s “old guard” political establishment.

In both campaigns, Mike’s platform was the same: 

• Broadening participation and representation in Town Meeting
• Restoring (and securing) hybrid Town Meetings
• Transparency around Moderator appointments
• Conducting efficient, well-run meetings with fairness and impartiality

Promises Kept

It’s a year later and Moderator Crowley delivered on his campaign promises from last year’s election. He stood up the Town’s first ever Moderator’s Advisory Board that sheds much-needed light on Moderator appointments via public meetings. And he restored hybrid Town Meetings after they were terminated by Moderator Widmer and a conservative Select Board, giving Town Meeting members with young children, mobility and health issues or professional conflicts the ability to participate and vote.  

Dash’s “Me Too!” Campaign

That hasn’t sat well with Belmont’s Old Guard. That’s why they recruited Adam to challenge Mike and have funded his effort to claw back a powerful position that sat firmly in the hands of Belmont’s conservative establishment for decades. 

That surprised me. I considered Adam a progressive ally here in Belmont. He’s someone I endorsed for Belmont’s Select Board back in 2017 and again when he ran unopposed in 2020.

When Adam called me a few months back to tell me he was going to challenge Mike for re-election, I asked him why a professed supporter of progressive change would challenge a clear political ally like Mike rather than work with him as moderator? 

His answers confused me. Adam offered lavish praise for Mike defeating Mark and for the changes he introduced like the restoration of hybrid Town Meetings and creation of the Moderator’s Advisory Committee. He promised he would keep Town Meetings hybrid and keep the Moderator’s Advisory Committee in place. 

“OK,” I said. ”So if your ‘platform’ is to continue the incumbent’s policies, why challenge him for re-election?” The answer was less about Mike than about Adam. He alluded to the ’prominent’ figures who recruited him, saying we needed more “fairness” and “experience” from the moderator. But those arguments don’t even pass the “sniff test.” Mike has ample skills and professional experience relevant to the moderator role. And he (like Adam) has held multiple terms in a town wide office as a member of the School Committee. As for fairness? Mike has made a fair and equal Town Meeting his hallmark. 

In the end, I strongly advised Adam against challenging Mike so early in his tenure. No surprise: that advice didn’t register. And soon after, Adam declared his candidacy.

Keep The Positive Change Coming!

As you read this, our choice as Belmont voters is simple. Do we want a Town Moderator who has promised- and delivered on meaningful changes to our town’s legislature and promoted the rights of ordinary Belmontonians? Or do we want to toss those accomplishments aside and start anew: voting for a candidate who parrots the positions of our current moderator, but whose motivations are more…extrinsic.

This much is sure: if re-elected, Mike Crowley won’t rest on his laurels. He’ll continue working to enhance on the improvements he’s enacted, to ensure the continued accessibility of hybrid town meetings and further empower Town Meeting members and Belmont’s legislature. I hope you’ll join me in voting to re-elect Mike Crowley for Town Moderator.