Town Meeting is made up of 36 members from each of the Town’s eight precincts, with each member serving overlapping, 3 year terms. That means each year, twelve Representative Town Meeting Members from each of our eight voting precincts are elected. Should a Town Meeting member resign before their three year term is complete, a replacement Town Meeting member will be elected for a one, or two year period to replace them.
Three year position (vote for not more than 12)
Click on the links below to view the candidate’s survey. A check mark (✓ ) indicates candidates who have submitted surveys. You will be asked to vote for no more than 12 candidates.
William Anderson II
Edward P. Barker, Jr. ✓
Kristian Robert Cibulskis
Frank French
Kelly Ann Higgins ✓
Three year position (vote for not more than 12)
William H. Anderson II | 76 Stony Brook Rd. | Candidate for Re-election
Survey Response
Frank E. French | 44 Evergreen Way | Candidate for Re-election
No response received.
Kelly Ann Higgins | 11 Garfield Way | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | Kelly Higgins |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | Belmont Woman’s Club executive board (past president), board Belmont Garden Club, past director of Belmont Community Education, religious education teacher many years St. Joseph Parish, Belmont Activities Committee and various PTA/PTO groups and sports groups |
| Candidate’s Statement | Belmont’s fiscal challenges continue! The town is in the process of completing the Middle and High School complex, finalizing the role out of the new public library project and voting on a new rink which are all important to our residents. Our budget is limited and it is extremely crucial that we work to meet the needs of our community by uniting to make fiscally responsible and transparent decisions. Belmont is a special tight-knit community and it it is critical that we work together for all and the longevity of precious town. |
| Accomplishments | I take the town meeting role very seriously and regulalry attend TM and other town meetings to stay informed to make well informed decisions. Keeping communication open with town residents and especially residents of precinct 2 is extemely valuable when making these decions. |
| Your Precinct (optional) | 2 |
| Government reform | The Collin’s report is a complete well thought out report which is a beneficial tool for guidance in making town decisions but it is one perspective. Belmont has had a history of knowledgable and dedicated elected officials and it is key to maintain a balance. |
Comments/Notes
Jeff Levin-Scherz | 75 Woodbine Rd. | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | Jeff Levin-Scherz |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | 25 year Pan Mass Challenge rider (raising money for Global Cancer Medicine, which funds cancer care and research in Haiti and Rwanda) Belmont Democratic Town Meeting member |
| Candidate’s Statement | I’m a proud dad of two Belmont HS graduates and a 32-year Belmont resident. My priorities are support for educational excellence and environmental protection. I’m a physician, healthcare consultant, and teach at the Harvard School of Public Health. I’m a member of the Belmont Town Democratic Committee, and work for progressive causes and candidates. I support denser zoning to comply with the state MBTA mandate and promote affordable multifamily housing, and I oppose Belmont Hill School’s plan to cut over 4 acres of forest to create more parking spaces. Thanks for your consideration. |
| Accomplishments | I’ve attended (remotely) all meetings and have voted in what I believe are the best issues of the town. |
| Your Precinct (optional) | As noted above, I oppose building a massive parking lot in the woods between Prospect and Rutledge. |
| Government reform | I support good governance for Belmont – including an appointed town treasurer and working toward implementing the recommendations of the UMass Collins Center. |
Barry Lubarsky | 257 Rutledge Rd. | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | Barry Lubarsky |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | Town Meeting, Boy Scouts of America Troop 304, coach & volunteer Belmont Youth Baseball and Basketball |
| Candidate’s Statement | As a 13-year resident of Belmont, I strive to ensure broad civic engagement in the issues and decisions the Town faces. We need an inclusive approach that balances the need to maintain our town’s infrastructure, adequately resourcing our schools, and provide services for our aging population, while preserving a stable financial future for all our residents. Similarly, we need to ensure that the Town has a say in its affordable housing growth that is consistent with the needs of current Belmont residents. We also need to ensure the town government and procedures support the values and interests of our citizens. |
| Accomplishments | Seeing the library funded leaves only one major element of the town infrastructure needing upgrading — the rink. Let’s finish the job building Belmont for today and the next generation. |
| Your Precinct (optional) | We need to revisit our zoning overlay maps so that town properties are correctly categorized and we retain in control of our town’s development. We also need a town government that is responsive to and willing to work on behalf of the needs and interests of its constituents. |
| Government reform | Modernizing the fiscal management of Belmont is an urgent need and I favor an appointed Treasurer position. However, we have a lot of important and powerful appointed committees in town and desperately need to build safeguards into our by-laws to ensure that those bodies remain accountable to the constituents of the town. |
Peter R. Magni | 140 Radcliffe Rd. | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | Peter Magni |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | I have served on Belmont’s Long-Range Planning Committe in the past. I was a co-founder of the Belmont Girls Softball Association, which was a fundraiser for Belmont Girls’ Softball. I have coached the following sports for over 15 years in Belmont: Girls Softball; Instructional, Little League and Babe Ruth Baseball; Youth Hockey; Soccer; and Boys and Girls Basketball. I was also on the St. Joseph Parish Council for many years and served the parishioners as a Eucharistic Minister and as an assistant to the Parish Youth Minister. |
| Candidate’s Statement | After upgrading the police station, building a new high school, and approving a new library, we must now resolve the skating rink issue. We must complete these capital projects without further increasing an ever-growing tax burden on our citizens, especially our senior citizens. At the same time, we must continue to retain our town’s high bond rating. It can be done by Town Meeting Members working together to identify additional revenue sources within our town and region. We must improve our town’s business climate so that we can keep our businesses thriving and invite new businesses quickly when openings exist. |
| Accomplishments | We were able to somewhat overcome the Beatrice Circle proposal for now, with the hopes that it does not come back. It was a dreadful proposal that would have caused a great deal of problems in Precinct 2 if enacted, especially traffic problems. |
| Your Precinct (optional) | Obviously, the parking lot proposal by the Belmont Hill School is a major issue in that is so divisive to our residents in Precinct 2 and beyond. There are so many issues on both sides which need to be further clarified through much more discussion so that some kind of a reasonable compromise can be forthcoming. |
| Government reform | One item pointed out by the report is the need for Belmont to formalize a Financial Management Team. I firmly believe that this recommendation is very important to our Town’s future. A Financial Management Team could be very helpful to the Select Board in running our Town. When I served on our Town’s early Long Range Financial Planning Committee in the past, we had suggested this idea in the hopes that in addition to tackling our Town’s ever-growing financial issues, a committee of this type could also long to help attract new businesses into Town when openings exist and make them financially suitable. As it stands now, we have far too many business openings that remain open for too long. |
Judith A. McSwain | 35 Ross Rd. | Candidate for Re-election
No response received.
Elizabeth Fallon Weintraub | 51 Prentiss Ln. | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | Elizabeth Fallon Weintraub |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | I lead a Daisy troop for kindergarten age Girl Scouts, coach T-ball, and am active in the Winn Brook School PTA, co-chairing this year’s fall ice cream social and the holiday toy drive. |
| Candidate’s Statement | As mom to four young children, schools, class size, and resources for educational support and equity are among my top priorities, as is managing traffic patterns to keep families safe as they walk and bike on our roads. I will continue to support measures to promote and maintain an inclusive and welcoming Belmont community, including through support for public resources like the Rink. |
| Accomplishments | Supporting our teachers and public safety officers, our public resources, and measures to make Belmont a more welcoming and inclusive community. |
| Government reform | I support making the town treasurer an appointed position. |
Taylor Yates | 85 Lawrence Rd. | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | Taylor Yates |
|---|---|
| Campaign website/Facebook page/ Etc. (optional) | http://yatesfor2.com |
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | Chair – Vision21 Implementation Committee, Chair – Yes for Appointed Treasurer Committee, Sunday school teacher |
| Candidate’s Statement | I support improving Belmont’s financial foundation by revisiting parts of the zoning law that are either outdated or overly onerous for our residents and businesses. By making thoughtful zoning reforms, we can improve the town’s tax revenues to support better services. As the Chair of the Yes for Appointed Treasurer Committee, I am working to improve Belmont’s financial management by encouraging our town to the 98% of Massachusetts towns that hire a qualified, professional treasurer. |
| Accomplishments | Voted to appropriate funds for the library |
| Government reform | I fully support the Collins Center Report recommendations, and am chairing the first campaign to implement them: switch from an elected to appointed treasurer. As a small business owner, I can say from personal experience that these reforms are common sense ways to make our town run better. I believe that reforming our government in accordance with the Collins Center recommendations will generate better results for voters and community members. |
David Zipkin | 137 Claflin St. | Candidate for Re-election
| Name | David Zipkin |
|---|---|
| Email (will be kept private) | david.zipkin@gmail.com |
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | Candidate for re-election |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Candidate’s Statement | I’m a parent of two school-age kids. I’ve enjoyed coaching their town soccer teams and have gotten to know many of their classmates. My priority for the town is to ensure we have the resources to provide the services, especially high-quality education for these kids, that Belmont needs to be a modern, vibrant, equitable, sustainable, thriving town. To support this goal, I’ve held leadership roles on the campaigns for both the Middle and High School and the 2021 override. If re-elected I will continue to pursue this aim in multiple ways, including efficiency, further developing Belmont’s commercial tax base, and overrides as necessary. |
| Accomplishments | In the last 12 months I volunteered to support the successful town wide library vote and in town meeting I voted in favor of important motions including to place a limit on use of gas-powered leaf blowers and to fund the building of the library. |
| Government reform | I support ballot question #2, the town treasurer position should elected. |
Edward P. Barker Jr. | 21 Garfield Rd.
| Name | Edward Barker |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | Director, Belmont Library Foundation, 2023 Canvassing Coordinator, Yes for Library Campaign, 2022 Canvasser, Belmont High School Campaign, 2018 Parent, Winn Brook School; Class parent 2020-2021 |
| Candidate’s Statement | Belmont faces difficult choices in the years ahead, and I’m eager to help develop forward-looking, fair, and fiscally responsible solutions. I played a leadership role in the successful library campaign because it was an excellent combination of these factors: it serves all citizens, it leverages private resources to create greater value for taxpayers, and it’s an essential quality-of-life investment that protects property values. I will take this same approach as we decide how to invest in our schools, revamp our capital planning process, and identify the resources necessary to sustain Belmont as a desirable place to live for all. |
| Your Precinct (optional) | Resolution of the Belmont Hill School proposal to build a new parking lot and maintenance facility is critical to ensure that abutting neighbors are comfortable that the issues they raised about the importance of protecting watersheds, habitats, and open space are heard and honored in the resolution. At the same time, this crisis has highlighted the importance of prioritizing open space in undeveloped areas; including private entities in town planning efforts; and managing the relationship with Belmont Hill School and other nonprofits to establish a system of appropriate PILOT payments to the town for services Belmont provides. |
| Government reform | I have read the Collins report carefully, and I am astonished and disappointed that Belmont is as behind the times as this report reveals. I support its call for reorganization of town governance – we must get right the structure of town government and accountability for outcomes if we expect to get any results other than the disarray that we are currently seeing. Our revenue situation is trending down, our planning process is clearly broken, and our budgeting process appears to put town departments at odds with one another. I strongly support recommendations for an appointed Treasurer and other officers in key fiscal and management positions, so that we can increase the pool of qualified candidates and improve the outcomes for the town. Belmont also needs a strategy for economic development that not only addresses the issue of empty storefronts, but also incentivizes the use of commercial property for its highest & best use. Recent campaigns for the new library and rink reveal that we absolutely must restructure our capital planning process to align with industry best practice. Why were these two proposals left to languish until the facilities were close to failure, only to fall at the same time in the midst of a challenging fiscal context? Capital planning must be conducted in conjunction with town priorities in a strategic and orderly manner, rather than at the whim of certain committees or powerful constituencies. If elected, I will work to implement the recommendations of the Collins report so that we all can benefit from a more efficient and more effective town government. |
Kristian Robert Cibulskis | 141 Claflin St.
No response received.
John Joseph McCann | 161 Claflin St.
No response received.
Paul McDonald | 595 Concord Ave.
| Name | Paul McDonald |
|---|---|
| Campaign website/Facebook page/ Etc. (optional) | https://www.facebook.com/mcdonald4belmont/ |
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Candidate’s Statement | As a relative newcomer, I am optimistic about Belmont’s future. Investments by past generations have made Belmont a strong community, great for families. Selective and strategic continued investments will allow the town to continue to thrive. My priorities are: 1) modernizing our zoning & bylaws to encourage commercial/mixed-use developments, support local businesses, and streamline homeowner improvements/renovations 2) funding our schools to continue delivering top-notch education that enables all students to reach their potential 3)Road/Sidewalk/Bike safety and accessibility – safe streets for people, not drag strips 4) protecting and increasing access to parks/recreation and open space. |
| Your Precinct (optional) | With projects like the Belmont Hill School parking lot and the Beatrice Circle 40B development, precinct 2 residents are seeing first hand how our town may change over time if we are not proactive about planning for the future. Residents should stay informed regarding potential zoning changes, such as the MBTA Communities committee’s work. Precinct 2 is highly varied, with a central business district, a nature sanctuary, a busy Pleasant St corridor and many quiet neighborhoods. At our borders we have a state highway and large public parks and a commuter rail station. With a housing crisis and climate crisis at our doorstep, we are planning to fail if we simply do nothing and hope nothing changes. We need to work with the town and with our large “non profit” neighbors to have a say in Belmont’s future. |
| Government reform | Reading through the Collins report, the Town seems to be run in away that reminds me of many software engineering teams I have worked with – they have a set of meetings and processes that they use to get their work done effectively, but those meetings and processes are not always well defined or easy to explain. This leads to teams/organizations being resistant to change rather than resilient to change. Whether the town needs a *different* set of processes for managing its finances is probably less important than documenting, optimizing, and formalizing the process it uses. This allows for improved transparency, easier review and optimization, and allows new participants to onboard more easily. Making positions which require specialized skill sets, such as Treasurer, to be hired/appointed rather than elected makes a lot of sense – similar to how we hire, rather than elect, teachers, police officers, etc. A lot of the findings and recommendations from the Collins report could be quickly generated by anyone who has listened to enough episodes of the Strong Town’s podcast, or has simply lived in Belmont long enough. The lack of significant commercial tax base is a particularly well known and oft-discussed point. It is also probably the most important point highlighted, but not really emphasized as such. We can and should improve our ‘fiscal responsibility’ where feasible, but optimizations will only get us so far. If we want to truly back away from the ‘fiscal cliff’, simply responding to Collins report findings is not going to solve all our problems. |
Andrew Joseph Poulsen | 1105 Concord Ave.
| Name | Andrew Poulsen |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Town Meeting |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| I live in: | Precinct 2 |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | I serve as chair of the Disability Access Commission and member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Implementation Committee. |
| Candidate’s Statement | I would appreciate your vote to serve as a town meeting member representing precinct two. I serve as chair of the Disability Access Commission and member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Implementation Committee. I am determined to advocate for an excellent quality of life for all in Belmont with a fiscally responsible approach. We need to find creative ways to meet the town’s financial obligations and sustainable future while striving to reduce residential property tax burdens. Having raised our children in Belmont, I am committed to maintain access to a high-quality public education for Belmont children. |
| Government reform | Belmont would benefit from reforms to town government, including replacing the Town Treasurer with an appointed position. |
Simone Muzzioli Tropeano | 1047 Concord Ave.
No response received.