Belmont Town Election 2013

Tie in Five: Precinct to Decide Final Belmont Town Meeting Seat

Unlike some states where a tie can be broken by a roll of the dice or a game of Texas Hold-em, Town Meeting members will decide who takes the 12th seat in the Fifth.

They counted the votes at Belmont's Town Clerk's Office and the final tally from the Belmont Town Election this past Tuesday is official. And while one of the interesting results from the April 2 election was the tie between top vote getters, Elyse Shuster and Laurie Slap, in the Belmont School Committee race, it turns out that it was not the only race where an equal number of voters cast their ballots for two candidates.  But what was interesting in the tie between Fifth Precinct Town Meeting candidates Andrea Serra-Masciari and Matthew Sullivan was it was for the 12th and final seat on the town's legislative body. While not unusual, a tie in elected contests are resolved differently from state-to-state and from community-to-community. A …

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Belmont High School Senior Seeks a Seat on Town Meeting

Eighteen-year-old Chris Van Winkle of Bright Road is running for a one-year seat in Precinct 1.

The first week of April is going to be busy for Chris Van Winkle. The Belmont High School senior will be anxiously waiting for a slew of potential college acceptance notices popping up on his computer screen. And on April 2, the Bright Road 18 year old will be voting in the town's annual election. And one of those people he will be voting for is himself. For the first time in a number of years, a Belmont resident who turned 18 (in November for Chris) and eligible to run for Town Meeting will be on the ballot. "The communication between Town Meeting and the community could be improved especially with younger people and that's a fair thing to work towards," said Chris. "I will represent everyone equally not necessarily in favoritism for …

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Nomination Papers for Belmont Town Elections Ready at Town Clerk's

Seats on Selectmen, School Committee and Town Meeting up for grabs.

Nomination papers are now available in the Belmont Town Clerk's office for elected town-wide offices and for Town Meeting representative. This year, Belmont voters will elect a member of the Board of Selectmen, two on the School Committee and Board of Library Trustees and one each for the Board of Health and Belmont Housing Authority and a slew of Town Meeting reps. New candidates for Town Meeting must gather 25 signatures from registered voters in their precinct in support of their nomination and submit the signed papers to the Town Clerk's office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Town election will be held on Monday, April 1, 2013. All candidates for town-wide office must gather 50 signatures from registered voters in Belmont. For more …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Run for Town Meeting

"This year, there really is ample time to talk-up the benefits of participation in Town Meeting and to generate interest and activity in Town Meeting elections."

Ellen O'Brien-Cushman, Belmont's Town Clerk, circulated an e-mail this week to Town Meeting members reminding them about upcoming deadlines for getting on the ballot to run for Town Meeting. This message should be circulated as widely as possible. One of the common fallacies with Town Meeting elections in Belmont is that one must wait to see whether there are "open" seats (i.e., if a current Town Meeting member is not running for re-election for some reason) before deciding whether to run. This is a "fallacy" because, in reality, an incumbent Town Meeting member has no "claim" on their seat. EVERY SEAT IS OPEN IN EVERY ELECTION recognizing that each precinct has only twelve seats per year that they elect.  A study I did just three years …

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Annual Town Meeting to Extend into June

A month-long "Spring break" in legislative body's gathering will allow for more precise financial figures.

The annual Belmont Town Meeting has long been a springtime tradition, coming with the cool April showers and the return of the leaves on the trees. But this coming year, the 290 representatives could be wearing their summer outfits and flip-flops to the yearly gathering as the town's legislative body is tentatively taking the month of May off. Town Administrator Dave Kale announced Monday, Nov. 5 at the Board of Selectmen meeting that the 2013 Town Meeting will likely adjourn for five weeks between dealing with non-financial matters and reviewing and approving the town budgets. Kale said the tentative calendar which he is working with the Warrant Committee to construct calls for Town Meeting to open on April 29 then going on hiatus until …

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Town Bids Farewell to Much Loved 'Eph' Radner

Remembered as a true gentleman, eloquent speaker and active member of the community.

Paul Solomon feels he was privileged to be able to call Ephraim Radner his friend. Called “Eph” by many, Solomon knew the long-time and active Belmont resident for more than half a century. “He was a very dear man, a warm-hearted human being,” the former Selectman said about Radner who died at age 90 on Wednesday, Feb. 1. A service will be held for Radner today, Friday, at 10 a.m. at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave. “Eph was modest but a very accomplished man,” Solomon said, describing his successful career as a businessman in the high-tech industry. “He was extraordinarily active and a productive and constructive member of any community he belonged to.” Radner, a longtime Douglas Road resident, was a Town Meeting member for many …

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