Photo: Example of a past years’ sample nomination paper

Nomination papers for town offices are now available for those who are interested in running for elected office in Belmont.

Candidates should stop by the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall to pick up nomination papers; have your neighbors and friends, who are registered voters of Belmont, sign your nomination papers and submit the signed forms back by the deadline of Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022 at 5 p.m.

Office hours of Town Hall for pick up and drop off or questions, no appointment is necessary:

• Monday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Friday: 8 a.m. to noon.

Here’s the list of offices that will be filled by the April 5, 2022 Annual Town Election as of December 16, 2021. To find out more about the responsibilities of these offices, please check out their individual web pages on the Town website  https://www.belmont-ma.gov/home/pages/boards-commissions  or watch any public meetings on Zoom or www.belmontmedia.org  

Town-wide Offices	Number of Seats	Term of Office
Moderator	Vote for One	1 year
Select Board	Vote for One	3 years
Board of Assessors	Vote for One	3 years
Board of Cemetery Commissioners	Vote for One	3 years
Board of Health	Vote for One	3 years
Trustees of the Public Library	Vote for Two	3 years
Members of the School Committee	Vote for Two	3 years
Municipal Light Board	Vote for Five	3 years, 2 years, 1 year
Town Meeting Members for Precincts 1, 2, 6 and 8:	Vote for Thirty-six	3 years, 2 years, 1 year
Precincts 3, 4, 5 and 7	Vote for Twelve	3 years

What’s Different About 2022? 

• Town-wide Offices:  In addition to the customary Town-wide offices, (see below for specifics), per the May 3, 2021 vote of the annual Town Meeting, a new elected five-member Municipal Light Board has been created. The full five-member board will be elected in 2022; the two candidates who receive the most votes will win three-year terms, the next two will win two-year terms and the last one will win the one-year term.

• Representative Town Meeting: The population data from the 2020 Federal Census required Belmont to change some of our voting precinct boundaries to more evenly distribute the residents and the Town Meeting Members who represent them. Per Belmont’s Representative Town Meeting Act, changes of precinct boundaries requires that all 36 seats for Town Meeting in a re-constituted precinct be considered open and must be filled by election.

A. The boundaries of Belmont Precincts 1, 2, 6 and 8 have been changed and therefore 36 seats are open and must be filled by election. The 12 candidates who receive the most votes will win three-year terms, the next 12 will win two-year terms and the last 12 will be one-year terms. The six current Town Meeting Members whose precincts will change have already been notified separately.

B. The boundaries of Belmont Precincts 3, 4, 5 and 7, are unchanged by the re-precincting efforts described above,  and will therefore elect the customary 12 Town Meeting Members, each for a  three-year term.  

Running for Re-election to Town Meeting: Precinct 2, 4, 5 and 7 current Town Meeting Members whose term of office expires in 2022 as well as all of the Town Meeting Members current serving in Precincts 1, 2, 6 and 8 have already been mailed a letter asking if the person will seek re-election. Deadline for return of the signed response letter to the Town Clerk is absolute: Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m.  To confirm whether your current term expires in 2022, please check the Town Clerk’s “Town Meeting Members” web page: https://www.belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk/pages/town-meeting-members

The Town Clerk’s web pages contain quite a bit of information to help make a decision to seek office and running for election at www.belmont-ma.gov  select Town Clerk, then select Running for Elected Office and Campaigning or feel free to call us at 617-993-2603, or email at townclerk@belmont-ma.gov