Photo: Taylor Yates (2nd to the left) and supporters

I’m Taylor Yates, and I’m running for Belmont Select Board. I’m a homeowner, a father of three, and a small business owner.

I moved to Belmont in 2018, just like a lot of you, to make a home for my family in a community that invests in itself. Belmont’s got great schools, it’s close to Boston, and people really put down roots here. This is a town where people stay for decades and generations, and they work together to shape its future.

I dove headfirst into Belmont government. I started on the Vision21 Committee, got elected to Town Meeting, and chaired the successful ‘Yes for Appointed Treasurer’ campaign. I was appointed to the Planning Board and have since been elected Chair. Along the way, I’ve championed key initiatives: I pushed to allow restaurants by right in Belmont; got the MBTA Communities Act passed by one of the largest margins in the state; and have reformed the Planning Board to focus on planning and economic development.

I’m running for Select Board because the next three years are going to determine where we are in 10 years. There are two possible futures:

1. We’ve run out of time and resources to deal with our thorniest issues and are forced to make some heartbreaking tradeoffs
2. Belmont is the best it’s ever been, we’ve kept the things we love about our town, enhanced them, and added to them.

When the Select Board makes those decisions I want to be there so I can bring my energy, collaboration, and vision to the table to ensure Belmont’s best days are ahead.

As chair of the Planning Board, I secured funding for a Belmont Center overlay district, a Brighton Street overlay district, and a 10-year comprehensive plan. Our residents are hurting from tax increases and service cuts, which means we need to increase our commercial tax base, boost our small businesses, and make our Town a better place to live.

That’s a lot of work, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it six months ago. When I became Chair, I decided that the Planning Board was going to have the courage to tackle our biggest and most persistent problems. We were going to do the work necessary to give people the choice to decide if we want to move forward or not.

But that was easier said than done. The Planning Board was bogged down with a lack of processes and direction. That meant we spent too much of our time working on the wrong things. I put in a lot of hours to solve that so we can pursue this ambitious 2025 economic agenda.

That’s the kind of leader I am: I start with a vision, break it into actionable steps, and deliver results. 

I believe there’s a shared vision in this Town: a thriving, dynamic town that honors its past while embracing progress. I’ve spoken to thousands of voters in this campaign, I’ve heard you, and I want to be the leader that works with you to actually fix our problems and set us up for a brighter future.

Let’s build Belmont’s future together!