Photo: Nomination papers are ready to be picked up at Town Hall

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announces Wednesday, Dec. 9 that nomination papers for town offices are available for those who are interested in running for office in Belmont.

All candidates must be registered voters of Belmont.

In addition to many town-wide offices, 12 representative Town Meeting Members are elected for three-year terms from each of the eight precincts. This year, there are also some partial-term openings for Town Meeting; vacancies are created by Members moving or resigning.

Stop by the Town Clerk’s office to pick up nomination papers; have your neighbors and friends, who are voters, sign your nomination papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline, Feb. 16, 2021, at 5 p.m.

The Town Hall is still closed to the public so we’ve set aside specific times for candidates to pick up and return nomination papers, no appointment necessary:

• Monday 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Friday at 9 a.m.

Upon arrival at Town Hall, a quick call to 617-993-2603 will bring a staff member out to start the process.

Here’s the list of offices that will be filled by the April 6, annual Town Election as of Dec. 9:

• Moderator, Vote for One, 1 year
• Board of Selectmen, 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
• Members of the Housing Authority, Vote for One, 5 years
• Members of the Housing Authority, Vote for One, 4 years (to fill a vacancy)
• Trustees of the Public Library, Vote for Two, 3 years
• Members of the School Committee, Vote for Two, 3 years

Town Meeting Members for Each of the Eight Precincts, Vote for 12, 3 years.

Partial-Term Town Meeting  Members to Fill Vacancies

• For Precinct 1, Vote for One, 1 year
• For Precinct 2, Vote for One, 1 year
• For Precinct 2, Vote for One, 2 years
• For Precinct 4, Vote for One, 2 years
• For Precinct 8, Vote for One, 2 years

The 12 Town Meeting Members from each of the eight voting precincts are elected each year to three-year terms, a limited number of additional partial-term seats are available as well.

The Town Clerk’s web pages contain quite a bit of information to help make a decision to seek office 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

Running for election is simple

To be nominated for Town-wide office

Signatures of at least 50 registered voters of Belmont are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe.

To be nominated for Town Meeting

Signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe. Some current Town Meeting Members will be asking the voters for re-election but all twelve seats are available in each precinct, plus any partial term seats.

Running for re-election to Town Meeting:

Current Town Meeting Members whose term of office expires in 2021 have already been mailed a letter asking if the person will seek re-election. The deadline for returning the signed response letter to the Town Clerk is Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.

Impact of COVID-19: During 2020, Belmont’s Town Meetings and meetings of boards, commissions, and committees have been held via remote access using video conferencing technology. In the case of the Town Meeting, we also deploy our secure electronic voting system. All signatures on nomination papers for local elections must be original, no electronic signatures are permitted. Candidates will need to consider different ways to obtain the necessary signatures; the Town Clerk’s website offers some suggestions.

Annual Town Meeting takes place in the spring and typically lasts for six evenings, (customarily Monday and Wednesday) in early May and early June for another two to four evenings. Town Meeting makes all of the decisions about the Town’s budgets and local Bylaws. Belmont’s government is a Representative Town Meeting, which means that only Town Meeting Members can debate and vote at Town Meeting, unlike the Open Town Meeting form of government. Video of past Town Meetings is available for viewing on www.Belmontmedia.org .

Questions can be directed to townclerk@belmont-ma.gov or 617-993-2603