Photo: Will he or won’t he. Only Sami knows.

Catherine “Kate” Bowen, the chair of Sustainable Belmont, has taken out nomination papers for a possible race for the Belmont School Committee.

Incumbents Tom Caputo (who has qualified to be on the ballot) and Elyse Shuster (who has also taken out nomination papers) currently occupy the two seats up for grabs at the annual Town Election on Monday, April 4. Bowen and Shuster have until Feb. 14 to submit 50 signatures of eligible voters to the Town Clerk’s office.

The Bartlett Avenue resident is active in town government – she is an active Town Meeting Member from Precinct 4 – and is involved at the Butler Elementary School which her children attend.

Bowen is a program administrator at Harvard University who matriculated at Hampshire College and has an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She also has a background in teaching art and art history at several Boston-area colleges and universities.

Will Sami Run?

“Soon.”

That’s all incumbent Belmont Board of Selectman Sami Baghdady had to say on Monday, Jan. 23 when asked if he would be running to retain his seat on the three-member committee.

While newcomers Adam Dash and Guy Carbone have been certified for the April 4 ballot, Baghdady has not passed through the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall to pick up the necessary nomination papers.

While the attorney has plenty of time to collect the 50 signatures needed have his name before voters, residents around the coffee shops (especially the politically astute who hang out at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Trapelo Road) and town centers are asking; “Is Sami running?”

Known for his lawyerly demeanor on the board – he recently saved the town several thousand dollars in lost tax revenue when he spotted a possible legal dodge in the sales contract for the new electrical substation – Baghdady has pushed the members to complete long-delayed projects such as the community path.

While there is no indication the life-long resident who has held many roles in town government over the years isn’t running – he has been actively attending events such as the public meeting on Cushing Village this week – the curiosity of voters gets stronger by the day.

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