Photo: Voting will take place on April Fool’s Day
Belmont voters will have their hands full with five competitive races for town-wide posts at this year’s town election on Tuesday, April 1.
Two of the top contests will have new comers seeking to fill seats for Town Moderator and Select Board, while incumbents are running to retain their posts against opponents for Board of Health, Board of Health and the School Committee where four are running for two spots.
Candidates for town-wide races included:
Town Moderator (Vote for not more than one for 1 Year)
MICHAEL F. CROWLEY 119 Farnham St.
MARK A. PAOLILLO 42 Pilgrim Rd.
Select Board (Vote for not more than one for 3 Years)
PAUL ROBERT JOY 9 Harvard RD.
TAYLOR YATES 85 LAWRENCE LANE
Town Clerk Vote for not more than one for 3 Years
ELLEN O’BRIEN CUSHMAN 38 Scott Rd. (Candidate for Re-election)
Board of Cemetery Commissioners (Vote for not more than one for 3 Years)
WILLIAM JOSEPH CHEMELLI 11 Ripley Rd. (Candidate for Re-election)
Board of Health (Vote for not more than one for 3 Years)
JULIE C. LEMAY 37 Statler Rd. (Candidate for Re-election)
MICHAEL TODD THOMPSON 9 Jonathan St.
Members of the Housing Authority (Vote for not more than one for 5 Years)
SARAH M. BILODEAU 203 Trapelo Rd. (Candidate for Re-election)
Trustees of the Public Library (Vote for not more than two for 3 Years)
MARK CARTHY 21 Stone Rd. (Candidate for Re-election)
EDWARD P. BARKER, JR. 21 Garfield Rd.
TARA DONNER 47 Payson Rd.
Municipal Light Board (Vote for not more than two for 3 Years)
DAVID BEAVERS 316 Trapelo Rd. (Candidate for Re-election)
JESSICA KIT HARRISON 29 Williow St.
School Committee (Vote for not more than two for 3 Years)
JEFFREY W. LIBERTY 43 Worcester St. (Candidate for Re-election)
ZEHRA ABID-WOOD 306 Pleasant St.
BRIAN L. PALMER 210 Clifton St.
MICHAEL TODD THOMPSON 9 Jonathan St.
In the race to replace long-serving Town Moderator Mike Widmer, former School Committee member Mike Crowley who sought the post last year, will meet Mark Paolillo, who served four-terms on the town’s Select Board.
The race for Select Board will see a pair of newcomers as Planning Board Chair Taylor Yates who shepherd the MBTA Communities By-law through Town Meeting is taking on Paul Joy, the chair of the Economic Development Committee who led the effort to change the Select Board from a three to a five member policy-based entity.
With School Committee member Amy Checkoway deciding not to run for a third term, incumbent Jeff Liberty, Zehra Abid-Wood, Brian Palmer and Michael Todd Thompson are seeking election to the two seats up for grabs.
And, no, you aren’t seeing double as Thompson is also running against three-time incumbent Julie Lemay for the lone spot on the Board of Health. There is no provision in the town’s bylaws from running for as many posts as one wishes.
And there will be a lively race for the one seat on the Library Trustees as incumbent Mark McCarthy is running against former School Committee member Tara Donner and Edward Barker, president of the Belmont Library Foundation.