Voter Alert: Local Candidates Face Off Tonight at 7PM – Be There!

Just a quick shout-out to the local politics nerds among my Blogging Belmont readers: tonight is the Belmont Candidates’ Night. Hosted by the League of Women Voters, it’s your best (and last) chance to see candidates for Town Meeting and town-wide office (Board of Selectmen, School Committee) before next week’s April 1st town wide vote. This is an incredibly important election for Belmont, with School Committee spots and a spot on the Board of Selectman up for grabs, not to mention a debt exclusion vote to restore the Underwood Pool. I really recommend going.

VOTEposterfinalThe event starts at 7:00 PM at Chenery Middle School Auditorium. According to the LWV web site, the evening will start with “informal discussions with the candidates for Town Meeting Member” in your precinct. That will be followed by an introduction of all candidates for Town Meeting Member. After that, candidates for te town-wide offices will make a formal statement and then answer questions from the audience.

The big race to watch is for Selectman, where Roger Colton is squaring off against Sami Baghdady. (Full disclosure: I’m a volunteer for Roger’s campaign and have endorsed him for Selectman.) Thus far, the race has played out on competing lawns and in the pages of the Citizen Herald, where the candidates have been responding to questions on issues such as school overcrowding and the fate of the Underwood Pool. This will be the candidates first (and only) opportunity to speak directly to each other and to take questions directly from voters. (You can find a copy of the full ballot here.)

Long and short: you should be there. Don’t miss it!