Candidates and their supporters shrugged off fierce winds Tuesday to campaign on Election Day in Needham, political signs gripped in gloved hands as voters entered polling stations across town.
In the early afternoon, school committee candidate Leanne Ratti and a few of her supporters stood at the corner of West Street and Hillside Avenue, next to the Center at the Heights polling location.
As a special education, elementary and English as a Second Language teacher of 16 years for the Boston Public Schools, Ratti said she is passionate about equitable education for the Needham community.
“I think this is a great opportunity to get to know everyone in the community,” Ratti said. “Hearing from parents and residents, talking about their concerns, answering questions, learning, listening, you really feel in touch with your community.”
Melissa Rotman and Carolyn Kenline, two of Ratti’s supporters, said they helped her campaign because she’ll advocate for their children.
“I’m really excited about the potential of having a teacher on the School Committee and a mom of three kids,” Kenline said.
Across the street stood two supporters of Sri Baqri, another School Committee candidate. Her husband, Rehan Baqri, said Sri is passionate about the schools and wanted to get involved. They have two daughters in the system.
He was flanked by Syed Rizvi, a supporter of Baqri who said proper representation on the School Committee is important, especially someone who has kids, knows the system and is invested in the schools.
Down the road, at the top of the driveway leading to the polling station at the Rosemary Recreation Complex, stood a group of campaigners with signs for a variety of candidates..
Jeanne McKnight, a Town Meeting member running for reelection, held two signs: one for herself and the other for Select Board incumbent Heidi Frail.
McKnight, who has represented Precinct F as a Town Meeting Member for 22 years, said municipal work has been her life. She began as an urban planner in Framingham for six years, went to law school and worked as a municipal attorney for 25 years. McKnight stepped down from the Planning Board last year.
McKnight described Frail as a hard-working member of the Select Board — one who is “very respectful of others on the committee.” “The hardest job in our town, as far as being a volunteer, is to be on the Select Board,” McKnight said.
Next to McKnight stood David Wertheim, who was running for Town Meeting in Precinct G. Wertheim grew up in Needham and moved back 13 years ago. A finance professional who served on the Finance Committee in Ashland, Wertheim said he was inspired to return to civic engagement after the divisive town vote in January that repealed the Town Meeting decision to comply with the MBTA Communities Law, which requires municipalities served by the MBTA to create a zoning district conducive to multifamily housing.
“There seemed to be a lot of misinformation that was going around,” Wertheim said. “I’m hoping that with a financial background, I can bring some more to the table and hopefully some more honest conversation.”
A few feet from Wertheim, Abigail “Abby” Carr, a public relations professional, was also running for Town Meeting in Precinct G. She said the “horrific nature” of politics in Washington inspired her to turn to local government. Carr has lived in Needham for 10 years, and her three children went through the Needham school system.
“If you can’t win at the national level, then you can make soup and plant flowers and help housing and other issues in your local community,” Carr said.
She described the divisiveness of the Needham housing issue as “disturbing.” “I think it’s really important that we have people on Town Meeting who respect facts and are willing to dive deep into the issues and not face decisions by whipping up other people’s fear,” Carr said.
This story is part of a partnership between the Needham Observer and the Boston University Department of Journalism.