About me.

I was elected to the Needham Select Board in December 2021 in a special election. Election Day was freezing!

The last two years on the Select Board have been remarkable. I have notched an impressive number of wins for the town, learned so much about the intricacies of municipal government, and reconfirmed what I had said during my last campaign: for good government to function, civil discourse, openness, honesty, and level-headedness are required.

I was born and raised in Needham, Massachusetts. As the 9th of 11 children, I quickly learned (I had no choice, really) how to share, collaborate, and most importantly make my voice count.

In 2001 I married Eileen Madaus, also of Needham. Having family still living in town, Needham seemed to be the obvious place for us to settle and raise our three children: Aidan, Ronan, and Kate.

Like most Needham residents my wife and I are alternately horrified and astounded by the real estate market in town. The phenomenom has altered this community, but intensified my commitment to make Needham work for everyone.

My first job after college was as a staffer for Congressman Joe Moakley in Washington, D.C. What impressed me most about the congressman was not only his progressive bent, but more importantly his ability to remain humble while still passing legislation; he got the job done. He described himself as a “workhorse, not a show horse”. I think I’m a work horse too.

I circled back to politics briefly in 1992 to help with the Presidential campaign of Paul Tsongas. I helped create publicity on a shoestring budget leading up to the New Hampshire primary. Paul won the primary! That was a lot of fun.

I had been doing a lot of newspaper, textbook, and graphic work, but when my second child, Ronan, was born my wife and I decided that I would work from home and freelance. This was a pretty radical step until practically everyone did it during the pandemic. But the new schedule enabled me to get involved with the schools, serve on two school councils, and some candidate searches. One position begot another, and I decided to run for Town Meeting in 2012.

This move to local governance felt very natural and constructive compared to politics in D.C. Local government is the best; it’s where the real work gets done that directly affects the community. We very literally, get to govern ourselves. It’s remarkable. But it also carries a heavy responsibility: we have to take it seriously, and we need grow the circle of access, and stay committed to keeping our community working for all its members.