Early in-person voting for the Reading town election starts this Saturday, March 28, and election day is April 7. Elections are often decided by a very few votes, so DO NOT wait — make a plan to vote now!ᯓ🏃🏻♀️➡️
- Reading Votes is pleased to offer endorsements for responsive & fiscally responsible candidates.
- 🗳️Check out the ballot for your precinct below and use it at the polls.
- 🛑To maximize their chances of winning, consider only voting for the candidates noted on the endorsement ballot.
- ✍🏼Several precincts have suggested write-in candidates shown in RED on the endorsement ballots. Please, write their names as shown.
- Be sure to vote on BOTH sides of the ballot (Candidates + Question #1)
Carlo Bacci for Select Board
Carlo Bacci is a two-term member of the Reading Select Board and Town Meeting, running for re‑election with a record of common‑sense leadership. On the Select Board, he supported the successful effort to stop the MBTA turnback track and has consistently pushed for disciplined budgeting and smart financial decisions, helping Reading limit tax impacts and stretch the life of the last Proposition 2½ override. A longtime small business owner, Carlo brings a practical, taxpayer‑focused voice to town government.
https://www.Carlo4Selectboard.com
Sal Bramante for Select Board
Sal Bramante is a longtime Reading resident, Board of Health member, and Town Meeting Precinct 1 Chair who is running for Select Board to put taxpayers first. Sal is focused on controlling costs, demanding transparency and discipline in town budgeting, preparing responsibly for any override, and strengthening downtown, so Reading remains fiscally sound, welcoming, and moving forward together.
Lori Hayes for School Committee
Lori Hayes (Gisetto) is running for Reading School Committee to support a smooth superintendent transition, advance academic excellence and student well‑being, and strengthen the collaboration that helps RPS thrive. A Town Meeting Member for Precinct 8 with 34 years in the pharmaceutical industry, she is committed to fiscally responsible, transparent decision‑making and protecting strong programs while developing leadership skills for all K–12 students.
TOWN MEETING ENDORSEMENTS
Reading Votes proudly endorses Town Meeting candidates who bring common sense, fact‑based decision‑making, and a clear focus on Reading residents. These hardworking neighbors understand tradeoffs, ask tough questions, and put practical governance ahead of politics.👥
Our endorsed candidates supported minimalist compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, minimizing the impact of tiered water rates on larger families, holding the line on increasing the business tax rate split, and opposed the MBTA Turnback Track due to serious environmental, health, and traffic concerns. They are also ready to address Reading’s looming fiscal challenges. A Proposition 2½ override (property tax increase) is expected as soon as Fall 2026. Smart fiscal management NOW can help delay or reduce future tax increases. That means carefully scrutinizing major spending proposals, such as the Community Preservation Act, ReCAL operating costs, and Walkers Brook Drive, while finding creative ways to fund priorities that matter (eg, Unified Sports) without overburdening taxpayers. 💵🚂🏀
Reading needs steady, thoughtful leadership. These candidates are ready to deliver.
Confirm your precinct here: https://www.readingma.gov/669/Voting-Precincts
Endorsement Ballots By Precinct:
Question #1
VOTE NO ON BALLOT QUESTION #1
🚫 On April 7, voters should reject Ballot Question #1 because in our view the proposed Charter changes narrow democratic rights and make local governance less accountable. Three changes are especially troubling.
First, redefining a “majority vote” as a majority of those merely present means that major decisions, including tax policy, could be made by a small minority of an elected board if attendance is low, weakening voter representation; elected boards should be exempt from this change altogether.
Second, doubling the recall threshold from 10% to 20% of registered voters makes it practically impossible for residents to hold elected officials accountable between elections, effectively insulating officeholders from the people they serve.
Third, changes to referendum petition rules further restrict residents’ ability to challenge town meeting decisions and place issues before voters, narrowing one of the last meaningful checks on town government.
🚫 Compounding these problems, the ballot does not clearly show voters exactly what has changed—without clear, redlined sections for the majority vote, recall, and referendum provisions, residents are asked to approve sweeping revisions they cannot easily see or understand.
🚫 Taken together, these changes water down the power of the people, disenfranchise voters, and shift authority away from the community; a NO vote is the clearest way to protect transparent, accountable, and truly democratic local government in Reading.
📝🚩See redlined proposed Charter changes presented at 11/2025 Town Meeting (Article 1.6 Majority Vote, Article 2.15.1 Referendum Petition, Article 8.11.2 Recall Petition): https://www.readingma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12410/2023-Charter-Review-Working-Document—Not-Approved-PDF
See also previous Reading Votes Newsletter on this topic: https://readingvotes.com/2026/02/01/welcome-to-2026-more-common-sense-needed-in-reading/
TOWN ELECTION INFORMATION
Election day is April 7, with voting from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Reading Memorial High School Field House
Town Election Information
· Deadline to request a vote by mail ballot to be mailed is by 5:00 PM on March 31st.
· Deadline to request an absentee ballot to be mailed is by 5:00 PM on March 31st.
· Deadline to request an absentee ballot in person is by 12:00 PM on April 6th.
· Last day to Register to Vote – by 5:00 PM on March 28th.
· In-Person Early Voting will be March 28th to April 2nd at Reading Town Hall
🗓️Sat. Mar 28, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
🗓️Mon. Mar 30, 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
🗓️Tue. Mar 31, 7:30 AM – 7:00 PM
🗓️Wed. Apr 1, 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
🗓️Thu. Apr 2, 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
For more information, visit the Town Clerk’s election website:
https://www.readingma.gov/254/Elections
Please vote, and share this with a neighbor.
Until next time . . .