Challenges Set for April Election
February 20, 2026
• The Select Board, Planning Board and School Committee are all contested races in this spring’s election.
The race for Needham Select Board is officially a three-person contest.
Incumbent Cathy Dowd is running for reelection, and challengers Bill Dermody and Rich Adduci will both vie for one of two, three-year seats. Board member Marianne Cooley decided not to run for a fifth full term. She is the longest serving member currently on the five-person board.
If elected, this will be Dowd’s second term on the board. She is the second newest member behind Josh Levy. Dermody, a Realtor and member of the Needham Exchange Club and Memorial Park Trustees, previously ran for state representative in the fall of 2024. Adduci, who runs his own technology advisory business, moved to Needham in 2023 from Westborough.
The election is April 14. Nomination papers are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, though no new candidates have pulled papers as of Friday afternoon.
School Committee members Michael Greis and Matthew Spengler will also defend their three-year seats against newcomer Lauren Soper.
Greis, also a member of Green Needham, has sat on the committee since 2005. Spengler, a former teacher and founder and executive director of Blueprint Schools Network, is seeking his fourth term. Soper previously served as a Town Meeting member for Precinct J, and she is a 2003 Needham High School graduate, according to her LinkedIn.
For Planning Board, member Natasha Espada is not seeking reelection, clearing the path for a potential race between Ken Buckley, Gary Lesanto and Oscar Mertz.
This isn’t Buckley’s nor Mertz’s first attempt for a position on the board. Buckley, a volunteer with Needham Residents for Thoughtful Zoning, ran last spring, and Mertz, an architect and member of the Needham Large House Review Study Committee, ran in 2022. Lesanto serves as president of Lesanto Development, a home building and design company based in Needham.
As of Friday afternoon, Buckley and Lesanto have not returned their papers to be certified, according to the town clerk’s website, which is updated every few days. Planning Board terms are five years.
Races for the Board of Health and Needham Public Library Trustees are uncontested, with only incumbents running for reelection in both. Board of Health Chair Ed Cosgrove is confirmed for his reelection bid, and trustees Erhardt Graeff, Michael O’Neal and Meghan Small are seeking another three years.
Of the 10 Town Meeting precincts, as many as seven races could be contested this election cycle. Each precinct typically has 24 Town Meeting members in three-year terms, and eight are eligible for reelection each year. This year, Precinct G could be a race between 13 residents for eight seats. Several residents who pulled papers in those races still need to submit their signatures. Two of the three races for one-year Town Meeting terms could also be contested, though some papers await certification.
Bill Dermody is the vice chair of the Needham Community Television Development Corporation, the board that oversees Needham Local and the Needham Channel. He did not participate in the reporting or editing of this story.
Michael Greis is the chair of the Needham Community Television Development Corporation. He also did not participate in the reporting or editing of this story.
