Select Board Candidates Discuss Issues, Share Priorities

March 17, 2025
• Vice Chair Heidi Frail will face Vikram Kaul in a race for one seat on the board.

In pursuit of her second term on the board, Heidi Frail is running for reelection against opponent Vikram Kaul, a local business owner. Should Frail be reelected, she would likely be in line to serve as chair of the board, pending a vote from her colleagues. The town election is Tuesday, April 8.

Needham Local spoke with both candidates about their experience and priorities if elected.

Vikram Kaul

Vikram Kaul views himself as a “community builder” — since moving to Needham in 2017, he helped to found the Indian Community of Needham (ICON) and start up Needham Cricket, and in partnership with Needham Community Education, he set up youth language programs.

But it’s his work in the finance industry, owning his own investment business, that propelled him to seek a seat on the Select Board. He’s running his platform on fiscal responsibility and transparency.

On town finances, Kaul stressed the importance of maintaining current infrastructure and delivering existing services “in a thoughtful and a methodical way.” With residential taxes on the rise, Kaul said he’d look at Needham’s expense line to understand what they could do differently.

Transparency, Kaul said, starts with communicating with residents in a digestible way. When asked about the town’s communication on the MBTA Communities Act zoning articles, Kaul said they thoroughly disseminated information through various mediums, but there’s a renewed chance for “effective communication.”

His father worked as a professor, so Kaul’s exposure to public service began at a young age. He sees the Select Board as an extension of his professional development.

“I think the Select Board looks to prioritize,” Kaul said. “You get a chance to select the priorities with the voice of the residents at the back of your mind. That’s the leadership acumen that I bring in, the effective community building that I’ve been doing for all over the years, listening to the residents.”

Like players on the cricket field, the Select Board must work collaboratively to move ideas forward and make effective change, Kaul said. He shared a tried and true adage: “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Prior to starting a business, Kaul spent nearly 15 years at General Electric. This would be his first foray into local government.

If elected, Kaul said he’d tap into challenges “on day one.” Having navigated financial crises, including the 2008 economic recession and the pandemic, Kaul said he would effectively lead during the current period of uncertainty.

Kaul fears Needham will exceed its debt policy benchmarks, which could impact the town’s AAA bond rating. That means leadership should carefully consider managing costs with development needs.

Since launching his campaign, Kaul has knocked on doors and held signs at the Recycling and Transfer Station. It’s that community engagement that would better inform his tenure on the Select Board, bringing to light issues or perspectives that may otherwise not be heard.

He’s sometimes accompanied by his two young children, who enjoy getting civically involved, he said. After living in several different parts of the country, Kaul said they settled in Needham for the welcoming atmosphere and the strong school system.

Kaul is an avid fountain pen enthusiast, and his collection allows him to reflect on how he spends his time. He’s also a fan of Bollywood films and the communal experience of listening to the music in a big group.

By joining the Select Board, Kaul said he’d bring a vital financially disciplined mindset.

“I’m motivated to serve the town effectively,” Kaul said. “I think there are challenges which I am well placed to start [immediately], figuring out solutions, fiscal responsibility, listening to the residents in terms of transparent governance and then thoughtful growth.”

Heidi Frail

Heidi Frail described her first term on the Select Board as intense and incredible — intense in the sheer amount and range of topics the board covers, and incredible in their ability to move issues forward.

But there’s unfinished business, Frail said, and in seeking reelection, she hopes to continue working on the issues she and other residents care about. With big capital projects on the horizon, looming financial uncertainty and recent turnover on the board, Frail said “it’s important to maintain some stability and consistency” in their elected leaders.

The visible impact of the board’s work keeps Frail engaged.

“I find this work really satisfying to me personally,” Frail said. “Especially in these times, it’s so hard to have an impact on the national scene and so on, but doing local work is, frankly, the most tangible and the most impactful thing that I can think to do to make the world a better place.”

As co-chair of the Housing Needham Advisory Group, Frail helped craft two zoning plans for Town Meeting, in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. While she and Town Meeting supported the more comprehensive Neighborhood Housing Plan, a referendum repealed that vote. This May, Town Meeting will vote on the Base Plan, which meets the minimum zoning requirements outlined in the state law.

Frail said HONE created “a real reference point for how to address housing in the future,” which is important to her, but the process also revealed the need for more effective communication, a priority she ran on the first time around.

Other highlights of her tenure include crafting a code of conduct for the Select Board as well as ensuring Needham is more climate-resilient, she said.

Her role as vice chair comes with its fair share of serious discussion but also ceremonial activities, such as marching in parades or attending cultural events. Assuming such a public role wasn’t always a comfortable one, she admitted, but seeing residents’ passions on display and signaling town support for those passions is important to her.

Looking ahead, Frail said she aims to maintain Needham’s AAA bond rating and balance vital infrastructure projects with the costs that accompany them. Housing is still on the brain — the Charles River Center and Wingate Living look to supply more housing, and the Needham Housing Authority’s Linden-Chambers renovation is in the works. Frail said she’s hopeful they can further address the housing crisis with the Stephen Palmer building and the former Muzi Ford site.

While the Select Board dominates much of her free time, Frail belongs to the League of Women Voters of Needham and is an elected member of the Democratic Town Committee. Prior to the board, she served as a Town Meeting member.

Originally Newton natives, Frail and her husband moved to Needham 21 years ago from Jamaica Plain, in search of a place to settle that wasn’t too expensive. The welcoming, active community kept her family in town, and her front porch transformed into her “favorite happy place” where she can speak with her neighbors.

Leading that community on the board is a great honor, she said.

“I love doing this job,” Frail said. “It takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication, and it really means working with others, being collaborative with residents and all of the amazing subject matter experts who are the town staff. I have learned a lot over the past term, and I really feel that, if reelected, I can put it to great use on behalf of the town.”