The websites of the two candidates running for Select Board — incumbent Heidi Frail and first-time candidate Vikram Kaul — go a long way in telling the story of the race. Frail’s site lists nine town committees, from code of conduct to affordable housing to the Council of Economic Advisors, that she’s sat on or chaired in addition to her Select Board work. Kaul’s site introduces him as a dedicated member of the Indian Community of Needham and supporter of multilingual education. In contrast with Frail’s site, there are no policy statements put forth.
With no political background — voting records show Kaul’s limited participation in Needham elections — Kaul points to the recent political energy that led to the repeal of Town Meeting’s MBTA Communities Act vote as a motivator in this election. “The historic Town-Wide Referendum Vote brought our community together in an incredible way!” says the site. And, “Residents deserve a meaningful voice in shaping Needham’s future.”
But the incumbent, Frail, is actively reminding voters that she’s not a one-dimensional candidate, and there’s reason to push back on the narrative that residents’ voices went unheard as the zoning plans were developed. The evidence? After numerous public meetings at which people spoke both for and against expanded zoning, the Town Meeting vote was a two-step process, giving the representatives the opportunity to approve a base plan and vote down the expanded option.
Still, to Frail, lesson learned: “In housing, obviously we made a mistake,” Frail said. “The only thing I [now] support going to Town Meeting is the base compliance plan. People were uncomfortable with the plan that was proposed, which is fine. But I do still think that we have a growing problem here in Needham with senior housing options and young adult housing options.”
Multifamily housing is part of a larger issue, Frail says. As incoming chair of Needham’s Council of Economic Advisors, she’s looking at ways to expand the tax base, from improving the business climate to increasing housing options. “There’s going to be a lot of financial pressure on the town to continue providing services at the level that we have while the money is drying up. In order to rectify that, the town needs to have some kind of new revenue stream or increased tax base. So it behooves the town to think about how all of these problems can simultaneously be improved.”
Kaul also emphasizes fiscal management, along with his statements to the Observer supporting the need to address climate change and diversity — areas of agreement with Frail. His professional background is in large-scale business accounting and personal finance, and he voices concern for long-time homeowners whose increased property values have led to higher taxes, requiring a cash outlay that will only be returned when they sell their property. When he talked about the issue in an interview, though, he focused on the cash outlay, not the larger economics. And even then, his assessment was not correct.
“From 2015-2025, residents’ taxes have gone up 150%,” he has said, both publicly and to the Observer. But in 2015, the average residential tax bill in Needham was $9,240. In 2025 it is $15,524, a 10-year increase of about 68% — roughly 6.8% per year — not 150%. In the meantime, inflation is up 34% over those 10 years and Needham residential property values have increased by 79%.
That issue aside, Needham voters are making their own calculations in this race. Both candidates sound optimistic. Tune in on Tuesday.
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