Hannah Belcher has been a highly visible official at town civic and social events large and small during her term as the Precinct 3 councilor.
Belcher, 35, is now seeking the highest profile position in Winthrop town government, having pulled papers Monday at Town Hall for Council President in the Nov. 4, 2025 election.
“Monday was the first day to pull papers and I wanted to get the campaign started right away,” said Belcher. “I’ve told all my colleagues on the Council about my intentions.”
Belcher said she is proud of her own record as a councilor and the collaborative efforts of the entire council during the past three years.
“We have made good progress on transportation with the MBTA’s adoption of the ferry as well as the continued pressure on the MBTA to provide an equitable level of service and attention to Winthrop,” said Belcher. “The successful debt override for the firehouse and overrides for the schools were a big win for the town, and it’s the Council’s roles to use that momentum to continue to bring improvements to public safety and education.”
Addressing the financial condition of the town, Belcher said, “For many years, town leadership has made decisions with the best intentions in mind, but over time it has become evident that there is room for more forward thinking in our approach to finance. We can’t do anything about the cost of living increasing but we can make it easier to plan, and I don’t know that we have a lot of policies in place that make the cost of living in Winthrop predictable.”
Belcher said she is also pleased to have played a role in “the implementation of a five-year capital plan as part of our regular budget process.”
“We also have an inventory of town assets through the software that we use now and we’re updating the Council rules and procedures right now to make them clearer and transparent,” noted Belcher.
Belcher said she will continue to be present at all town events, stating, “I think that’s an important part of the job.” She has begun collecting signatures for her nomination papers “and trying to get a pulse on what people are looking for in the next iteration of the Council, what direction they want the town to go in, and what’s important to people.”
A 2008 graduate of Winthrop High School, Belcher holds a graduate degree in Psychology from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in Communications from Suffolk University. She works in the Physics Department at Harvard.
Hannah’s father and stepmother, David Belcher and Carol Belcher, are active members of the community. Her mother, Catherine, is a resident of Salem, but lived in Winthrop until several years ago.
Her younger sister, Abby Belcher, was an outstanding athlete for the Winthrop High School Vikings and a softball star at Norwich University where she was an honor graduate and earned the Leadership Award. She served in the United States Army, retiring as a captain.
“Abby is my campaign treasurer,” Hannah said proudly. “It’s very special to be doing this with the help of my family. It means a lot to both of us to be involved in a community that our family has been a part of since the 1600s.”