When it comes to celebrity watching, we like to elevate politicians and athletes alongside our exports to Hollywood. Gymnast Aly Raisman (top) basked in the spotlight as hometown ­hero in Needham and beyond with her gold-medal Olympic performance. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (right) put Belmont on the map when the former governor came home with his wife, Ann, to vote. And local residents embraced Brookline’s Joseph P. Kennedy III (left), whose election to Congress returned the storied family name to national politics.