Running for Office in Concord

Running for Office in Concord

Last Updated August 2025

The League of Women Voters of Concord-Carlisle created this guide as a resource for Concord residents interested in running for local office. While we’ve made every effort to ensure the information is accurate, procedures and requirements may change. Please consult official sources for the most up-to-date details.

Concord Town Government

Concord is governed by an Open Town Meeting at which all registered voters residing in the Town may vote on local bylaws, the Town budget, and other matters affecting local taxes and the quality of life. The town of Concord’s current form of government was established in 1956 by a charter accepted by the voters and approved by the state legislature.

Under the Charter:

  • The Select Board, a five-member body elected by voters, sets administrative policy and appoints a Town Manager to oversee daily operations.
  • A five-member School Committee, also elected by voters, sets school policies carried out by a Superintendent they appoint.
  • The Town Moderator, elected annually, presides over Town Meeting and appoints the Finance Committee, which reviews budgets and makes recommendations to Town Meeting.
  • The Concord Housing Authority includes four elected members and one gubernatorial appointee, overseeing state and federal low-income housing programs.

Municipal elections in Concord are nonpartisan, and all elected officials serve without compensation.

Elective Offices

The Town Moderator, who is elected annually, conducts the Town Meeting, which includes establishing the protocols for speaking at the Meeting, assisting citizens with developing motions to be presented, reviewing the physical preparations,  coordinating the presentations, then presiding at the Meeting. He or she recognizes speakers, keeps them within time limits, follows parliamentary procedure, and declares all votes. Parliamentary procedure is defined in a handbook titled "TownMeetingTime." The official record of the Meeting is kept by the Town Clerk. In addition to the Town Meeting, the Moderator has the important task of appointing members to the Finance Committee. This committee sets budget guidelines, reviews the Town and School budgets, and makes recommendations to Town Meeting on all expenditure items.

The Concord Select Board serves as the Town’s primary policy-making body, shaping a wide range of issues that affect the Town’s development and delivery of services. Members are elected to three-year terms and work closely with the Town Manager, Town staff, and other boards and committees to implement actions taken by Town Meeting and to develop new initiatives.

The Select Board administers the Town’s bylaws and budget, recommends the budget to the Annual Town Meeting, and calls Town elections. Along with the Finance Committee and Planning Board, the Board holds public hearings and makes recommendations on zoning bylaws, the Town budget, and other matters. It sets the annual tax rate, provides oversight on litigation matters, and approves the reorganization of Town departments.

The Board appoints permanent and ad hoc boards and committees, approves certain appointments made by the Town Manager, and appoints the Town’s representative to the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District. It also enacts Rules and Regulations on matters such as traffic control, underground wiring, and street lighting, and serves as the licensing authority for a wide variety of licenses and permits. The Select Board may participate with the Town Manager in collective bargaining negotiations and is responsible for acquiring title to land approved for purchase by Town Meeting. The Board also represents the Town on various regional agencies.

School Committee Members, elected for three-year terms, serve on both the Concord Public School Committee and the Concord Carlisle Regional School District Committee. They work closely with the Superintendent of Schools and staff in developing the annual budget and addressing school policy matters. They approve the budget, which is then presented to Town Meeting. The Town Meeting can vote only on the total budget appropriation, not on individual school budget figures.

The School Committee provides guidance and consent to the Superintendent on matters such as school programs and schedules, develops long-range plans, and makes recommendations to the Town Meeting regarding repairs, renovations, or replacement of school buildings. All personnel matters are under the direction of the Superintendent; however, School Committee members participate with the Director of Personnel in negotiating with the collective bargaining associations within the school system.

By tradition, Select Board and School Committee members serve no more than two terms.

Housing Authority Commissioners, who serve five-year terms, set policy for implementing state and federal subsidized low-income housing programs in Concord. They appoint an executive director who handles all day-to-day administration and management of the existing housing units. They serve as advocates for building additional subsidized low-income housing in Concord and take an active role in decision-making about planning and construction.

Nomination

Concord’s Town Election cycle starts with the Town Caucus, which is held in January. The Town Caucus is an integral part of Concord’s tradition of grassroots democracy. It is open to all registered voters in Concord who gather to nominate candidates to fill vacancies in the Town’s elective offices – Moderator, Select Board, School Committee members, and Housing Authority Commissioners.

The Caucus can nominate two candidates for each open seat. Nomination speeches are given by supporters of each candidate. No prior notice is necessary. A candidate may even make his or her own nomination speech. For each open seat, the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes will appear on the ballot as Caucus Nominees. To be nominated, a candidate must receive at least 8% of the votes of the persons present and voting. Candidates who are not nominated at the Caucus may have their names placed on the ballot by collecting at least 50 valid signatures of Concord voters on nomination papers available at the Town Clerk’s office and by filing these papers with the Town Clerk 35 days before the Town Election. If you've missed the Caucus and Nomination Paper deadline, you may still run a write-in campaign. The Town Election is held in March or April.

Learn more about Town Caucus

Campaign Finance

Under the state campaign finance law (Chapter 55 of the Massachusetts General Laws), all candidates for municipal office must file campaign finance reports with the Town Clerk on the 8th day preceding the election, on the 30th day after the election, and on January 20th of the following year (with certain exceptions). Incumbents must file annually as long as they hold office. Reporting forms are available from the Town Clerk’s office. The total amounts of contributions and expenditures during the reporting period must be listed, along with the names of all donors who contributed more than $50 and all disbursements exceeding $50. Contributions by an individual to a candidate or a candidate’s committee are limited to $500 in a calendar year. Contributions from corporations are prohibited. There is no limitation on what candidates can spend from their personal funds. In recent years, candidates in contested Town elections have spent on average between $4,000 and $8,000; however, some candidate budgets have ranged from as low as $2,000 to as high as $20,000.

A candidate may choose to establish a campaign committee to accept contributions and make expenditures. The candidate then selects a treasurer and a chair, although the treasurer and chairman may be the same person. Before the committee accepts any contributions or makes any expenditures, the treasurer, chair (if applicable), and the candidate must sign a Statement of Organization to be filed with the Town Clerk. They then open a business checking account to deposit contributions and make disbursements. All expenditures should be made by check. For further information, candidates are encouraged to consult the “Campaign Finance Guide,” available on the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance's website.

Visit the OCPF website

Campaigning

Most candidates set up a website with information about their campaign and may choose to utilize social media and email newsletter tools to further promote their candidacy.

Candidates usually engage with potential supporters and voters by holding coffees in the homes of supporters or at non-governmental public locations to build support and raise funds. Support for a candidate can include hosting coffee events, making contributions, writing letters of support to the editor of TheConcordBridge, signing campaign advertisements to be published in TheConcordBridge, placing signs on one's property, and holding signs at visible locations before the election and at polling places on election day.

The Concord Bridge publishes articles announcing all candidacies. Closer to the election, The Concord Bridge usually prints articles about each of the candidates and their answers to questions posed by the newspaper. In addition, The Concord Bridge usually offers candidates the option to publish a ‘supporter list’ ad. Candidates should refer to The Concord Bridge’s policy for political advertisement. The policy may vary from year to year, so please ensure you request the most up-to-date guidelines.

Prior to the election, the Concord-Carlisle League of Women Voters hosts a candidates' forum, usually held in person and also broadcast on the local cable station, Minuteman Media Network (MMN) TV Channel 8 or 9, and available via Zoom. A recording is made available via the MMN and LWVCC YouTube Channels. Other local organizations, such as the Council on Aging, may also hold candidate forums, so candidates can expect to participate in debates on multiple occasions.

In a contested election, the candidate or campaign committee may decide to have lawn signs, postcards, or bumper stickers printed. Political lawn signs must not obstruct traffic or visibility. The placement of political signs on public property in front of a candidate’s or supporter’s home does not require Town approval, provided that the sign meets certain criteria, as outlined in the Regulations Governing Private Signs on Public Property, APP #48. Posting of signs on municipal property is generally prohibited and only allowed on the fences of Emerson Field and the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, after approval by the Town. Please refer to APP #48 available on the Town of Concord website for more details. It is tradition in Concord for the candidate to offer to collect signs from supporters shortly after the election.

Political advertisements must show the name and address of the responsible person or of the campaign committee and its chair.

Voter Registration and Voting

Information about voter registration and ways to vote, including in-person voting, mail-in, and absentee voting, can be found on the following websites:

You can also contact the Concord Town Clerk’s office for questions. The clerk’s office phone number is 978-318-3080 or you can reach the office via email (townclerk [at] concordma.gov ()).

On Election Day

For most elections, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Supporters may hold signs or distribute leaflets, provided they are at least 150 feet away from the entrance to the polling place. No signs, literature, campaign buttons, or campaign T-shirts may be visible within the 150-foot area, and no electioneering may take place there. Inside the polling place, supporters may observe the voting process, including the counting of ballots after the polls close, as long as they are not within the actual voting area and do not disturb the voting or counting. When the vote count is completed, the election results are posted first at each polling place, and the candidates’ supporters may view them and copy the results. The totals from each precinct are then reported to the Town Clerk’s office, and supporters may receive the final results there. The final results are also posted on the town’s website once they become available. 

Resources

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