How to run for local office in Lexington

Lexington’s annual town election is slated for March 3 and several major office positions and Town Meeting member seats are open. 

Each precinct has at least seven Town Meeting member seats open, most of which are for three-year terms, but a few of which are for two and one year terms. 

There are two openings on the Select Board, each for three years, one opening for Moderator for one year, two openings on the School Committee for three years and one opening for two years, one opening on the Planning Board for three years, and one opening on the Housing Authority for five years. 

There are several campaign deadlines in the first few weeks of the new year, so if you’re considering running for local office, here is how to do so: 

To run for an elected position in town, you must be 18 years or older by the date of the election and an active registered voter of Lexington. Your voter registration will remain active as long as your household responds to the annual town census, which is mailed out at the beginning of every year. You also have to be a born citizen of the United States or have gained citizenship through naturalization. 

You must provide a written statement with your name, address, and the elected position you intend to run for to Mary de Alderete, Lexington’s Town Clerk. 

Once the Board of Registrars certifies your voter registration, you must obtain nomination papers from de Alderete’s office, which is in the town office building next to Cary Hall, by 5 pm on Jan. 9. Those nomination papers will ask for your name, address, and whether you’re running as an incumbent. There is also space for signatures of residents in support of your campaign on those papers. 

Candidates running for Select Board, Moderator, School Committee, Planning Board and the Housing Authority must garner at least 50 signatures from people who are registered to vote in Lexington. Candidates running for those positions can get a list of registered voters in Lexington to help obtain qualified signatures. 

People running for Town Meeting for the first time need to get at least 10 signatures from residents who are registered to vote in the precinct in which the candidate resides and is seeking nomination to represent. Town Meeting candidates may obtain a list of registered voters in their precinct to help that process. 

If you’re running for re-election for Town Meeting, you do not need to obtain signatures. You must, however, file your intent to run for re-election with the Town Clerk by 5 pm on Jan. 6.

Once you’ve filled out the nomination papers and have the necessary signatures, you must submit those papers to the Board of Registrars. After the Board of Registrars has certified those papers, you must submit those nomination papers to the Town Clerk by 5 pm on Jan. 13. 

If you’re running for any position in local office other than Town Meeting, you must adhere to the state’s guidelines for financing a political campaign. Once de Alderete obtains a candidate’s nomination papers, her office will send them a packet of finance forms which must be filled out and filed to her office before a candidate can accept or spend any financial contributions. Candidates must disclose all of the contributions received and expenditures made. 

A candidate has until Jan. 29 to withdraw from running.