Town Edition
Hampshire County
Amherst, Massachusetts
Emily Dickinson wrote almost all of her roughly 1,800 poems in a house you can still visit on Main Street, and she barely left town to do it. Amherst is a place that small holding three colleges at once: the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College, and Hampshire College together pack tens of thousands of students into a town of about 39,000, which is why the median resident here is barely out of their teens. This guide shows you how Amherst works today: the manager who runs it, the council that makes its rules, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.
The Amherst Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your town works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
Amherst at a Glance
Sources: US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Hampshire. Amherst sits in the Pioneer Valley, east of the Connecticut River, in the heart of western Massachusetts.
- Government: Council-manager charter, adopted in 2018. A 13-member Town Council makes policy and an appointed Town Manager, Paul Bockelman, runs the town.
- Schools: two districts, the Amherst elementary schools and the Amherst-Pelham Regional middle and high school, both led by Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman.
How Amherst’s Government Works
In 2018 Amherst voters retired representative town meeting, a form of government the town had used for generations, and adopted a council-manager charter. Voters now elect a 13-member Town Council to make the rules and set the budget, and the Council hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. Voters also elect a School Committee. There is no mayor here, and no one person on a ballot who runs everything. Power is split on purpose between the people you elect and the manager they hire.
Town Council
The 13-member legislative body. Three councillors are elected at large and ten represent the five districts, two apiece. The Council passes bylaws, sets policy, and adopts the budget.
Town Manager
The appointed chief executive. Hired by the Council, the manager runs every department, appoints department heads, and prepares the budget the Council votes on.
School Committee
Elected members set policy and the budget for the schools and hire the superintendent. Amherst has two committees, one for the elementary district and a regional one for the secondary schools.
- Residents elect the 13 councillors and the School Committee.
- The Council hires a Town Manager and votes the budget up or down.
- The Manager runs the town day to day and proposes the budget.
- You take part: public comment, board service, and a call to your district councillor all shape what happens next.
Explore the Amherst Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief executive
- Town CouncilYour thirteen councillors
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Amherst HistoryFrom the Norwottuck to a college town
- DemographicsWho lives in Amherst
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataAmherst schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Town Council: generally meets the first and third Mondays at 6:30 PM in the Town Room at Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Avenue.
- School Committee: meets in the evening, and its sessions are aired on Amherst Media.
- Municipal elections: odd-numbered years. The Town Council and School Committee were last chosen in November 2025 and sworn in this past January.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Hampshire County, and that includes Amherst. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Amherst
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard. Amherst is run by people who hold public meetings a few blocks from where you live, and there is a clear path from “I care about this” to “I said it on the record to the people who decide.” Here is how to walk it, using rooms and phone numbers that are already open to you.
- Pick the right body. A park, a road, a pothole, your taxes, or a line in the town budget is Town Council territory. Your school, a class, a program, or the school calendar belongs to the School Committee.
- Find the meeting. The Town Council generally meets the first and third Mondays at 6:30 PM in the Town Room at Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Avenue. The School Committee meets in the evening, with sessions aired on Amherst Media. Agendas post in advance on the town website at amherstma.gov.
- Know your councillors. Amherst has thirteen Town Councillors: three elected at large by the whole town and ten who represent the five districts, two apiece, including one tied to your own neighborhood. Reach the Council office at 413-259-3001 or email the full body at towncouncil@amherstma.gov.
- Speak. Both the Town Council and the School Committee open their meetings to public comment. You check the agenda for the sign-up procedure, you get your minutes, and you say your piece on the record.
- Town Hall (main line): 413-259-3333
- Town Clerk (records, voter registration, elections): 413-259-3035
- Amherst Regional Public Schools: 413-362-1810, arps.org
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your district councillor, speak at a Monday meeting, or apply to serve on a board.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed July 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official Amherst government website.