Andover, Massachusetts

Your town runs on a form of government older than the United States: open Town Meeting, where any registered voter can walk in, take the floor, and vote on the town budget line by line. Andover is the largest town in Massachusetts that still governs itself this way. It is also home to Phillips Academy, founded in 1778, and in the witch hysteria of 1692 it saw more of its own residents accused than almost any town but Salem. This guide shows you how Andover works today: Town Meeting, the five-member Select Board, the appointed Town Manager, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.

The Andover 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.

Read the Handbook →

Andover at a Glance

36,569Residents (2020)

1646Incorporated

5Select Board Members

5,346Students

Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).

County: Essex. Andover sits in the Merrimack Valley, north of Boston, between Lawrence and the New Hampshire line, crossed by the Shawsheen and Merrimack rivers.
Government: open Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Andrew P. Flanagan, who has run the town since 2016.
Schools: Andover Public Schools, about 5,346 students across 10 schools, led by Superintendent Keith Taverna.

How Andover’s Government Works

Andover runs on open Town Meeting, the oldest form of democracy in New England, and it is the largest town in the state still using the open version, where any registered voter can attend, speak, and vote, not just elected delegates. Town Meeting holds the final vote on the budget and the bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Select Board to set policy and a School Committee to oversee the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. The levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Manager carries it out.

Town Meeting

The legislative body. Every registered voter may attend, debate, and vote on the annual budget, the bylaws, and major spending. It is direct democracy, in person.

Select Board

Five members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign warrants, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager.

Town Manager

The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.

School Committee

Five members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.

Residents elect the five Select Board members and the School Committee.
The Select Board hires the Town Manager and sets town policy.
Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
You take part: speak at a Select Board meeting, or attend and vote at open Town Meeting once you turn 18.

Explore the Andover Edition

Civic Calendar

Select Board: meets on Monday evenings, generally twice a month, at the Town Offices, 36 Bartlet Street. Meetings are open to the public.
Town Meeting: the open Annual Town Meeting convenes in the spring. In 2026 it began on April 28 at the Collins Center for the Performing Arts at Andover High School.
Town elections: Andover votes in late March. The 2026 town election was held March 24. The next is in March 2027.
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 Essex County, and that includes Andover. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.

District Attorney, Essex District

Paul F. Tucker

In office since 2023
Official site

Sheriff, Essex County

Kevin F. Coppinger

In office since 2017
Official site

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.

Officials for any Massachusetts town

Your First Civic Action in Andover

You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in Andover. Here is how to take a real issue from your kitchen table to the people who decide it.

Pick the right body. Town Meeting passes the budget and the bylaws, the Select Board sets policy and hires the Town Manager, and the School Committee runs the schools. Match your issue to the body that controls it.
Find the meeting. The Select Board meets Monday evenings at the Town Offices, 36 Bartlet Street. Agendas are posted in advance at andoverma.gov.
Know your members. Read the names and contacts on the Select Board and School Committee pages of this guide before you go, so you know who you are speaking to.
Speak. Most meetings include time for public comment. Check the posted agenda for how to sign up, then say your piece in plain words.
Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken streetlight, or a missed pickup online through Andover Central 311 and the Public Works request form at andoverma.gov.

Town Offices: 36 Bartlet Street, Andover, MA 01810. Select Board office 978-623-8200.
Town Clerk & agendas: 978-623-8230, with meeting agendas posted at andoverma.gov.
Andover Public Schools: 978-247-7000, aps1.net.

Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Monday meeting, or take the floor at Town Meeting.

Meet Your Select Board

Take Action in Your Town

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 Andover government website.