Town Edition
Bristol County
Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Dartmouth was where you went when the Puritans would not leave you alone. Quakers fleeing persecution in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay settled here in the 1650s and 1660s, and the town was incorporated in 1664 on land Plymouth Colony had bought from the Wampanoag leader Massasoit. Old Dartmouth was enormous: New Bedford, Fairhaven, Acushnet and Westport all sat inside it before they broke away. What remains is a town of about 33,783 people that still runs on town meeting, with a Select Board of five that reorganizes itself every spring. In April 2026 it took two separate votes to settle who would chair it. That argument was held in public, in a room you can sit in, and this guide shows you how to get there.
Dartmouth at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Bristol. Dartmouth runs from the Padanaram waterfront on Apponagansett Bay north to the UMass Dartmouth campus, with farmland still working in between.
- Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, Cody Haddad.
- Schools: Dartmouth Public Schools, about 3,243 students, led by Superintendent June Saba-Maguire.
How Dartmouth’s Government Works
Dartmouth runs on a representative Town Meeting, an old New England form scaled up for a big town. Voters in each precinct elect Town Meeting members, and those neighbors hold 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 Administrator to run the town day to day. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Administrator carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. Members elected from the precincts adopt the annual budget, pass town bylaws, and approve major spending. It is the closest thing to direct democracy at scale.
Select Board
Five members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign warrants, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Administrator.
Town Administrator
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 Town Meeting members, the five Select Board members, and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: run for Town Meeting at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets on a published 2026 calendar at Town Hall, 400 Slocum Road. Most meetings start at 6:00pm, and the town posts the exceptions on the same calendar, so check it before you go.
- Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its main session in the spring and can be called back in the fall for special business.
- Town elections: Dartmouth votes in the spring. The 2026 annual town election was held on April 7, and the Select Board reorganized on April 13. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Dartmouth Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Dartmouth HistoryQuakers, whaling, and Padanaram
- DemographicsWho lives in Dartmouth
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataDartmouth Public Schools by the numbers
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 Bristol County, and that includes Dartmouth. 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 Dartmouth
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets on a published 2026 calendar at Town Hall, 400 Slocum Road, most meetings starting at 6:00pm, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. Five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and carried on Zoom, and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 400 Slocum Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747. Select Board office 508-910-1813.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-910-1800, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at dartmouthma.gov.
- Public schools: Dartmouth Public Schools, 508-997-3391, dartmouth.school.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.