Lexington, Massachusetts

You live in the town where the American Revolution began. At dawn on April 19, 1775, about seventy militiamen from your town lined up on Lexington Green and faced hundreds of British regulars, and the first shots of the war were fired a few hundred feet from the road you still walk down today. That is not a museum exhibit you visit on a field trip. It is the same ground, the same town, the same argument about who gets to govern. Lexington still runs on the oldest form of self-rule in New England: a Town Meeting of nearly two hundred elected residents, a five-member Select Board, and a professional Town Manager the town hires to steer it. This guide shows you how all of it works, and exactly where you fit.

The Lexington 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 →

Lexington at a Glance

34,454Residents (2020)

1713Incorporated

5Select Board Members

6,524Students

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

County: Middlesex. Lexington sits about ten miles northwest of Boston, strung along Massachusetts Avenue, the same road the British marched down in 1775.
Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Steve Bartha, who has run the town since the fall of 2024.
Schools: Lexington Public Schools, about 6,524 students across roughly ten schools, led by Superintendent Dr. Julie Hackett.

How Lexington’s Government Works

Lexington runs on a representative Town Meeting, the old New England form scaled up for a large suburb. Voters in each of the town’s nine precincts elect Town Meeting members, nearly two hundred in all, 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 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. Members elected from nine 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, grant licenses, 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 Town Meeting members, 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: run for Town Meeting at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.

Explore the Lexington Edition

Civic Calendar

Select Board: meets on scheduled Monday evenings at the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, and the meetings are open to the public.
Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its annual session in the spring and can be called back for special sessions when the town’s business demands it.
Town elections: Lexington votes in early March. The 2026 town election was held in March. 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 Middlesex County, and that includes Lexington. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.

District Attorney, Middlesex District

Marian T. Ryan

In office since 2012
Official site

Sheriff, Middlesex County

Peter J. Koutoujian

In office since 2011
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 Lexington

You do not have to wait until you turn eighteen to be part of how this town runs. Here is a concrete path from curious to involved.

Pick one thing you would change in Lexington: a crosswalk, a school schedule, a field, a bus route, a budget line.
Find out who decides it. Most town services run through a department that answers to the Town Manager; school questions run through the School Committee.
Read the agenda. The Select Board posts its agendas and minutes before every Monday meeting, so you can see what is coming up.
Show up and speak. Select Board and School Committee meetings are public, and residents are allowed to comment.
Bring people. Ask a Town Meeting member from your precinct to carry the issue, or plan to run for a Town Meeting seat yourself at eighteen.

Where it happens: the Select Board meets in the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue.
Clerk and elections: the Office of the Lexington Town Clerk handles voter registration, agendas, and town records. Registrars: 781-698-4558.
Public schools: Lexington Public Schools, central office 781-861-2580, lexingtonma.org.

Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Monday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.

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 Lexington government website.