Town Edition
Plymouth County
Marion, Massachusetts
Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In 2018 the residents who filled Town Meeting killed a $7.9 million plan to rebuild the 1876 Marion Town House, 214 votes to 120. Seven years later the same town said yes to a leaner $3.3 million version and agreed to add about $65 a year to their own tax bills for accessibility, fire suppression and heat, which is why the building on Spring Street is a construction site right now. That is how Marion settles its biggest questions: not in a mayor’s office, but on the floor of an open Town Meeting where any registered voter can stand up and vote. This guide shows you how to get into that room.
Marion at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Plymouth. Marion sits on Sippican Harbor, a protected anchorage on Buzzards Bay, and grew out of the old village of Sippican, which broke away from Rochester in 1852.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, Geoffrey Gorman.
- Schools: the Marion School Committee runs Sippican School for Pre-K through grade 6; grades 7 through 12 belong to the Old Rochester Regional district, shared with Mattapoisett and Rochester, under Superintendent Michael S. Nelson.
How Marion’s Government Works
Marion runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Marion is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a three-member Select Board to set policy between meetings and a School Committee that runs the town’s own elementary school. The Select Board hires a professional Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Administrator.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Marion is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
Three members elected town-wide, who also sit as the town’s Water and Sewer Commissioners. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town 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
The Marion School Committee, five members elected town-wide, oversees Sippican School for Pre-K through grade 6. Grades 7 through 12 are run by the Old Rochester Regional committee, shared with Mattapoisett and Rochester.
- Residents elect the three members of the Select Board and the five members of the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets at 6 pm on the first and third Tuesdays of the month; the agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting was held on May 11, 2026 at Sippican School.
- Town elections: Marion votes in the spring, with Select Board, Moderator and School Committee seats carrying three-year terms. The next annual election is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Marion 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.
- Marion HistorySippican, sea captains, and 1852
- DemographicsWho lives in Marion
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataMarion 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 Plymouth County, and that includes Marion. 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 Marion
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 at 6 pm on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All three Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public 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 House: 2 Spring Street, Marion, MA 02738. Select Board office 508-748-3520.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-748-3502, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at marionma.gov.
- Public schools: Sippican School and the Marion School Committee (Superintendent’s office 508-758-2772), with grades 7 through 12 at Old Rochester Regional, oldrochester.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.