Town Edition
Essex County
Nahant, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
On a Saturday in May 2021, Nahant’s open Town Meeting voted 647 to 271 to take about 12 acres of Northeastern University’s oceanfront land at East Point by eminent domain for conservation and public use, then voted 575 to 98 to borrow $1.5 million to help pay for it. Those raised hands sent the smallest town in Massachusetts by land area into a case that reached the Supreme Judicial Court, where the justices heard arguments in February 2026. That is what direct democracy looks like when a town of one square mile decides to act. This guide shows you how to get into the room.
Nahant at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Essex. Nahant is a rocky peninsula reaching into Massachusetts Bay northeast of Boston, joined to the mainland at Lynn by a causeway and a long barrier beach. With about one square mile of land it is the smallest town by area in the Commonwealth.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Board of Selectmen and an appointed Town Administrator, Alison Nieto.
- Schools: the Nahant School District, a single school of about 175 students, led by Superintendent Robert Liebow.
How Nahant’s Government Works
Nahant runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Nahant is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 3 member Board of Selectmen to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Board of Selectmen 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 Board of Selectmen, 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 Nahant is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Board of Selectmen
3 members elected town-wide. 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 Board of Selectmen. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
5 members, elected town-wide by the voters of Nahant. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 3 members of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.
- The Board of Selectmen 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
- Board of Selectmen: meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at Nahant Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road. 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. Any registered voter may attend and vote in person.
- Town elections: Nahant holds its annual town election in late April. The 2026 election was held on April 25, and 646 ballots were cast. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Nahant Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Board of SelectmenYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Nahant HistoryFrom part of Lynn to a town of its own, 1853
- DemographicsWho lives in Nahant
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataNahant 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 Essex County, and that includes Nahant. 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 Nahant
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 Board of Selectmen. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at Nahant Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All three Board of Selectmen 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 Hall: 334 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA 01908. Board of Selectmen office 781-581-0088.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 781-581-0018, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at nahant.org.
- Public schools: the Nahant School District, 781-581-1600, johnsonschool.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Board of Selectmen, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.