Town Edition
Norfolk County
Randolph, Massachusetts
Walk down North Main Street and you will hear Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, and Spanish before you reach the end of the block. Randolph is now one of the most diverse communities in Massachusetts: more than four in ten residents are Black, more than a third were born in another country, and the town that once made boots and shoes for the whole country has remade itself into something the rest of the state is still catching up to. In 2010 voters tore up a town-meeting system that had run Randolph for two centuries and replaced it with a Town Council and a hired manager. This guide shows you how that government works today: the manager who runs it, the nine councillors who set its rules, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the numbers behind it all.
The Randolph 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.
Randolph at a Glance
Sources: US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Norfolk. Randolph sits about 15 miles south of Boston, between Braintree, Holbrook, Stoughton, Canton, and Milton.
- Government: Council-manager charter, adopted in 2010. A 9-member Town Council makes policy and an appointed Town Manager, Brian P. Howard, runs the town. There is no mayor.
- Schools: Randolph Public Schools, six schools serving about 2,875 students, led by Superintendent Dr. Thea Stovell Herndon.
How Randolph’s Government Works
For more than two hundred years Randolph governed itself the old New England way: an open town meeting where any registered voter could show up and vote, with a board of selectmen in between. In 2010 voters retired that system and adopted a council-manager charter. Now you elect a nine-member Town Council to write the rules and set the budget, and the Council hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. You also elect a School Committee. No mayor sits at the top, and no single name on the ballot controls everything. Power is split on purpose between the people you elect and the manager they hire.
Town Council
The 9-member legislative body. Five councillors are elected at large and four represent the four districts, one apiece. The Council passes ordinances, sets policy, and votes the budget up or down.
Town Manager
The appointed chief executive. Hired by the Council, the manager runs every department, appoints department heads, and prepares the budget the Council votes on. The manager has no veto and no separate mandate from voters.
School Committee
Elected members set policy and the budget for Randolph Public Schools and hire the superintendent. One seat is filled by a member of the Town Council.
- Residents elect the nine councillors and the School Committee.
- The Council hires a Town Manager and votes the budget up or down.
- The Manager runs the town day to day and proposes the budget.
- You take part: public comment, board service, and a call to your district councillor all shape what happens next.
Explore the Randolph Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief executive
- Town CouncilYour nine councillors
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Randolph HistoryFrom a Braintree parish to a global town
- DemographicsWho lives in Randolph
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataRandolph schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Town Council: meets twice a month on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM in Chapin Hall on the second floor of Town Hall, 41 South Main Street.
- School Committee: meets in the evening, with agendas posted by Randolph Public Schools.
- Municipal elections: the whole Town Council runs together every two years. The current councillors were chosen in November 2025.
- 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 Norfolk County, and that includes Randolph. 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 Randolph
You do not need to be old enough to vote to change something in your town. Here is how to go from a problem on your street to a voice in the room where it gets decided.
- Pick the right body. A pothole or a permit is a job for the Town Manager and the departments. A new rule, a budget choice, or a town policy is the Town Council. Anything about your classroom, your bus, or your school is the School Committee.
- Find the meeting. The Town Council meets twice a month on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM in Chapin Hall on the second floor of Town Hall, 41 South Main Street. Agendas are posted ahead of time.
- Know your councillors. Five councillors represent the whole town at large and four represent the four districts. Find out who covers your street so you can write or call the right person.
- Speak. Show up to a meeting, sign up for public comment, and say your piece. A specific story about your own neighborhood lands harder than any talking point.
- Town Council: reach the council office at 781-961-0918 for agendas, meeting times, and to find your district councillor.
- Randolph Public Schools / School Committee: bring school issues to the elected School Committee, which sets policy and the budget for every Randolph school.
- Town Clerk: Cheryl Sass and the Clerk’s office handle meeting agendas, voter registration, and elections. Registrars: 781-961-0901.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your district councillor, speak at a Monday meeting, or apply to serve on a board.
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 Randolph government website.