Town Edition
Hampden County
Russell, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In 1965 Russell voted to stop running schools of its own and joined its hilltown neighbors in the Gateway Regional School District. That is why the bus crosses into Huntington every morning, and why Russell’s share of the Gateway budget gets argued out at open Town Meeting, in a room where any registered voter in town can stand up and go after the number. The room is small enough that it works: the by-law sets a quorum of five percent of Russell’s registered voters, which against the 1,347 names on the rolls is about 67 people. This guide shows you how to be one of them.
Russell at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Hampden. Russell spreads over just under 17.5 square miles of land along the Westfield River, where the water drops about 90 feet over three separate cascades and three mill villages grew up around them: Woronoco, Russell Village, and Crescent Mills.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three member Board of Selectmen that serves as the town’s executive. Wayne Precanico chairs the board.
- Schools: Russell belongs to the Gateway Regional School District, a six town district of about 721 students with schools in Huntington and Chester. Dr. Melissa Matarazzo is Superintendent.
How Russell’s Government Works
Russell runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Russell 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, three Light Commissioners who set the policy of the town’s own electric company, and Russell’s seats on the Gateway Regional School Committee. The Selectmen serve as the town’s chief executive officers: they set policy, approve the bills, make appointments to town boards and offices, and carry the town’s business between Town Meetings, working out of an office staffed by an administrative assistant rather than through an appointed administrator. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, and the direction and the daily work both belong to the board the voters elect.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Russell 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 at large to staggered three-year terms. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and serve as the town’s chief executive officers.
The Selectmen’s Office
The board’s own office at Town Hall, 65 Main Street, carries the town’s daily paperwork, staffed by an administrative assistant who works for the three elected members.
School Committee
The Gateway Regional School Committee holds 15 seats, elected by the voters of the six towns the district serves. Russell holds three of them. It sets school policy, approves the district budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 3 members of the Board of Selectmen, the Light Commission, and Russell’s seats on the Gateway Regional School Committee.
- The Board of Selectmen runs the town between meetings: it sets policy, decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant, and carries out what Town Meeting votes.
- 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 every other Tuesday from 6 to 8 in the evening at Town Hall, 65 Main Street, and each agenda is posted in advance on the town website.
- Town Meeting: the 2026 Annual Town Meeting was held on Monday, June 8 at 7 in the evening. The warrant is posted inside and outside Town Hall, at the Transfer Station, and at the library, at least seven days ahead.
- Town Caucus: Russell nominates its candidates for town office at a caucus. The 2026 caucus was held on Monday, April 13 at 7:30 in the evening, with public notice of the caucus warrant a week before.
- Town elections: the 2026 Annual Town Election was held on Monday, June 1, with the polls open from noon until 6 in the evening.
Explore the Russell Edition
- Selectmen’s OfficeThe board that runs the town
- 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.
- Russell HistoryThree mills on one river
- DemographicsWho lives in Russell
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataRussell 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 Hampden County, and that includes Russell. 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 Russell
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 licenses go to the Board of Selectmen. Schools go to the Gateway Regional School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting. Electric rates go to the Light Commission.
- Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets every other Tuesday from 6 to 8 in the evening at Town Hall, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All three Board of Selectmen members are elected at large, 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 the board takes public comment.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken sign, or a plowing problem to the Highway Department at 413-862-6222, which owns the repair.
- Town offices: 65 Main Street, Russell, MA 01071. Town Hall 413-862-3265, Board of Selectmen’s office 413-862-6200.
- Town Clerk & agendas: Town Clerk Kim Morgan, 413-862-6207, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at townofrussell.us.
- Public schools: Gateway Regional School District, 12 Littleville Road, Huntington, 413-685-1000, grsd.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Board of Selectmen, speak at a meeting on a Tuesday evening, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.