Wellesley, Massachusetts

Wellesley is governed by a legislature of its own neighbors. Not a city council of nine, not a board of five, but a Town Meeting of 240 representatives elected from every precinct, who sit down and vote the town budget line by line. The town exists because residents of what was then western Needham got tired of being the far half of somewhere else and voted themselves out in 1880. They have been taking their own government unusually seriously ever since. An appointed executive runs Wellesley day to day and a five member Select Board sets policy, but the money is voted by people who live on your street, and the seats are not hard to win. This guide shows you how Wellesley works and where you can push on it.

Wellesley at a Glance

29,550Residents (2020)

1881Incorporated

240Town Meeting Members

3,922Students

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

County: Norfolk. Wellesley lies west of Boston, its open spaces running from Morses Pond and Lake Waban to the Charles River along the town’s eastern edge.
Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Executive Director of General Government Services, Meghan C. Jop, who has run Town Hall day to day since 2019.
Schools: Wellesley Public Schools, about 3,900 students across nine schools, led by Dr. David Lussier, the Superintendent.

How Wellesley’s Government Works

Wellesley runs on a representative Town Meeting, an old New England form scaled up for a town too big to fit everyone in one room. Voters in each precinct elect their neighbors as Town Meeting members, 240 of them in all, and those members hold the final vote on the budget and the town’s bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Select Board to set policy and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional administrator to run the town day to day, and Wellesley gives that job its own name: the Executive Director of General Government Services, the position a town manager holds in most Massachusetts towns. The levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Executive Director carries it out.

Town Meeting

The legislative body. Its 240 members, elected by precinct, 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 to staggered three-year terms. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Executive Director.

Executive Director

The appointed chief administrator, formally the Executive Director of General Government Services. Runs Town Hall, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Appointed, 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 from their own precinct, the five Select Board members, and the School Committee.
The Select Board hires the Executive Director and sets town policy.
Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
You take part: run for Town Meeting from your precinct at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.

Civic Calendar

Select Board: meets most weeks, usually on a Tuesday evening, at Town Hall, 525 Washington Street. Meetings are open to the public and agendas are posted in advance.
Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting convenes its annual session in the spring (by town bylaw it opens between late March and the end of May) and can be called back for special sessions.
Town elections: Wellesley holds its Annual Town Election in March, filling Town Meeting seats and town-wide offices on staggered terms.
State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.

Explore the Wellesley Edition

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 Wellesley. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.

District Attorney, Norfolk District

Michael W. Morrissey

In office since 2011
Official site

Sheriff, Norfolk County

Patrick W. McDermott

In office since 2015
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 Wellesley

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 most weeks, usually on a Tuesday evening, at Town Hall, 525 Washington Street, and the agenda is posted in advance.
Know your members. Five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you. So do the Town Meeting members elected from your own precinct.
Speak. Meetings are open to the public, and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.

Town Hall: 525 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482. Select Board office 781-431-1019 ext. 2201.
Town Clerk & agendas: 781-431-1019 ext. 2252, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at wellesleyma.gov.
Public schools: Wellesley Public Schools, wellesleyps.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

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