City Edition
Middlesex County
Woburn, Massachusetts
In the 1970s and 1980s, families in this city buried their children and could not understand why. The answer was in the water: two municipal wells laced with industrial poison, and a leukemia cluster that became one of the most famous environmental lawsuits in American history, told in the book and film A Civil Action. Woburn is a city that learned the hard way how much a local decision can matter, and how ordinary residents forced the powerful to answer. This guide shows you how Woburn works today: the people who run the city, the boards that shape your block, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.
The Woburn Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your city works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
Woburn at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Middlesex. Woburn sits about ten miles north of Boston, where Interstates 93 and 95 cross.
- Government: a strong-mayor charter. Mayor Michael Concannon has led the city since January 2024.
- Schools: Woburn Public Schools, about 4,300 students across ten schools, led by Superintendent Dr. Matthew T. Crowley.
How Woburn’s Government Works
Woburn runs on a strong-mayor charter that dates to 1897. Voters elect a Mayor to run the city and a nine-member City Council to make its laws, and they elect the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Mayor holds real executive power: appointing department heads, proposing the budget, and signing or vetoing what the Council passes.
The Mayor
The elected chief executive. Runs every department, appoints department heads and most board members, proposes the budget, and can veto Council ordinances.
City Council
The nine-member legislative body. Seven councillors are elected by ward and two at large. The Council passes ordinances, sets the tax rate, and adopts the budget.
School Committee
Seven members elected at large by Woburn voters. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the Mayor, the nine councillors, and the School Committee.
- The Mayor runs the city day to day and proposes the budget.
- The Council votes the budget and the ordinances up or down, and can override a veto.
- You take part: public comment, board service, and a call to your ward councillor all shape what happens next.
Explore the Woburn Edition
- Mayor’s OfficeThe city’s chief executive
- City CouncilYour nine councillors
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- City DepartmentsWho does what at City Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Woburn HistoryFrom Count Rumford to A Civil Action
- DemographicsWho lives in Woburn
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataWoburn Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- City Council: meets the first and third Tuesdays at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber, Woburn City Hall, 10 Common Street.
- School Committee: meets in the evening at the Joyce Middle School, 55 Locust Street.
- Municipal elections: odd-numbered years. The Mayor, Council, and School Committee were last 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 Middlesex County, and that includes Woburn. 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 Woburn
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own city. Here is how to go from a problem on your street to a voice in the room.
- Pick the right body. Streets, budgets, and ordinances go to the City Council. School questions go to the School Committee.
- Find the meeting. The Council meets the first and third Tuesdays at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 10 Common Street.
- Know your councillors. Seven represent a single ward and two are elected citywide; find which ward you live in before you go.
- Speak. Meetings include time for residents to be heard. Check the posted agenda for how to sign up.
- City Hall: 10 Common Street, Woburn, MA 01801. Main number 781-897-5800.
- Agendas & the Clerk: the City Clerk’s office posts agendas and minutes. Reach it at 781-897-5850.
- Public schools: Woburn Public Schools, woburnps.com.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your ward councillor, speak at a Tuesday 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 Woburn government website.