Run for Office 2025
Thank you for your interest in running for office and serving our community. This page will help you find information related to running for local office in 2025, including dates, deadlines, and helpful resources. Check back frequently as information will be posted to this page as it becomes available.
Any registered voter in Sudbury has the right to run for local office. Boards and committees do not choose who may run to join them. You can learn more about your right to run and the steps for running here and here.
You can find information about campaign finance here. In the program, Jason Tait of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance demystifies the campaign finance filing requirements and process and offers tips, tricks, and tools to make campaign finance filings easier.
There are 14 open positions including seats on the Select Board, Sudbury School Committee, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Committee, Board of Assessors, Goodnow Library Trustees, Board of Health, Park and Recreation Commission, and Planning Board. Learn more here.
Each year, the LWV Sudbury includes a "save the date" for the Candidates' Forum recordings and the Meet the Candidates event in the nomination packet that prospective candidates receive from the Town or District Clerk when they "pull papers"; we also email a digital copy to each candidate. New this year, we are including a downloadable copy here for your convenience.
Important Dates and Deadlines (click on the date for more information)
January 6, 2025 - Prospective candidates can begin to "pull papers" and collect signatures to run for office
February 6, 2025 - Deadline to "pull papers"
February 10, 2025 - Deadline to return signatures
February 14, 2025 - Deadline to submit form and photo for LWV Voters' Guide; see sample guide here
March 1, 2, 8, 9 - LWV Sudbury Candidates' Forum recording sessions; please save the date for all dates
March 10, 2025 (approximate) - Mail ballots will be mailed to voters; voters must apply via form or online
March 16, 2025 - LWV Sudbury Meet the Candidates event (snow date: March 23)
March 31, 2025 - Annual Town Election
FAQs – February 2025
I want to run next year. When will the Candidates’ Forum and Meet the Candidates be?
The Candidates’ Forum is recorded the first weekend after the deadline to withdraw from the ballot. To calculate the date, begin with the last Monday in March (the legal date of the Annual Town Election) and count backwards five weekends. This will be the weekend of the Candidates’ Forum (usually the last weekend in February). Meet the Candidates will be two weekends later, on the third Sunday before the election. Both events have snow dates one week after their scheduled date.
I see that other people have already pulled papers to run for the seat I want. Should I still pull?
Yes! There is no limit on the number of candidates who can run for an office. When people “pull papers” they file an intention to run. Not everyone who files an intention will return nomination papers. Prospective candidates can and do change their minds about running, and they are not required to notify the Clerk of their decision. Nearly every year some people will exit the race by not returning their nomination papers. If you want to run for a seat, file an intention and return your nomination papers. You can’t win if you don’t run.