On Tuesday, Newton voters will pick a new mayor, some new city councilors and a whole bunch of new School Committee members. They’ll also decide if Newton should keep its winter overnight parking ban or not.

Months of campaigning, shaking hands, laughing, crying and everything else that comes with a run for political office in Newton, have led to this day, when voters will essentially remake their city government and chart a new path for Newton’s schools.

Here are three things to know for the Nov. 4 election.

The when and where

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Polling places are all around the city and are specific to neighborhoods and addresses. Newton’s city website has a complete map of the city’s wards and precincts as well as a page where residents can enter their address and find their exact polling place for Election Day.

The City Council races

Check out our Decide ’25 Election Guide for compete profiles of the candidates and their answers to our extensive candidate questionnaire. Here’s a quick run-through of the highlights:

First, there’s the big race, for mayor. City Council President Marc Laredo faces attorney Al Cecchinelli in the race for the corner office at City Hall.

For City Council races, there are ward seats and at-large seats. A ward seat is held by someone who lives in the ward, and only residents of that ward vote in that race. An at-large seat is held by someone from that ward as well, but all voters citywide vote in that race.

There’s only one competitive ward seat this year: Ward 6, with Garry Miller and Julie Irish both vying for that seat.

The at-large races have more going on.

In Ward 4, incumbent Joshua Krintzman and newcomers Cyrus Dahmubed and John Chaimanis are all running for that two at-large seats (At-Large Councilor Leonard Gentile is not running for reelection).

In Ward 6, with both Vicki Danberg and Alan Lobovits not seeking reelection, there are three challengers competing for two at-large seats: Sean Roche, Ted Gross and Lisa Gordon.

The School Committee makeover

Unlike 2023, which saw no competitive School Committee races, 2025 has the School Committee as the star of the show. There are six members leaving the committee, in addition to the mayor, who’s not running for reelection. So come January, seven of the nine faces at those School Committee meetings will be new.

School Committee seats representing each ward are held by residents of those wards and voted on citywide, similar to at-large City Council seats.

• In Ward 1, Arrianna Proia is sure to win, as her opponent dropped out.
• Ward 2 has Linda Swain vs. Christine Fisher.
• In Ward 3, Jason Bhardwaj is running unopposed.
• In Ward 4, incumbent Tamika Olszewski is running unopposed.
• In Ward 5, it’s Jenna Miara vs. Ben Schlesinger.
• Ward 6 has Mali Brodt vs. Jonathan Greene.
• In Ward 7, incumbent Alicia Piedalue is running unopposed.
• And in Ward 8, Jim Murphy faces Victor Lee.

There are also many candidates for Area Council seats. Check out this story on what Area Councils are and what they do.

The ballot question

Should Newton get rid of its winter overnight parking ban? That’s what Jeremy Freudberg and Peter Klapes want, so they drafted a ballot question for it.

A “yes” vote is to repeal the ban entirely. A “no” vote keeps the ban in place.

You can watch a NewTV forum on the topic here.

Voters can find more information, including sample ballots, on the city website.