Participation is a pillar of any democracy, and even though much of the nation is still teeming with election exhaustion from November, Newton has a big local election season approaching in 2025.

The League of Women Voters of Newton has produced a new batch of resources to help navigate our election systems and processes, with all the rules, laws, deadlines and everything else someone needs to keep in mind when launching a candidacy. It’s also useful for people working on campaigns.

“As part of our efforts to encourage people to participate actively in government, including by running for elected office, we developed materials that would be helpful to potential candidates in the initial stages of a campaign,” LWVN co-president Frieda Dweck said.

The main document is titled How to Run for Office – League of Women Voters Newton. It goes through the steps of launching and managing a political campaign and has tips on some best practices when it comes to running for office. And they’ve collaborated with NewTV on a video featuring Jason Tait, communications director for the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

“Now more than ever we need people to run for political office,” Jane Harper, also a co-president of LWVN, said.  “A robust campaign among candidates discussing the issues and presenting their platforms and goals for the City makes for a healthier democracy.  We would like to help that process by demystifying election campaigns through materials that are accessible at any time.”

Newton has a special election coming up in March to choose a School Committee member for Ward 7. Then in September, there will be a primary election to whittle municipal races down to two candidates each, and the general local election will be in November.

This year, in addition to City Council and School Committee contests, Newton has a mayoral race. With Mayor Ruthanne Fuller not seeking reelection, Marc Laredo is the only contender in that race, but that could change at any time.