On March 18, voters will pick a new representative for the School Committee from Ward 7—which sits on the eastern end of the city and includes Chestnut Hill along with parts of Newton Centre and Newton Corner—and the choice is made simple by the fact that Alicia Piedalue is running unopposed.

This special election is the first in a series of local elections slated for this year. Next will be a preliminary election for mayor, City Council and School Committee in September if any seat gets more than two candidates.

Here are the basics.

Why

The seat is open because former School Committee member Amy Davenport had to step down when she moved out of the city.

The City Charter requires a special election for an open School Committee seat if that seat is vacated within the first 15 months of a term. Davenport started her term on Jan. 1, 2024, and was out by August.

The City Charter also mandates the whole city be allowed to vote in the special election.

Ward 7 has been without a School Committee member for nearly seven months.

Who

Piedalue is a mother of four, and much of her professional experience is in organizational health and talent management. She’s served on multiple public and private school boards, and she’s currently on the Governing Board for the Eliot Innovation School in Boston’s North End.

You can learn more about her on her website.

When and Where

The special election will be on Tuesday, March 18, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The “where” depends on where you live. There’s a map of all the city’s polling places on the city website.

And even local special elections have early voting. For this election, that’s this weekend at City Hall:

• Friday March 7, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, March 8, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mail-in ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on March 18. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is March 11.

The deadline to register to vote in the special election is 5 p.m. this Saturday, March 8.