Are you paying attention to your local mayor's race?

Also: The buzziest solar farm in Mass.; a guide to Greater Boston slang [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  November 6, 2023 ⛅ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Good Morning Boston, Is [your mayor]( on the ballot? In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu isn't up for reelection until 2025. However, nearly three dozen other Massachusetts cities have "off-year" mayoral elections tomorrow. Here's a look at four interesting races to keep an eye on, plus a quick glance at the other competitive races at play: - Springfield: Domenic Sarno, who's been mayor of Massachusetts' third largest city since 2007, is fighting hard for reelection against City Councilor Justin Hurst. The incumbent mayor finished first in the September preliminary, but he did so with just less than 50% of the overall vote. Hurst has taken aim at the more centrist Democratic mayor's handling of Springfield's [scandal-plagued]( police department and schools. Here's [a deep dive on the issues in the race](. - Still, the underdog remains Hurst, whose campaign was [recently accused of paying people for votes](. (Hurst says they were only giving people rides to the polls.) Sarno's campaign has also poured over $500,000 into his reelection bid this year — quadruple what Hurst spent. - Woburn: After [a bitter teacher's strike last winter]( longtime Mayor Scott Galvin finished second in Woburn's mayoral preliminary, 15 percentage points behind challenger and City Council President Mike Concannon. Galvin [argues]( the city has made great strides during his tenure, but Concannon has the backing of Woburn's teachers union and the statewide firefighters' association. Patch has Q&A's with both candidates (read Galvin's [here]( and Concannon's [here](. - Revere: After former mayor Brian Arrigo [stepped down earlier this year to take a state job]( the race has been between [his ally]( acting Mayor Patrick Keefe, and his [old rival]( former mayor Dan Rizzo. Rizzo narrowly came in first ahead of Keefe in the preliminary, and the two disagree on a lot. The Revere Journal has more on the divide [here](. - Gloucester: First-term Mayor Greg Verga is up against the city's former health director Mary Ellen Rose, who he [fired earlier this year](. And as The Gloucester Times [reports]( the debates have been tense. The race[could determine how Gloucester approaches the new state law]( requiring MBTA communities to rezone around train stations to allow multi-family housing. (Rose wants to disregard the law, while Verga has signaled he is amenable to the mandate.) - Elsewhere: There are also open mayoral contests tomorrow in [Agawam]( [Haverhill]( [Marlborough]( [Melrose]( and [Pittsfield](. And [in Chicopee]( and [Medford]( two-term incumbent mayors are facing serious challenges from sitting city councilors. - In Worcester, the state's second largest city, Mayor Joe Petty is also [up for re-election]( (though Worcester has a modified city manager form of government, so the mayor isn't super powerful). - Other incumbents appear in good position to keep their seats: Mayors in [Brockton]( [Quincy]( [Fall River]( and [New Bedford]( are up for potential reelection after cruising through the preliminary elections. The mayors of [Braintree]( [Somerville]( [Taunton]( and [Weymouth]( are facing challengers as well, after no preliminaries were held. - Ubers and Lyfts may be in short supply around Boston today. That's because hundreds of drivers are planning to descend on the State House to support a measure that would establish a "bill of rights" for ride-hailing service drivers, including the right to unionize. The coalition supporting it advises Greater Boston residents to plan ahead, as there may be longer wait times for ride-share drivers. - ICYMI: The coalition — which is led by the SEIU's local 32BJ chapter — announced last week they have also collected enough signatures to advance a potential 2024 ballot question to allow app drivers to unionize. And yes, that effort is separate from — and in many ways at odds with — [the company-backed 2024 ballot campaign]( that seeks to reclassify gig workers as independent contractors. (Next fall could get a bit confusing.) - Wear bright colors if you're hiking through Blue Hills Reservation this month. Archery hunting season begins in the park today. Archers will be able to hunt deer in the reservation through Nov. 22, though it's only allowed Monday through Thursday. - The big picture: There are a lot of deer in Blue Hills Reservations — too many, according to state officials. The annual hunting season is part of the state's [effort to manage the population](. P.S.— Still adjusting to the switch back to standard time? Fretting about the next two months of pre-4:30 p.m. sunsets? Our Weekender newsletter shared some advice for navigating the time shift, from mental health tips to exciting winter activities. [Read them all here](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Natalie Jones thought she wasn't cut out for college. At nearly 60, she got her master's and reinvented her life.]( Natalie Jones is among lots of older people who are living their third act — either by choice or necessity or both — according to Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, a Harvard professor of education, and author of The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk and Adventure in the 25 years after 50. [Read more.]( [Natalie Jones thought she wasn't cut out for college. At nearly 60, she got her master's and reinvented her life.]( Natalie Jones is among lots of older people who are living their third act — either by choice or necessity or both — according to Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, a Harvard professor of education, and author of The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk and Adventure in the 25 years after 50. [Read more.]( ['Pollinator-friendly' solar farms can be a boon for bees. In Mass., they're not always easy]( Massachusetts is encouraging "pollinator-friendly" solar farms as a way to encourage both renewable energy and biodiversity. [Read more.]( ['Pollinator-friendly' solar farms can be a boon for bees. In Mass., they're not always easy]( Massachusetts is encouraging "pollinator-friendly" solar farms as a way to encourage both renewable energy and biodiversity. [Read more.]( [Hamas attacked Israel 1 month ago. Here's where things stand now]( About 1,400 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and more than 240 people were kidnapped. In the four weeks since, almost 10,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza. [Read more.]( [Hamas attacked Israel 1 month ago. Here's where things stand now]( About 1,400 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and more than 240 people were kidnapped. In the four weeks since, almost 10,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza. [Read more.]( [Autopsy suggests Maine mass shooter was alive for most of massive 2-day search]( An autopsy suggests that the mass shooter in Lewiston, Maine, was alive and possibly on the run during a good portion of the huge search that followed his disappearance. The finding comes a week after his body was discovered in the back of a tractor-trailer on the property of his former employer. [Read more.]( [Autopsy suggests Maine mass shooter was alive for most of massive 2-day search]( An autopsy suggests that the mass shooter in Lewiston, Maine, was alive and possibly on the run during a good portion of the huge search that followed his disappearance. The finding comes a week after his body was discovered in the back of a tractor-trailer on the property of his former employer. [Read more.]( [Former Suffolk County prosecutor acquitted of rape charges]( Former Suffolk County assistant district attorney and prominent criminal justice reform advocate Adam Foss was acquitted of rape and sexual abuse charges by a Manhattan jury on Friday. [Read more.]( [Former Suffolk County prosecutor acquitted of rape charges]( Former Suffolk County assistant district attorney and prominent criminal justice reform advocate Adam Foss was acquitted of rape and sexual abuse charges by a Manhattan jury on Friday. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - This week at CitySpace: [Tickets are still available]( to hear New York Times book critic Dwight Garner discuss his love for food (and his new book) with Here & Now cohost Robin Young tomorrow at CitySpace. On Thursday, we've got the hosts of Freakonomics Radio live for a special series analyzing failure. [Get details for that event here](. - More than two-dozen therapy dogs — some from as far away as Ohio and Florida — have [made the journey to Lewiston, Maine to comfort those affected by last month's mass shooting](. According to the group Crisis Response K9s, responding to mass shootings has become a significant part of their job. - Multi-instrumentalist musician and Somerville resident Al Kooper was inducted Friday into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. [Listen here as Kooper shares]( with All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins what it was like to play with The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, and produce for the Beatles, B.B. King and many others. - In other rockin' news: Queen superfan (and WBUR environmental reporter) Paula Moura shares the life lessons Freddie Mercury and Queen taught her as a teenager growing up in Brazil [in this commentary for Cognoscenti.](  What We're Reading 📚 - How Does the World’s Largest Hedge Fund Really Make Its Money? ([The New York Times]( - Can reporters make bets on sports they cover? We asked a dozen newsrooms. ([Nieman Lab]( - The Last Lighthouse Keeper in America ([The New Yorker](  🔎 Field Guide To Boston [A guide to Greater Boston slang you should know]( We've compiled this not-so-definitive list of words and phrases commonly used by Massachusetts residents. Be sure to get up to speed before you ask a statie sitting outside a Dunks for directions on the Pike to the Pru. [Read more.]( [A guide to Greater Boston slang you should know]( We've compiled this not-so-definitive list of words and phrases commonly used by Massachusetts residents. Be sure to get up to speed before you ask a statie sitting outside a Dunks for directions on the Pike to the Pru. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common breaks down the Boston Public Schools' [contentious new strategy for English learners.]( Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [A crew from the Cretaceous]( takes to the Charles. Associate producer Hanna Ali helped write and put together today's newsletter. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2023 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.