Ahead of municipal elections, an update on our letters policy

A note from the editors of The Acton Bridge:

The advent of a new year and a new municipal election season always marks a good time to update our valued readers on our letter to the editor policies. 

In this election cycle, The Acton Bridge will return to an earlier practice: We will limit candidate endorsement letters to one per person for the cycle. If a letter writer wishes to endorse multiple candidates, they must do so in a single letter. 

Here’s why.

The Bridge enthusiastically encourages Concordians to express their views in letters about the coming election (and other local matters). 

Last year, The Bridge received, voice-verified, and processed more than 200 letters about the 2025 municipal election alone. 

While this afforded voters a chance to support their preferred candidates, handling and publishing so many letters carried a significant cost in terms of our budget and meeting production deadlines. We also received feedback from readers who felt the letters had become redundant.

In this cycle, as always, letters to the editor may run up to 300 words — no more. This limit leaves space for more voices to be heard and encourages writers to make their points briefly and cogently. 

Please help us by observing the limit, including not using excessive abbreviations to save space. If Lincoln could deliver the Gettysburg Address in fewer than 300 words, we have full faith that our correspondents can get their point across succinctly within similar parameters.

A few more points on election-related letters, based on experience: 

• Letters to The Acton Bridge must be written only by the person or people who sign them. Each signatory must verify with us, when we call, that the letter represents their views, expressed by them. We do not accept form letters, nor letters written by anyone other than the signatory. 
• Bridge editors handle letters directly with the writer(s). Some candidates and campaigns encourage supporters to write letters. That’s fine, but with the exception of fact checking, we do not discuss letters with anyone other than the author(s), including confirming whether any letter was received or if/when it may be published.  
• To that end, all letters must be received directly from the writer, preferably through our online portal at concordbridge.org/contact. Letters may also be posted to us at 56C Winthrop Street, Acton, MA 01742. These must include a full name, street address, and phone number for verification, and may take longer to process. No candidate or representative of any campaign may deliver a letter on behalf of a supporter. 
• Letter writers may argue not only for but against the election of candidates for local office. Critiques must be civil; The Bridge will not publish ad hominem attacks.
• The municipal election takes place March 31. We will publish election-related letters through our March 20 edition, but not after. 

As in the past, The Bridge considers letters in the order they’re received, whether focused on an election or some other matter. Feel strongly about a candidate? We warmly encourage you to write a letter endorsing them as early as possible in the cycle.

Some candidates receive more endorsements in letters than others. The Bridge doesn’t support or oppose any candidate, and we do not create false equivalencies by running one letter for Candidate A and one for Candidate B if A got five letters of support and B got two.

By our non-profit mandate, The Bridge focuses on issues and events that occur here in Acton. We do not publish letters broadly about national and international politics and policies. In cases where local and non-local matters may overlap, letters run at the discretion of the editors within the framework of our hyperlocal mission.

Thank you, as always, for making The Bridge an important part of our civic conversation. We appreciate the opportunity to help Keep Acton Connected.