Got A Newton Election Related Letter To The Editor?

NEWTON, MA — There's just a couple weeks until the Nov. 5 municipal elections. Around this time of year we get asked a lot about how to submit an opinion or a letter in support of a particular candidate.

After all, there are several contested races this year. Five of eight seats are contested for the ward councilors. When it comes to at-large city council seats, four of eight have races and then there are three of eight seats being contested for school committee. Everyone gets to vote for the at-large candidates so if you vote, you have a say.

But Wards 6 and 5 have reason to really show up, as they have contested races for school committee, at-large city councilors and ward councilor. In Wards 2 and 3, voters will have a chance to weigh in on who they want for their ward councilor in addition to at-large. Then there's Ward 1, where there's a race for ward councilor and Ward 4, where it's only a race for the school committee seat.

No one stepped up to run against anyone from Wards 7 or 8 this year.

Read more on this: Watch the Candidates give their elevator pitches.

And that brings us back to those letter to the editors. There are three ways to submit a Letter to the Editor to the Newton Patch (and these work any time of year):

1. As a blog post. Submitting a Letter to the Editor as a blog post is easy (really as simple as writing an email) and immediate (as soon as you hit "Approve," it'll be live on the site). If you plan on submitting multiple letters over time, submitting them as blog posts will also allow you to establish a voice or presence on the site. However, still feel free to submit as a blog even if you only plan on writing one. Try this: How do I make a Patch account?

2. As a neighbor post. It's as easy as going clicking typing and posting. Head to The Newton Patch, look for where it asks "ask a question or share local news" click on that and you'll see a pop up that asks "What's happening near you?" Write your letter here, click the "opinion" option, and click green "post" button. And you're live! (Pro tip: come back and use the tabs along the top: post, event, classified, article to post to our calendar, classified section and blog)

3. By emailing it to the Patch Newton@Patch.com. If you chose this route, be sure to include your name and the name of the street you live on, and please specify that your email is intended as a Letter to the Editor in the subject line. We try and publish emailed Letter to the Editors within 48 hours (during the week) but there is no guarantee.

*We accept Letters to the Editor and opinion pieces that have been published or submitted to other publications.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).