Election 2026: Tom Stanley

Tom Stanley is running uncontested for his 14th term as the 9th Middlesex District Representative in the upcoming Sept. 3 Democratic primary. 

Stanley is a lifelong Waltham resident, graduating from Waltham Public Schools and currently lives in the city with his wife, dog and two sons. 

Stanley has been a state representative since 2001 and served on Waltham’s city council for 25 years. He ran for mayor of Waltham in 2003 and 2015. Stanley says that politics and civics were staples of his childhood.

“I caught the political bug as they call it, really early,” he said. 

Stanley’s father, William F. Stanley, served on Waltham City Council and served as Waltham’s mayor from 1985 to 1999. However, Stanley wants to be clear: he isn’t just following in his father’s footsteps.

“I just determined that being involved [in politics] was what I wanted to do with my life,” he said.

A renaissance man in MA government

Stanley, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Bentley University and a master’s in public administration from Suffolk University School of Management, feels he is in a unique position to lead because of his experience holding multiple offices. 

“One of the things that differentiates me from other elected officials is that I represented Waltham at two levels: state government and as a city councilor,” Stanley said. “Both roles helped me to represent Waltham better than I would have without.”

Stanley stepped down from his role on the city council in 2025 to focus on his job as a state representative because he felt he could make the most impact for the community on the national stage. With his deep understanding of the city, Stanley plans to continue listening to residents and, if re-elected, make decisions about what he thinks is best for the community.

A decision that stands out to Stanley in his career was the decision on whether to support same-sex marriage. He says he put aside what he thought was best for his political career and chose what he felt was truly the right decision.

“That was probably the most stressful time,” he said. “At one point I was meeting with constituents on both sides of the issue at the same time. I made the decision that I thought was right, voting in favor. I thought I was going to lose the election the next year because of it, but I was wrong.”

Leading the way for the aging population

Stanley currently serves as the chairperson of the Joint Committee on Aging and Independence, which works on legislation supporting the state’s aging population. Stanley hopes to continue his work on the committee if re-elected.

“There’s a great deal of work to be done. Funding [for care programs] is being made worse by federal government cuts. There wasn’t enough money to help fund these programs before, and now it’s going to be so much more difficult.”

In response to the funding cuts, Stanley recently led the charge on a bill that aims to establish a long-term services and support commission that will determine what programs are fiscally feasible to support healthcare needs for residents as they grow older.

As part of his work on the committee, Stanley hopes to continue protecting all residents from scams. Alongside AARP, Stanley is advocating for banning cryptocurrency kiosks around the Commonwealth. Scammers often request payment from victims via cryptocurrency and direct them to complete the payments through kiosks. The kiosks are banned in Waltham, but not statewide. If re-elected, Stanley intends to continue advocating for that bill to protect everyone in the state from being targets of cryptocurrency scams.

Widespread support of issues facing MA

Outside of his work on the Joint Committee on Aging and Independence, Stanley dabbles in a little bit of everything. In 2025, he introduced a bill to limit commercial harvesting of the wild striped bass. According to Stanley, the bill supports not only fish populations but also the health of the state’s waterways. 

Stanley also presented legislation to ensure large housing developments are in line with Massachusetts fair housing requirements. With several large housing development projects on Waltham’s horizon, this law may come into play.

Additionally, Stanley introduced a bill asking the Health Financing Committee to create a loan-forgiveness grant program for medical students specializing in primary care to address the shortage of primary care doctors in the state. 

All three bills are currently in the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“There’s a million issues that you can work on to help improve everything, but that’s the underlying drive. My passion to represent my community,” Stanley said. 

Through the relationships he’s built during his time in office, as well as his holistic knowledge of the state’s governmental structure, Stanley hopes to keep pulling levers within the political system to benefit the city of Waltham.

The 9th Middlesex District representative primary will take place along with other primary races on Sept. 1 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at precinct locations around the city. Although Stanley is running unopposed, he urged people to still vote. “Voting is a fundamental right of our democracy. I hope no one ever takes it for granted,” he said. 

Residents can use an online tool on the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website to find their polling location. Early voting for the primary takes place Aug. 22 through 28 at the Rosario Malone Archive and Records Center at 260 Grove St. More information is available on the City of Waltham website.