Government
On the national level, Norwell is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2008, is John Kerry. The junior (Class I) senator, elected in 2010, is Scott Brown.
On the state level, Norwell is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Fifth Plymouth district, which includes the neighboring towns of Hanover and Rockland. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate by Robert Hedlund as a part of the Plymouth and Norfolk district, which includes the towns of Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Scituate and Weymouth. The town is home to the First Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.
Norwell is governed on the local level by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by an Town Administrator and a board of selectmen. The town operates its own police and fire departments. The Police Headquarters is near the town center and the Fire Department Headquarters, built in 1999, is located on Route 53 on the West side of town. Emergency Communications have been consolidated with the towns of Hingham, Cohasset, and Hull in a Hingham location. Norwell has an emergency services division within the Fire Department; all emergency room visits are brought to South Shore Hospital. The town has its own post office, located at the town's center.
There are three libraries throughout the town, two of which are independent. The Norwell Public Library is behind the high school near Assinippi, and belongs to the Old Colony Library Network (OCLN). The James Library and Center for the Arts is located near the town center, and is associated with the First Parish Church of Norwell. The James Library was founded by Josiah Leavitt James of Chicago, a former resident of South Scituate, who was persuaded by Rev. William Hamilton Fish, minister of First Parish Church, to fund a town library. The South Shore Natural Science Center, located next to Jacobs Pond, also has a small nature library.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage | |||
| Democratic | 1,829 | 23.89% | |||
| Republican | 1,543 | 20.15% | |||
| Unaffiliated | 4,263 | 55.68% | |||
| Minor Parties | 21 | 0.27% | |||
| Total | 7,656 | 100% | |||
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