Newton and Waltham elections

The Borderline blog has touched on local politics and politicians before (see posts about Governor Romney, Mayor McCarthy (Waltham), Markham Lyons (Newton mayoral candidate), Sally Collura (Waltham City Councillor) but I am going to hold off on commenting on the upcoming election until after the votes are tallied. I have been keeping up with some developments in Newton via the Tab, and have received about 5 or 6 flyers for races in Waltham, but really don't feel I am familiar enough with the candidates' platforms to offer an informed opinion about them.