Rules reforms are step one in a wider cultural change needed in the Massachusetts State House, one in which rank-and-file legislators must be willing to be more proactive and to remember that they ultimately work for their constituents, not for anyone else.
Jonathan Cohn
Posted inOpinion
A right turn for Democrats is a wrong turn
As progressive stalwarts like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont have emphasized, lack of trust or goodwill from voters stems from the Democratic Party’s history of not delivering on its promises to working people.
Posted inOpinion
In narrow Decker win, a pointed message to her and Legislature
Veteran Cambridge state Rep. Marjorie Decker eked out a razor-thin 41-vote victory in this month’s Democratic primary. The fact that the race was so close underscores the discontent among her constituents with the Beacon Hill status quo.
Posted inOpinion
A New Year’s resolution: Make Mass. affordable
The big $1 billion tax cut celebrated by Beacon Hill leaders this year was, for the most part, a regressive giveaway to the already well-off, costing the state millions of dollars that could otherwise be used to support low-income people and the middle class.
Posted inPolitics
For Mass. Democrats, a troubling gap between party platform and practice
THIS WEEKEND, thousands of Democrats from across the Commonwealth will be descending upon Worcester (or joining virtually) for the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s annual convention. As a nominating convention, it will focus on determining which candidates qualify for the September primary. But rather than talk about the five contested races at the convention (there’s plenty […]
Posted inOpinion
House should pass same-day voter registration
LAST WEEK, Congress and the Biden Administration failed to advance federal voting rights legislation, prompting pundits and politicians to re-iterate the necessity of advancing legislation to strengthen voting rights and access in the states. Today, the Massachusetts House of Representatives is seeking to do just that, and bringing the VOTES Act to the House Floor. […]
Posted inOpinion
Same-day voter registration can help invigorate democracy
OVER THE PAST couple of weeks, many pundits and politicians have lamented the low turnout in our local elections. Indeed, if turnout in our local elections is rarely exceeding 30 percent, then we all need to do some serious reflection about how to change that. Today, National Voter Registration Day—the fourth Tuesday in September—is a […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to bring transparency to the Legislature
IN 2016, when the Massachusetts Legislature updated the state’s public records laws, they chose to punt on the issue of how such laws should apply to themselves. Indeed, Massachusetts remains the only state where the courts, Legislature, and governor’s office all claim to be fully exempt from public records laws. In traditional Beacon Hill fashion, […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t expect change for the better under Mariano
ALL SIGNS POINT to House Majority Leader Ron Mariano being elected the next speaker of the Massachusetts House. What does a Mariano speakership mean for a progressive policy agenda in Massachusetts? As Reps. Denise Provost and Jonathan Hecht remind us, he shares the same top-down leadership style as Speaker Bob DeLeo, with an even more […]
Posted inPolitics
Mail-in voting was huge success; let’s keep it
ON SEPTEMBER 1, Massachusetts voters broke a record. Whether by mail, by dropbox, or in person, 1.7 million voters cast a ballot for our state primaries, exceeding the previous record from 1990. To put this into perspective, 1.7 million is approximately the same as the number of votes cast in the 2014 and 2018 state primaries—combined. And it’s more than the 2010, […]