Massachusetts government is stubbornly unrepresentative

Report calls on Legislature to remedy structural forces that keep women, people of color, and Republicans from winning elected office

A new report by the nonpartisan think tank MassINC demonstrates that elected leaders in Massachusetts fail to represent the state’s diversity, the capacity to make laws and policy is far too concentrated in a few leaders, and limited electoral competition, declining state and local news coverage, and the absence of a strong opposition party weaken

MassForward

Advancing Democratic Innovation and Electoral Reform in Massachusetts

Produced in partnership with the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, this report argues Massachusetts will need the varied experience, expertise, and service of its diverse population in order to tackle the numerous and increasingly complex challenges that the future promises to hold. The analysis reveals four major structural forces that inhibit many

Kennedy v. Markey is no Pressley v. Capuano

The Topline

On Saturday, Representative Joe Kennedy formally announced his campaign to challenge Senator Ed Markey in the Democratic primary. Rumors of a Kennedy run have been swirling since earlier this summer, and with them comparisons to Ayanna Pressley’s successful primary bid against Mike Capuano. While both Pressley and Kennedy represent a generational shift, the similarities end

The Topline: Wait Wait, Don’t Primary Me

2018 saw the most contested Democratic primaries for the House in decades; will 2020 top it? 

It used to be both polite and practical to wait your turn to run for Congress in Massachusetts. Party leaders and insiders frowned on impertinence, and the very occasional primary challenges that happened were rarely successful. That era is ending. We’ve seen two longtime incumbents unseated in the last few cycles, and the 2020 congressional

Alex Morse wants to change how Washington works

Holyoke mayor says Richie Neal wields power, but for whom?

ALEX MORSE, the 30-year-old mayor of Holyoke, may look like he’s on a fool’s errand by challenging Rep. Richard Neal in next year’s Democratic primary. After all, just seven months ago Neal’s three decades of toil in the DC vineyards landed him in one of the most powerful positions in the House, chairman of the tax

A voter guide to Question 1

This Reel Deal video helps sort out complicated ballot measure

The second installment of CommonWealth’s new video explainer, the Reel Deal, is a voter guide to Question 1, which would establish mandatory nurse-to-patient staffing ratios across Massachusetts. The question has become one of the most contentious issues on the November 6 ballot and a topic of dinner table conversations across the state. Our explainer video,

An election is a terrible thing to waste

The Gateway Cities Journal

The image of Governor Baker standing shoulder to shoulder with Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera as the pair deftly responded to the Columbia Gas crisis appeared on screens across the country last week. This relationship was forged back in January 2015, at yet another trying moment. It was the Governor’s first month in office, and Lawrence

Surprise! Mass. Dems don’t want to abolish ICE

The Topline

Follow Twitter trends and cable news discussion, and you’d think the Democratic base was all-in on the idea of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Indeed, even national polling seemed to show Democrats headed in that direction, with a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll finding Democrats support abolishing ICE (43 percent) over keeping it (34 percent). Trump

Two candidates bucking the incumbents-rule rule

Political competition is a rare phenomenon in Mass.

WHEN IT COMES to the Massachusetts Legislature, voters won’t have a lot of choice this fall, either during the primary on September 4 or the general election in November. Seventy-eight percent of the 200 candidates running for the House and Senate will face no opposition in the primary. Most of that group (55 percent) will
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