Chandler no longer “acting”

Senate Dems look to put Rosenberg in the rear view mirror

By Jack Sullivan Bryon Hefner, Ethics and Open Government, Harriette Chandler, Massachusetts Legislature, Massachusetts Senate, sexual harassment, Stan Rosenberg 0 Comments Feb 7, 2018

SENATE DEMOCRATS AGREED to remove the “acting” title from Senate President Harriette Chandler for the remainder of the year before holding an election for a new president, deciding the storm clouds hovering over Sen. Stan Rosenberg were overwhelming the chamber’s business and precluding any comeback by the former president at least this year and maybe(...)

The Download

Troopergate gets more tangled

By CommonWealth Staff Charlie Baker, Current Affairs, Ethics and Open Government 2 Comments Nov 16, 2017

The mess in the State Police seems to be getting messier. The head of the department, Col. Richard McKeon, abruptly retired last week in the face of controversy over his orders to subordinates to revise a report on the arrest of a woman who is the daughter of a district court judge. The department’s No.(...)

Politics/ Opinion/ Fall 2017

Pushing ranked choice with beer (and pie)

A recipe to revive democracy in Massachusetts elections

By Adam Friedman and Greg Dennis Ethics and Open Government, Massachusetts Legislature, State Government 0 Comments Oct 9, 2017

AMERICANS ARE ALL too familiar with the divisive saga of the 2016 presidential contest, but few are aware of the quiet revolution that blossomed in Maine and is now taking flight in Massachusetts. On November 8 last year, Maine voters enacted Question 5, making Maine the first state in US history to upgrade its voting system(...)

The Back Story

Rep joins unenrolled in-crowd

Athol lawmaker abandons Republican Party

By Bruce Mohl Current Affairs, Donald Trump, Elections, Ethics and Open Government, Massachusetts Legislature, Massachusetts politics 1 Comment Aug 24, 2017

Rep. Susannah Whipps joined the political in-crowd this week, switching her party registration from Republican to unenrolled. Statewide, unenrolled voters – those not affiliated with any political party – are taking over. They became the largest political designation in 1990 and an outright majority in 2008. They represent the most voters in 132 of the 160 House districts. In Whipps’s central Massachusetts district, 66 percent of the voters(...)

The Download

Hating on the haters

By CommonWealth Staff Civic engagement, Civil and Constitutional Rights, Donald Trump, Ethics and Open Government, Immigration, Marty Walsh, Media and Journalism, Urban Affairs 0 Comments Aug 21, 2017

Boston is no place for hate – and we’ll beat you and isolate you to prove it. Message sent, message received. From elected officials to the 15,000 to 40,000 demonstrators (depending on whose estimate is accurate), the response to the fizzled Free Speech Rally on Boston Common Saturday was largely loud, proud, and peaceful. The(...)

The Download

Trump’s disruptive power

By CommonWealth Staff Civic engagement, Current Affairs, Donald Trump, Energy, Ethics and Open Government, Gateway Cities, Higher Education and Adult Learning, MBTA, Transportation, Urban Affairs 0 Comments Aug 15, 2017

Donald Trump signed 42 executive orders in his first 200 days as president. By comparison, Barack Obama, who Trump criticized for signing too many, averaged 35 executive orders a year during his two terms as president. His other two predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, averaged 24 and 25 executive orders, respectively, during their(...)

The Download

Catching up with inaccuracy

By CommonWealth Staff Donald Trump, Elections, Energy, Ethics and Open Government, Immigration, Transportation 0 Comments Aug 10, 2017

In an editorial on Thursday, the Metrowest Daily News unloaded on President Trump for his embarrassing stance on climate change, which the newspaper said prompted scientists to leak a draft government report detailing the negative impact of rising temperatures and sea levels out of fear the administration would suppress it. “The changes are already real(...)

The Back Story

Does web browsing leave a public record?

Dispute with Baker administration heads to Healey

By Colman M. Herman Attorney General Maura Healey, Current Affairs, Ethics and Open Government, Massachusetts politics 1 Comment Aug 3, 2017

THE STATE’S SUPERVISOR of public records says a state employee’s web browsing history is a public record, and has asked Attorney General Maura Healey to order the Baker administration to turn the information over to a reporter. The case represents another attempt by state officials to determine what a public record is in an increasingly(...)

The Download/ Health Care/ Politics

How a health care bill becomes a law

By CommonWealth Staff Current Affairs, Ethics and Open Government, Health Care, National Politics 0 Comments Jun 14, 2017

While all eyes yesterday were on the Senate hearing where Attorney General Jeff Sessions was testifying, some actual legislating is taking place in Washington — or so we are led to believe. The once-moribund Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill, which the House resuscitated last month, passed, and sent along to the Senate, may be moving toward a(...)

The Download/ Politics

Opening the gate

By CommonWealth Staff Ethics and Open Government, FBI Investigation, National Politics 0 Comments May 10, 2017

Former FBI director James Comey now joins the growing ranks of law enforcement officials fired by President Trump, alongside former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and Preet Bharara, the former US attorney in New York. In addition to their shared fates, they also are three law enforcement officials who were overseeing active investigations into the(...)


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Ethics and Open Government

Senate Dems look to put Rosenberg in the rear view mirror

A recipe to revive democracy in Massachusetts elections

Athol lawmaker abandons Republican Party

Dispute with Baker administration heads to Healey

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