DURING A DEBATE on House rules in January 2019, Rep. Shawn Dooley, a Norfolk Republican, introduced an amendment that would allow House employees to unionize. The amendment was overwhelmingly rejected, 149-9. Just six Republicans and three Democrats voted for it. Now, as legislative staff are actually attempting to unionize, support for unionization has become far […]
Massachusetts politics
Posted inOpinion
DiZoglio vows to audit the Legislature if elected auditor
I WAS DISAPPOINTED by Bruce Mohl’s recent post in CommonWealth magazine relative to the Massachusetts auditor’s race entitled, “Standing up campaign promises of auditor candidates.” A more fitting title might have been “Status Quo is the Way to Go,” as it implied that the state auditor should not seek to creatively use every power at […]
Posted inPolitics
Chang-Diaz, Healey wrangling over debates
THE TWO DEMOCRATIC gubernatorial candidates continued to wrangle over debates on Thursday, with Attorney General Maura Healey agreeing to two debates after the convention in June and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz dismissing that response as a dodge. Chang-Diaz called for three debates before the convention, but Healey said she would participate in two forums prior to […]
Posted inThe Download
Standing up campaign promises of auditor candidates
The candidates for auditor, particularly the two Democrats, make the office seem pretty sexy. Chris Dempsey, a leading transportation advocate who previously led the successful fight to prevent the Olympics from coming to Boston in 2024, says he intends to use the tools of the office to reform the State Police. He has also unveiled […]
Posted inPolitics
Standing up campaign promises of auditor candidates
THE CANDIDATES for auditor, particularly the two Democrats, make the office seem pretty sexy. Chris Dempsey, a leading transportation advocate who previously led the successful fight to prevent the Olympics from coming to Boston in 2024, says he intends to use the tools of the office to reform the State Police. He has also unveiled […]
Posted inThe Download
Waiting for the governor’s race to get going
When Sonia Chang-Diaz challenged Maura Healey to agree to a series of three televised debates prior to the Democratic state convention in June, some political analysts dismissed the move as an attempt by a struggling candidate to gain ground on a better known and better financed rival. There may be some truth to that analysis, […]
Posted inThe Download
Markey, Warren throw some political weight around
It was a bone-chilling Saturday morning in late November, and Ed Markey was gripping the microphone as the wind whipped across the Chelsea Creek in East Boston behind him. Though the state’s junior US senator has been out front on a range of causes, he was not there to speak about his Green New Deal […]
Posted inPolitics
Markey, Warren throw some political weight around
IT WAS A BONE-CHILLING Saturday morning in late November, and Ed Markey was gripping the microphone as the wind whipped across the Chelsea Creek in East Boston behind him. Though the state’s junior US senator has been out front on a range of causes, he was not there to speak about his Green New Deal […]
Posted inPolitics
Liquor license ballot question has layers of controversy
NURSE STAFFING ratios. Right to repair. Zoning reform. Almost every election, there is at least one ballot question that defies easy explanation and generally boils down to a dispute among interest groups. This year, add liquor license reform to the list. The question heading towards the November 2022 ballot involves a dispute between package stores […]
Posted inThe Download
Chang-Diaz aims for big, progressive change
State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz’s mother was a social worker, who helped women and children living on the margins overcome systemic barriers. Her father was a Costa Rican-born NASA astronaut who tied the record for the most space flights launched from Earth. Chang-Diaz, a Boston Democrat running for governor, said her mother’s work shaped her desire […]