Change and Continuity

As we were finishing work on this issue of CommonWealth, the governor’s race had gone into a post-primary, pre-election lull, national politics remained stuck on the Clinton-Lewinsky-Starr sex scandal, and […]

Ariving home from my family’s vacation week in Truro, I sensed something was wrong. Not that anyone was complaining. My children were snug in the backseat, the elder cocooned between […]

Editor’s note: The following book proposal was found by one of our correspondents on his way to work one morning crossing Boston Common. He found it on a park bench, […]

Most campaign finance reforms, including the euphemistically named “Clean Elections” proposal, revolve around some aspect of government funding. Some people are irresistibly drawn to government as the solution to any […]

Massachusetts has an historic opportunity to lead the country in enacting far-reaching campaign finance reform that addresses what ails the body politic: big money in politics, and voter apathy. On […]

The stuffed elephant hat gets your attention, but it’s the dozens of campaign buttons that pinpoint Jeanne Matatall as a true-blue Republican. President Nixon–Now More Than Ever… Vote Volpe for […]

What would you say are your chances of being polled? Very likely. Somewhat likely. Slim to none. No opinion. The fact is, if you have a telephone and the poll […]

We could call it the $11,000 lesson: Always make political candidates pay up front. Richard Berberian, who owns a North Shore multi-media company, learned it over the last few years […]

To the casual observer, the 1998 race for governor may have looked like a two-man face-off back in the middle of May. That’s when Acting Governor Paul Cellucci and Attorney […]

Kevin Sowyrda calls from his car phone to say he’s giving up. He’s tired of being “stalked.” He’ll do the interview. He’ll be right over.Sowyrda, who is probably the most-quoted […]

Robert J. Haynes, the new president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, is in his Beacon Street office in Boston, expounding on one of his favorite themes–the changing face and expanding role […]

It is the middle of the school day and Somerville High is strangely quiet. The only sound of youth in the huge building comes from the score of teenagers who […]

This is the nightmare scenario: Massachusetts Republicans wake up on Nov. 4, the day after Election Day, and find themselves with nothing. After a hard campaign, the Democrats have retaken […]

One Nation, After All: What Middle-Class Americans Really Think About: God, Country, Family, Racism, Welfare, Immigration, Homosexuality, Work, the Right, the Left, and Each Other By Alan Wolfe Viking, New […]

Judy Roberts thought it was about time someone asked for her opinion. At 36, the Quincy insurance agent had long ago grown tired of politicians who ignore what matters to […]

Of course it’s true that the system of getting elected to public office in this country, if you step back and think about it, is insane. For a candidate to […]

Mackerel by Moonlight By William F. Weld Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998, 238 pages William Floyd Weld, as we all know, has led a charmed upper-crust life. He likes […]

Kevin Sowyrda calls from his car phone to say he’s giving up. He’s tired of being “stalked.” He’ll do the interview. He’ll be right over. Sowyrda, who is probably the […]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE Thursday, April 31, 1998 Met according to adjournment, at eleven o’clock A.M. in a Full Formal Session. Prayer was offered by the […]

There is little about John W. Sears that suggests a thoroughly modern man. From the Gilbert & Sullivan references dropped into conversation, to the books aligned on the top of […]