REP. ERIKA UYTERHOEVEN of Somerville is about as progressive as you get on Beacon Hill. She calls herself a democratic socialist. She is one of only two House members who received an A grade from Progressive Mass. in its 2023-2024 scorecard. And she has not been afraid to speak out against the power structure on Beacon Hill.

When Ron Mariano was elected speaker in 2021, Uyterhoeven, then a freshman legislator, was one of two Democrats who voted present. She issued a press release condemning members of the Progressive Caucus for voting for Mariano without obtaining some concessions first. “Speaker Mariano’s election wasn’t inevitable and we need to fight for the world we believe in rather than conceding for crumbs,” she said.

As she seeks election to a third term, Uyterhoeven is facing a challenge in the September 3 Democratic primary from Kathleen Hornby, who knows Beacon Hill well from her work as a legislative aide, most recently for Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge. Hornby says she is just as progressive as Uyterhoeven but would approach the job differently to deliver more for the district.

“We have to be able to meet Somerville’s needs,” she said. “You have to pick your battles.”

Hornby noted Uyterhoeven hasn’t passed any legislation during her first two terms and didn’t even file a budget amendment for her district this year. Hornby won the support of the Somerville Democratic City Committee, with 92 members backing her and 51 supporting Uyterhoeven. Ten members voted present. “Somerville Democrats want someone on Beacon Hill who can get things done for our city,” said Jack Perenick, chair of the committee, in a press release.

Uyterhoeven, of course, believes she is getting things done, mobilizing advocacy groups to pressure Beacon Hill from the outside and working internally with fellow lawmakers to push progressive causes. She cites passage of the millionaire tax, two climate bills, and minor changes in the way committee votes are recorded as some of her successes.

But like any lawmaker who speaks out against the power structure on Beacon Hill, she has paid a price, which may explain her lack of personal legislative successes.

During a debate earlier this month, both Uyterhoeven and Hornby lamented the concentration of power on Beacon Hill and said there is a need for structural change. Hornby suggested one way to decentralize power would be to have legislative committee chairs elected by the members of the committees rather than selected by the speaker.

But it’s unclear how hard Hornby would press for such a change. She said changing the power structure on Beacon Hill will take a long time to accomplish and indicated she would advocate for new approaches internally.

“It’s not about alienating leadership. It’s about working with the body to pursue change,” she said in an interview. “It’s about building trust and respect as much as it is about ideals.”

Marty Walsh for White House chief of staff?

Wondering who will serve what position in the White House is a popular parlor game in the waning months of a presidential race.

As the Democratic National Convention came to a close this week, the Wall Street Journal offered up what the newspaper called an “early list of names that have emerged in conversations with senior Democrats in Chicago and Washington.” Marty Walsh, the former Boston mayor and Biden labor secretary, was mentioned for Kamala Harris’s chief of staff in the same breath as former Rep. Cedric Richmond and Eric Holder, the attorney general under President Obama.

For people who’ve kept close tabs on Walsh since he left City Hall, that isn’t a surprise. In 2022, when he was still in the Biden administration, the Washington Post reported that Harris “has spent more time one-on-one with Marty Walsh than any other Cabinet member.” Walsh has “drop-in privileges” in the office of the vice president, and Harris planned a baby shower at the official VP residence at the Naval Observatory for Walsh’s stepdaughter, the newspaper said.

Days before the WSJ article, Walsh was among the names included in the New York Times story headlined, “The Confidants Guiding Harris for the Most Important Days of Her Life.”

And when newspapers dove into how Harris selected Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, they discovered Walsh played a key role. During the vetting process over Zoom, Walsh, a recovering alcoholic “confronted Mr. Walz with the details of his drunk-driving arrest in 1995,” the Times reported, adding that the governor said “[he] had learned from the experience… and had not drunk in decades.”

This isn’t the first time that Walsh, who is currently holding down a multimillion-dollar job as head of the NHL players union, has been floated for chief of staff to the president. Before he left the administration last year, Walsh’s name came up in the Times as a contender for the job under Biden. While the job ultimately went to Jeff Zients, Walsh initially received dozens of text messages offering congratulations and, he joked, people asking for jobs.

After this week, Walsh’s phone is probably blowing up all over again.

MBTA’s Eng swaps Green Line for Blue Line

The MBTA may still be struggling with slow service amid an intensive repair effort, but its general manager is on the move.

Phil Eng, a New Yorker who took the top job at the T after a successful stint running the Long Island commuter rail line, set up shop in Cambridge when he moved last year. He and his wife made their home in Lechmere, right by the Green Line and close to Lamplighter Brewing, which Eng viewed as a plus since he is a beer connoisseur who is also known to brew at home.

But their kitchen turned out to be too small, he said in a recent chat with reporters while waiting with them for a transit-related event with Gov. Maura Healey to get underway. “I can’t keep too many craft beers in a dorm-sized refrigerator,” Eng quipped.

In July, Eng switched from the Green Line to the Blue Line, settling in East Boston. Eng’s neighborhood brewery options are a little more limited: There’s a taproom, but ciders get the main billing, as evidenced by the company name, Downeast Cider, and The Quiet Few, a tavern nearby, is best known for its whiskey selection.

But Eng, who has already been spotted celebrating “Eastie Pride Day” with Mayor Michelle Wu and local elected officials, said he’s fine with that. “I’ll just hop on the train. There’s many [breweries] to take the T to,” he said.