Posted inPolitics

Durant, amiable conservative, wins Senate seat

Durant swept to what appeared to be a double-digit victory in an election that offered a glimmer of hope that Republicans can actually win seats on Beacon Hill. An amiable conservative, Durant appealed to the rural, conservative-leaning voters in the central Massachusetts district and did a better job of getting his voters out in a low-turnout special election to find a replacement for Democrat Anne Gobi.

Posted inOpinion

Using big data to make elections fairer

IN 1812 the Boston Gazette first used the term gerrymander in response to a set of voting districts devised by Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry. The Herald suggested that one of the districts looked like a salamander, and so created the (admittedly awkward) portmanteau for the map, calling it the “Gerry-mander.” Today, gerrymandering has roughly the […]

Posted inEducation

MTA gearing up to push for new ballot questions

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS in 2024 could be asked to settle two major education debates, but retailers may pass on bringing tax cuts to next year’s ballot. The state’s largest teacher’s union is considering ballot questions that would eliminate the graduation requirement associated with statewide standardized testing and create a “debt free college […]

Posted inOpinion

Why stopping the super PAC ballot question is important

ON JANUARY 21, the famous Supreme Court decision of Citizens United vs the FEC celebrated its 13th anniversary, but here in Massachusetts the efforts to undermine this expansion of our right to free speech and association before an election continues.  If it’s not stopped now, it would most likely result in unions having the loudest […]

Posted inNews Analysis

Mass. poll indicates popularity of Democratic leaders sagging

POLL NUMBERS for key Democratic leaders are sagging between apathy and anonymity, according to a new poll of Massachusetts voters by the MassINC Polling Group.  Favorability and reelection numbers are tepid at best. Just 43 percent of registered voters hold favorable views of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (38 percent unfavorable). For newly elected Gov. Maura Healey, […]

Posted inPolitics

SJC hears challenge of Healey ballot question rejection

THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT heard arguments Monday on a thorny and novel question of political spending and free speech rights. Proponents of a potential 2024 ballot measure limiting individual campaign contributions to political action committees are asking the high court to find the measure was improperly rejected by then-Attorney General Maura Healey’s office last year. […]