IN THE RECENT general election, local proponents of ranked choice voting were earnest in their desire for electoral reform in Massachusetts. While I vehemently disagreed with their voting system, and […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Baker slams Trump for stalling transition
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER strongly criticized President Trump on Tuesday for stalling an orderly presidential transition process at a time when the nation is entering a critical period in the fight against […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker says Trump’s conspiracy claims not supported by facts
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER criticized President Trump on Friday for suggesting there is some kind of national conspiracy going on related to the counting of votes across the country. Trump has […]
Posted inThe Download
The case for Donald Trump
A Boston Globe news analysis of the presidential election posed the question that’s on the mind of many blue-state activists right now: Are we really that disconnected from the rest […]
Posted inPolitics
Winds of change don’t blow on Beacon Hill
THE WINDS OF CHANGE rarely blow on Beacon Hill, where Democrats have long held a majority in the House and Senate. Tuesday’s election, in the midst of a pandemic, a […]
Posted inPolitics
Cronin edges Tran, but some ballots outstanding
DEMOCRAT NEWCOMER John Cronin appears to have defeated incumbent Sen. Dean Tran by 876 votes, but there’s some wiggle room in that number because the city of Fitchburg is waiting […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker election investments yield few gains
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER invested a lot of personal endorsements and about $900,000 in super PAC funds in mostly Republican Massachusetts political races, but the returns on Tuesday were fairly modest. […]
Posted inPolitics
Biden wave in Mass. doesn’t translate in House
THE BLUE WAVE in Massachusetts for Joe Biden and the state’s congressional delegation didn’t translate into a sweep of House legislative races for Democrats. Republican state Rep. Leonard Mirra of […]
Posted inPolitics
Despite $10m campaign, ranked-choice voting defeated
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS on Tuesday decided not to adopt a ranked-choice voting system, a massive defeat for a nearly $10 million campaign that drew little organized opposition. “Voters like a fair […]
Posted inPolitics
Cronin declares victory; Sen. Tran not conceding
DEMOCRAT JOHN CRONIN was clinging to a tiny lead over Republican Sen. Dean Tran of Fitchburg early Wednesday morning, but Cronin said the trendlines were enough for him to declare […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker, McDermott fight to retain control of sheriff’s post
Two years ago, days after she stepped down in late 2018 as chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Kirsten Hughes landed on her feet at the Norfolk County sheriff’s office. […]
Posted inThe Download
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inPolitics
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
BECAUSE OF THE coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inOpinion
Election highlights our collective responsibility
THIS ELECTION is unprecedented in many ways: our country is still in the grips of a pandemic; millions of Americans are voting early and by mail for the first time; […]
Posted inOpinion
Voter expression is cause for optimism
MY OLD FRIEND and congressional colleague John S. McCain liked to joke that “it’s always darkest before it’s totally black” – wryly revising notions about it being darkest just before […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote for climate and democracy
CLIMATE AND DEMOCRACY are on the ballot this fall for hundreds of thousands of voters across the Commonwealth. Voters in all or part of 44 communities (a complete list is […]
Posted inPolitics
Enviro groups split on state Senate battle
TWO OF THE STATE’S leading environmental groups are split on which candidate is the best to represent the Plymouth and Norfolk Senate district, which includes six coastal communities dealing with […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker calls ranked-choice voting too complicated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he opposes ranked-choice voting because it’s too complicated for both voters and election officials to carry out. The governor said voting is already complicated […]
Posted inOpinion
No excuses, find a way to vote this year
FOR THE LAST three-and-a-half years, we’ve heard the same question over and over: “What happened in 2016?“ The fact is, we know what happened. More than 100 million votes that […]
Posted inPolitics
It’s COVID-19 crunch time
THE SAME DAY President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden debated for a final time, the US set a record for the number of daily new coronavirus cases — […]
Posted inPolitics
Getting out the prisoner vote
EVEN THOUGH they’re locked up during a pandemic, it’s starting to look like the roughly 6,800 prisoners across the state who are eligible to vote will have a better chance […]
Posted inOpinion
If Barrett is confirmed, we’re for packing the court
WHY ARE REPUBLICANS so desperate to ram through a Supreme Court nomination that will impact Americans’ lives for decades? They’re scared that come November 3 they will lose. That despite […]
Posted inOpinion
Ex-reporter transitions to political partisan
A YEAR AGO, I was a nonpartisan political reporter in Massachusetts, happy to give people from either side of the spectrum due credit or due comeuppance. No longer. Now I […]
Posted inOpinion
A refreshing non-party-line vote
I AM NOT one for hyperbole, but this is the most contentious election year that I have seen. Republicans versus Democrats. Ideologues on both sides trying to outdo each other […]
