The real estate industry has a new line of attack in its campaign against rent control: the impact on property values, which could crumble and trigger difficult local decisions about cutting services or hiking taxes, according to a new report.
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Two veteran Democrats sue to block all-party primary ballot question
A pair of Democratic state committee members want the state’s highest court to toss a ballot question that would shift state elections to an all-party primary system, teeing up a legal fight over a measure that could fundamentally reshape political power in Massachusetts.
Posted inBallot Questions
Lawmakers and DiZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform
Auditor Diana DiZoglio showed up ready to fight, and some lawmakers indulged her, at a hearing about a ballot question that would subject the Legislature and governor’s office to the public records law.
Posted inPolitics
Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration
As the Legislature prepares to review 11 ballot questions with major policymaking implications, the top two Democrats came together to complain that the process is “fraught with peril.”
Posted inState Government
Boston rep sanctioned for spending campaign dollars on personal uses
Campaign finance regulators say Rep. Chynah Tyler of Boston misspent campaign funds on personal uses such as Uber Eats orders, and failed to document details behind about $4,500 in other spending.
Posted inState Government
What to expect when you’re expecting (legislative action)
Major policy issues like housing affordability, primary care access, and utility bills loom over Beacon Hill in 2026, when voters could also decide a dozen ballot questions and pick statewide elected officials.
Posted inState Government
Our top five Beacon Hill stories of 2025
The Democrats who control the levers of power in Massachusetts spent most of the year fretting about upheaval from the federal government and preparing for more expansive action down the line.
Posted inState Government
Amid shaky economy, tax cut proposal draws heightened scrutiny
Already buffeted by economic pressures and federal funding cuts, top Democrats are beginning to warn that major financial upheaval would follow if voters approve a pair of tax-reform measures en route to the 2026 ballot.
Posted inPolitics
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter
In a closely watched upset, City Councilor Robert Van Campen beat DeMaria by 9 percentage points. His promise to restore trust and accountability in City Hall wasn’t hard to sell. But Van Campen has a tough act to follow, despite DeMaria’s scandals.
Posted inBallot Questions
Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026
Voters could have up to a dozen statewide ballot questions to decide in 2026, ranging from legislative transparency to marijuana policy to gun safety, following the latest big hurdle in the biennial process.
Posted inPolitics
‘They’re making a huge bet’: Rent control referendum splits progressives
If a campaign to instate rent control across the Commonwealth makes it to the ballot, voters will need to weigh whether every municipality should adopt a measure more stringent than earlier attempts by Boston, Brookline, and Somerville.
Posted inOpinion
What if AI tells us how to vote?
With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
Posted inPolitics
Winter special election scheduled to fill Lowell-based Senate seat
“The Senate on Monday adopted an order scheduling a March 3, 2026 special election to fill the First Middlesex seat, held since 2018 by the late Sen. Ed Kennedy, who died on Oct. 1 at the age of 74.”
Posted inPolitics
Mass. begins 2030 Census prep amid national redistricting fights
With mid-decade redistricting fights erupting elsewhere, Massachusetts officials are ramping up their preparations for the 2030 Census as they grapple with new housing development and concerns about community trust.
Posted inOpinion
America’s underfunded elections: a national security risk we can’t ignore
Our elections are the backbone of our democracy. They’ve been formally designated as critical infrastructure, alongside our power grid and water supply. Yet we treat them as an afterthought in our budgets.
Posted inGovernment
Researchers find some worry, some hope for AI in democracy
The risks are serious, but focusing only on artificial intelligence misinformation threatens to overtake conversations about where AI has been most impactful as a mass communication tool.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Ron Mariano, media critic | First lady or first partner?
“I mean, you guys have an obligation to write what’s really gonna happen,” House Speaker Ron Mariano huffed.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Wilkerson lands perch at troubled nursing home
When a Suffolk Superior Court judge appointed Joseph Feaster as the receiver of the Boston facility in April, the well-known attorney immediately turned to an old friend for help.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Registered opposition | Karen Read crowd | Super PAC shuts down
Voters are often surprised to see their names at the bottom of the ballot, where the obscure county contests appear. But occasionally races for such positions become the most intriguing campaigns available.
Posted inPolitics
Bill to allow campaign funds for childcare on the move
While everything from pricey steakhouse dinners to travel to far-off conferences can be paid with campaign funds under the broad definition of allowable spending that furthers a candidate’s political career, childcare falls outside that interpretation.
