IN DEEP BLUE MASSACHUSETTS, the outcome of this year’s presidential election is likely a foregone conclusion. But if this year’s campaign has taught us anything, it is that marginalized communities […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Veterinarian group opposes Question 3
FOR THOSE WHO CARE about the humane treatment of animals, Question 3 appears to be a no-brainer. The initiative calls for state requirements to ensure that animals raised for eggs, […]
Posted inPolitics
In Lowell, higher salaries for a higher purpose
THE LOWELL CITY COUNCIL is giving itself and the city school board raises on the order of 67 to 100 percent, purportedly as a way to attract a more diverse […]
Posted inPolitics
Can Elizabeth Warren legislate?
DURING HER FIRST four years representing Massachusetts in the Senate, Elizabeth Warren has become the chamber’s leading progressive voice. Hillary Clinton considered her for the vice presidential slot and, while […]
Posted inEducation
Charter showdown
IN NOVEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS voters will have their say on a ballot question that would allow up to 12 new or expanded charter schools each year above the existing state cap […]
Posted inPolitics
Why Trump’s performance matters in Mass.
REPUBLICAN KATE CAMPANALE stunned the state’s political establishment in 2014 by winning the 17th Worcester district House seat, edging out Democrat Douglas Belanger by just 43 votes out of 9,750 […]
Posted inPolitics
Pot opponents hit ‘Big Marijuana’
OPPONENTS OF THE BALLOT QUESTION to legalize adult use of pot are pivoting their focus away from the dangers of the drug and taking aim at “Big Marijuana,” the burgeoning […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Kerrigan lists backers for Dem post
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE The Democratic Party’s last nominee for lieutenant governor, Stephen Kerrigan, has moved aggressively in the past few days to project the image of a front-runner to […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Galvin is out of line
William Galvin, the secretary of state, has made no secret of his open hostility to the United Independent Party. In a recent interview with the Boston Globe, he made a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Why I’m joining the United Independent Party (for now)
“DEMOCRACY IS NOT a spectator sport,” said my hero, John Gardner, from my days as CEO of Common Cause. He meant that it is our job as citizens to remind […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Politics
Medical pot dispensaries can cash in with ballot question
THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY in Massachusetts, which has been struggling to get off the ground, could hit the jackpot if voters this fall approve a ballot question legalizing the commercial […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
South Shore Senate race decided — for now
Patrick O’Connor will be the new state Republican state senator from the Plymouth and Norfolk District, but the 31-year-old Weymouth town council president may want to hold off on new […]
Posted inPolitics
Why whites control Lowell city government
Photographs by Meghan Moore LOWELL IS MOST commonly associated with block upon block of old mill buildings; immigrants from Asia and the world over; and tough streets, the kind that […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
We’re on to New Hampshire
Well, that will leave a mark on Donald Trump. The consensus front-runner right up until the first votes were cast is now leading from behind. The Iowa caucuses handed him a humbling […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Bloomberg news
There apparently can never be too many New York billionaires in the race for president. Or, at a minimum, one may not be enough. The weekend brought news that former […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Cruz in for a legal bruising
If money is the mother’s milk of politics, hypocrisy is what journalism runs on. That makes the speculation that Ted Cruz might not be eligible to serve as president under […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Health Care, Opinion
Setting hospital prices by ballot question
A LOOMING 2016 ballot initiative threatens to upend the foundations of hospital finance in Massachusetts, even if the measure never reaches the voters. The clash involves a fractured hospital community, insurers, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The “logic” of Trump
Donald Trump came to Lowell on Monday, packing the Tsongas Center and once again befuddling those who ask, perfectly legitimately, why so many people are drawn to a candidate who […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hefner causing unwelcome laughs
It’s hard to say who is the punch line in the saga of Bryon Hefner, the 28-year-old fiancé of Senate President Stan Rosenberg, whose loose-cannon persona is causing headaches for the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
No go: Hefner’s ‘due diligence’ didn’t take long
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE JUST DAYS AFTER SAYING he was “seriously considering” running for a soon-to-be vacant state Senate seat, the fiancé of Senate President Stanley Rosenberg has decided not […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Rosenberg’s fiance says he may run for Senate
This is awkward. Byron Hefner says he is “strongly considering” running for a seat in the Massachusetts Senate, which is led by his fiance, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg. The 28-year-old […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Marty hearts Hillary
Hillary Clinton came to Boston yesterday for the kind of stop any Democrat running for president is eager to make — for a rally where the city’s mayor endorses your […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Trump knows what he’s doing
For months, Donald Trump has been defending his plan to deport illegal immigrants by following the lead of former President Dwight Eisenhower, who took action to oust 1.5 million undocumented aliens […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Zombie politics
Stephen Murphy lost his at-large Boston City Council seat in last week’s election, but a delicious piece of gossip buzzing through political circles has him rising from the political dead […]