STATE LAW lays out the steps needed to file an initiative petition to put a question before voters on the state ballot: get certified by the attorney general, collect signatures, go to the Legislature. What’s not included, but may as well be, is defend the petition before the Supreme Judicial Court. In what has essentially […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Chang-Diaz turns forum with Healey into a debate
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL candidate Sonia Chang-Diaz, frustrated in her attempts to negotiate a pre-convention, one-on-one debate with her rival Maura Healey, used a Wednesday night forum on climate change to accentuate what she perceives as key differences between their campaigns. Sitting next to the attorney general and often addressing her directly, Chang-Diaz, the state senator from […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey climate plan calls for cabinet czar
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL candidate Maura Healey began to flesh out her policy positions on Tuesday by unveiling a climate change plan that calls for the appointment of cabinet-level official to oversee and coordinate the effort and sets ambitious goals for eliminating the use of fossil fuels in generating electricity and powering the MBTA. As the state’s […]
Posted inThe Download
Bump says auditor cannot audit Legislature
Back in 2010, the last time the state auditor’s job was up for grabs, CommonWealth went out on the hustings to see what the candidates were talking about. It turned out they were spending a significant chunk of their time explaining what the auditor does because few voters seemed to know. Flash forward to today, […]
Posted inPolitics
Bump says auditor cannot audit Legislature
BACK IN 2010, the last time the state auditor’s job was up for grabs, CommonWealth went out on the hustings to see what the candidates were talking about. It turned out they were spending a significant chunk of their time explaining what the auditor does because few voters seemed to know. Flash forward to today, […]
Posted inOpinion
DiZoglio vows to audit the Legislature if elected auditor
I WAS DISAPPOINTED by Bruce Mohl’s recent post in CommonWealth magazine relative to the Massachusetts auditor’s race entitled, “Standing up campaign promises of auditor candidates.” A more fitting title might have been “Status Quo is the Way to Go,” as it implied that the state auditor should not seek to creatively use every power at […]
Posted inPolitics
Chang-Diaz, Healey wrangling over debates
THE TWO DEMOCRATIC gubernatorial candidates continued to wrangle over debates on Thursday, with Attorney General Maura Healey agreeing to two debates after the convention in June and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz dismissing that response as a dodge. Chang-Diaz called for three debates before the convention, but Healey said she would participate in two forums prior to […]
Posted inPolitics
Standing up campaign promises of auditor candidates
THE CANDIDATES for auditor, particularly the two Democrats, make the office seem pretty sexy. Chris Dempsey, a leading transportation advocate who previously led the successful fight to prevent the Olympics from coming to Boston in 2024, says he intends to use the tools of the office to reform the State Police. He has also unveiled […]
Posted inPolitics
Waiting for the governor’s race to get going
WHEN SONIA CHANG-DIAZ challenged Maura Healey to agree to a series of three televised debates prior to the Democratic state convention in June, some political analysts dismissed the move as an attempt by a struggling candidate to gain ground on a better known and better financed rival. There may be some truth to that analysis, […]
Posted inThe Download
Liquor license ballot question has layers of controversy
Nurse staffing ratios. Right to repair. Zoning reform. Almost every election, there is at least one ballot question that defies easy explanation and generally boils down to a dispute among interest groups. This year, add liquor license reform to the list. The question heading towards the November 2022 ballot involves a dispute between package stores […]