GOV. CHARLIE BAKER got a little prickly on Tuesday when he was pressed on where he stood in terms of deciding to seek a third term next year. Jim Braude, one of the hosts of the Boston Public Radio show on WGBH, has a knack of keeping his monthly visits with Baker substantive but light […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Baker philosophically not on Wu’s side
IN THE RACE for mayor of Boston, Annissa Essaibi George seems to be getting help from Gov. Charlie Baker in delivering the message that some of rival Michelle Wu’s major proposals are fanciful and unlikely to come to fruition. One of Essaibi George’s major campaign themes is that much of what Wu is promising voters […]
Posted inOpinion
Incumbent-first law is unique to Massachusetts
AMONG THE WAYS that Massachusetts is unique among the 50 states: our state election ballots give top billing to incumbent state officeholders who are seeking re-election, with the other candidates listed in alphabetical order below. (Cities and towns can choose alternatives – Boston, notably, selects candidate order by lottery.) No other state reserves the top […]
Posted inThe Download
Does Wu have a Teflon coating?
Michelle Wu has made it clear she’s no Charlie Baker fan, telling the Boston Globe her ambitious agenda for Boston would be easier to achieve with a Democrat in the governor’s office. But she seems to share one trait with the Republican pol (besides their Harvard degrees): A popularity that seems impervious to almost anything […]
Posted inPolitics
Does Wu have a Teflon coating?
MICHELLE WU has made it clear she’s no Charlie Baker fan, telling the Boston Globe her ambitious agenda for Boston would be easier to achieve with a Democrat in the governor’s office. But she seems to share one trait with the Republican pol (besides their Harvard degrees): A popularity that seems impervious to almost anything […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate adds 6th majority-minority district in Brockton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER SOLICITING feedback over the past week on draft redistricting maps for the Legislature, House and Senate leaders on Tuesday finalized revised plans that would add a sixth majority-minority Senate district that covers Brockton and strengthen the majority-minority status of House districts in New Bedford and Framingham. The revised maps would […]
Posted inPolitics
Concerns raised on redistricting plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE VOTING RIGHTS ADVOCATES knocked the Senate redistricting proposal as “overcautious.” A state representative with eyes on a seat in the other chamber slammed the potential split of Haverhill as “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” And in the most visible sign yet that internal dissent is rumbling, a member of the Senate […]
Posted inPolitics
Worcester School Committee reaches voting settlement
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WORCESTER OFFICIALS and a coalition of voters who filed a federal lawsuit alleging the city’s School Committee structure illegally dilutes the electoral power of communities of color have reached an agreement that would make November’s municipal election the final time the current entirely at-large system is used. If approved by the […]
Posted inOpinion
Abolishing BPDA should not be first priority
I SUPPORT Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu’s good government impulse to “fix Boston’s broken development system,” but worry that her plan to abolish the Boston Planning and Development Agency may very well be neither necessary nor helpful in accomplishing that goal. And as a legal matter, or even an administrative task, the “abolishing” part may […]
Posted inTransportation
Why we need fare-free public transportation
Earlier last month, I spent two full weeks on public transit across Massachusetts. My mornings started the way they always do; racing to the Blue Line to get my son Mac to daycare on time. Then I kept going. I caught the commuter rail to Worcester, hopped the completely fare-free 41 bus from Lawrence to Lowell, jumped […]