STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITING COMPETING CLAIMS from both sides of a nurse staffing ballot question, health insurers on Wednesday asked a state agency to produce in the next month an independent analysis of the costs associated with Question 1. In a letter to Health Policy Commission executive director David Seltz, the Massachusetts Association of […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Gonzalez follows millionaire tax playbook
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE Jay Gonzalez crafted a tax plan that attempts to draft off of the popularity of the millionaire tax, but instead of taxing well-to-do individuals he intends to tax nine wealthy, private colleges and universities. Gonzalez is proposing a 1.6 percent tax on college endowments greater than $1 billion, an initiative he says […]
Posted inPolitics
Trahan wins recount by 145 votes
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THIRTEEN DAYS after an election that left her with a small advantage over Dan Koh, Lori Trahan of Westford emerged as the decisive winner Monday in the Third Congressional District Democratic primary, with Koh conceding as recount totals failed to alter the initial outcome. “My deep roots in the district will […]
Posted inPolitics
Diehl says he could be asset to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REPUBLICAN AND PRESIDENT TRUMP supporter Geoff Diehl said Thursday that he could be an “asset” to Gov. Charlie Baker in Washington despite their policy differences, countering the message from Democrats that the governor’s support of his candidacy against Elizabeth Warren is a liability. Diehl also pushed back against the notion that […]
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Dems try to link Baker to Trump agenda
MOST OF THE STATE’S state’s congressional representatives, who in the past have had generally nice things to say about Gov. Charlie Baker, attacked him on Wednesday, linking him to President Trump and his policies through his support for the GOP’s US Senate candidate in Massachusetts. Baker says he didn’t vote for Trump and has often […]
Posted inOpinion
Why climate groups deserted Sanchez
A POLITICAL LIGHTNING BOLT hit the Massachusetts State House on September 4. Jeffrey Sanchez, the longtime incumbent and chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, was defeated by Nika Elugardo, a first-time candidate, community leader, and former staffer to Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz. Sanchez outspent Elugardo 3-1 and was backed by much of the establishment, […]
Posted inPolitics
Speeches highlight big differences between Baker, Gonzalez
IN THEIR PRIMARY NIGHT acceptance speeches, Gov. Charlie Baker and his Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez laid out very different visions of the future. Baker talked of fiscal discipline, opposition to tax increases, an economy that is booming, and schools that are the best in the nation. He didn’t mention President Trump or announce any bold […]
Posted inPolitics
Voters hand defeats to two key members of DeLeo leadership team
ON A PRIMARY NIGHT when Beacon Hill incumbents fared well overall, two members of House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s leadership team from Boston were defeated by newcomers to state politics. Nika Elugardo, a self-described member of the “super left,” defeated Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and a 15-year veteran […]
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Berkshire County DA’s race: baggage, experience, politics
BY ALL INDICATIONS, the Democratic primary race for Berkshire County district attorney has been a bruiser. In public forums and interviews, the incumbent and his two challengers have challenged each other repeatedly, forcing the candidates to defend their commitment to reform, relevant experience, and fitness for office. “This is all good for democracy,” said Rahsaan […]
Posted inOpinion
Why some establishment Dems are on the defensive
HEADING INTO THE SEPTEMBER 4 primary, there is an undercurrent of voter discontent with establishment Democrats, which activists and candidates propose to fix with more progressive ideology – or at least the appearance of progressivism. But the real choice isn’t between progressives and centrists; it is between constitutional ideals and an autocratic approach to governing. There […]