On March 3, 1925, Frederick Gillett stepped down as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives to become Massachusetts’s Junior Senator. Arguably, the district centered on Hampden County has not enjoyed such influence since. That could change next year if Democrats take the House.
GOVERNOR Democrats in Massachusetts are at an odd crossroads. The national moment should have made the party and Massachusetts ascendant along with progressive alternatives to the taint in Washington. Instead, among elected Democrats here, there seems little more than limp opposition to the milquetoast, if
On August 24 an undeniably transformative event will occur in the City of Springfield. After nearly six years of negotiation, debate, votes, wrangling, construction, renegotiation, and a disappointment here or there, MGM Springfield will open. Those who read this blog know we have been consistently
Winston Churchill allegedly said history “shall be kind to” him as he intends to write it. While the quote is not quite accurate, he not only made history, but wrote it. However, Churchill has not been the sole author his history or others’. Plenty of
Media literacy (and its flip side media transparency) is one of the most underappreciated aspects of our political landscape today. In many way, it is something that the 2016 election pushed to the fore, with, in my opinion, devastating results. That doesn’t just mean the
Short of showing the full and true horror of gun violence on TV, very little might actually shock the country into action on guns. The slaughter of 20 Connecticut first-graders in their classroom horrified and spurred that state and a few others to act, but
All the fixings were in place. The table was set. Surely, this would be the year Springfield voters would awaken to scarf down the opportunity two open at-large Council seats presented. But once all the ballots were in, turnout was just as disappointing than past cycles, if
The School Committee’s at-large vacancy is the first one since ward representation began. With schools and their reputation a perennial problem—fairly or not—for the city, this position has a great deal of import. Moreover, the School Committee controls nearly 2/3 of the city budget, giving
Springfield has a unique opportunity with so many open seats, all at-large, in this year’s election. It represents a paradigm shift away from the pre-ward representation Council. With nearly all of the (incorrect) institutional memory about the Council’s weakness fading, there is a real possibility
Are the stakes low in Holyoke’s mayoral election? Not in the least. The city will be, for the first time, electing a mayor for four years. That person will have twice the time to imprint their agenda onto the city before facing voters again. At