BOSTON—With three weeks until Massachusetts begins counting ballots, the Democratic contenders for number two in the gubernatorial election again crossed swords. The subjects ranged from transportation to the meaning of the office they seek.
In only days, Springfield will hold its first ever special election for City Council. A large field has formed, but voters at the August 16 preliminary could be spare. Nevertheless, with seven contenders, the special election has become perhaps the most competitive preliminary since ward representation returned in 2009.
SPRINGFIELD—Amid a tight battle for his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor, Senator Eric Lesser received the endorsement of the region’s most senior elected official, US Representative Richard E. Neal, framed by Union Station.
SPRINGFIELD—When ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft began pushing a ballot question to keep employees classified as contractors, the strategy was not exotic to AG candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan. Yet, for years the companies had reminded her of something exotic—dancing, that is.
SPRINGFIELD—Some supporters of Quentin Palfrey are drawn to his emphasis of civil rights. Others like his stance on health care or climate. Many agree with his alarm about outside money in the race. Those positions, he says, show he is the most progressive candidate for attorney general. Yet, a unifying them may be something he shares with the woman he hopes to succeed: time in the office.
Just over two years since the coronavirus ripped its way through Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, the herd of legal action underway has begun to thin. Last week, families of the 76 veterans who contracted COVID-19 during the deadly March 2020 outbreak settled with the commonwealth for $56 million.
NORTHAMPTON—In the 2014 primary, the attention was on the gubernatorial race. Before the convention culled the herd to three candidates, there were five running. There was a race for lieutenant governor, too but the eventual winner was not terribly surprising.
This time around, there is a lot more attention the race for gubernatorial understudy.
With former Boston City Councilor and mayoral aspirant Andrea Campbell entering the race for Attorney General, statewide Democratic primaries are beginning to fill out. Incumbent Treasurer Deb Goldberg and incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin are seeking reelection. Their plans followed many others’.
At 5 foot 4 inches, Maura Healey, Massachusetts’s Attorney General, towers over few. Yet, for months now she has loomed over the race for the commonwealth’s highest office.
In the end, for Springfield, 2021 may have come to define the city’s limits. Some of those limits were long overdue. Courts ruled twice on the limits of Mayor Domenic Sarno’s power and the coronavirus revealed the limits of his influence. But those limits also