PM in the News: “A ballot question to eliminate party primaries in Massachusetts is dividing state Democrats”

Chris VanBuskirk, “A ballot question to eliminate party primaries in Massachusetts is dividing state Democrats,” Boston Globe, May 11, 2026.

Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Massachusetts and a former state committee member, said all-party primaries increase the power of candidates who can self-fund their own campaigns.

He pointed to a 2018 congressional race in California, which also has a “top-two” primary system and where the open seat initially drew more than a half dozen Democratic candidates.The lineup eventually winnowed to those who could bankroll their bid. Gil Cisneros, who scored a $266 million lottery jackpot with his wife in 2010, won the election.

In California, among those vying in the crowded race for governor this year is hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer, who’s already spent more than $130 million on the campaign, most of it from his own pockets.

“It increases the power of big money,” Cohn said of the “top-two” primary system.

Cohn also said opposition to the ballot question has united factions of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee that were at odds last year amid an insider battle over the party’s platform, which saw a push to spell out support for LGBTQ+ protections, rent control, transgender individuals, and efforts to address systemic racism.

“Across all factions, people thought that the ballot question was a bad idea,” Cohn said.

Brookline.News: “Younger candidates push out some of Brookline’s political old guard in progressive sweep”

Sam Mintz and Vivi Smilgius, “Younger candidates push out some of Brookline’s political old guard in progressive sweep,” Brookline.News, May 6, 2026.

“This was an election about getting people to the polls,” said Miriam Aschkenasy, a former Select Board member who is one of the leaders of the recently launched group Progressive Brookline. “We have an idea about what we think Brookline should be as a community, and we have to get people involved.” 

…

Zimmerman, the 43-year-old co-founder of B4E, received the most votes by a large margin. She was endorsed by both B4E and Progressive Brookline.

“Between those two groups, you had a lot of very passionate people organizing around the election, door knocking, reaching out to their networks,” she said. 

…In Precinct 9, all five of the winners were endorsed by Brookline for Everyone and Progressive Brookline. 

Across Town Meeting races, those groups did exceedingly well: 95% of Town Meeting candidates endorsed by both Brookline for Everyone and Progressive Brookline were successful, compared with 76% endorsed by Brookline by Design, B4E’s frequent antagonist, which advocates for a more deliberate planning process. Eighty-five percent of Brookline PAX endorsees won. 

…

“I think that for a long time, a select few people really were the people involved in town politics. I think that’s changing,” said Aschkenasy of Progressive Brookline. “I think we are mobilizing a new group of people who want to do something and say something.” 

…

Federspiel, the incumbent, said this election felt like a shift toward more progressive values, which the past couple of elections have strayed away from. She added that new political groups in town, such as Progressive Brookline, played a big role — and raised some questions about existing groups and their values.

“The [Progressive Brookline] board has new faces, new voices … something like Brookline PAX has been around for a while. There’s not so many new faces, new voices,” Federspiel said. “They had supported me in the past and they did not endorse me this time. I don’t believe I’m less progressive, so I’m kind of thinking they’re less progressive.”