Announcing Our Second Round of Legislative Endorsements

The Massachusetts state primary is now less than 7 weeks away: Tuesday, September 6. And the general election is less than 16 weeks away: Tuesday, November 8.

With those dates rapidly approaching, we are proud to release our second group of legislative endorsements for this cycle.

Curious about our process? 

  • You can find all of the comprehensive questionnaires we have received from candidates this cycle so far here and here.
  • We encourage our chapters to vote on endorsements first so that we can align and amplify their work.
  • As we believe in the importance of small “d” democracy, all of our endorsements get voted on by our members, and candidates must receive at least 60% of the vote for an endorsement.
  • This list will be growing soon! We are planning to release more endorsements in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

But now the endorsees….

7th Essex: Manny Cruz

Manny Cruz for 7th Essex

Manny Cruz is a member of the School Committee in Salem and brings an impressive background in public service. He was formerly the Chair of the Governor’s State Wide Youth Council and a legislative staffers to both Representative Matias. He is currently the Advocacy Director at Latinos for Education, through which he created the Educator Diversity Coalition and helped found the MA Alliance for Early College. He has been a strong advocate for the environment, public education, and reproductive justice, and he has been endorsed by our new Salem chapter.

Where’s the District? Salem

Learn More: https://www.mannycruz.org/

6th Middlesex: Margareth Shepard

Margareth Shepard for 6th Middlesex

Margareth Shepard is a former Framingham City Councilor and was the first Brazilian immigrant elected to a City Council in the US, and she has been endorsed by our Framingham chapter. She has served as a member of the MetroWest Commission on the Status of Women, Chair of the Massachusetts Brazilian Citizens Council, secretary of the Brazilian American Center, and board member of the Brazilian Women’s Group, and she founded Brazilians for Political Education to increase voter registration and civic engagement. In these roles, and in her role as a Councilor, she was a major advocate for the Work & Family Mobility Act and a reliable ally for progressives in Framingham.

Where’s the District? Framingham (Precincts 1-8, 9B, 10-16)

Learn More: https://www.margarethforstaterep.com/

9th Middlesex: Heather May

Heather May for 9th Middlesex

Heather May is an educator at Emerson College, teaching classes in public speaking, debate, mental health, and healthcare policy as well as a community activist in Waltham. Having been active in the push to unionize the non-tenured faculty at Emerson, she understands the value of organizing (something the House certainly needs), and she is running on strong progressive policies and the need for systemic change in the MA House. She is challenging an incumbent with a record of voting in lockstep with the Speaker, if not worse (given the incumbent’s opposition to the 2020 police reform bill).

Where’s the District? Waltham (Ward 1 Precincts 1, 2; Ward 2; Ward 3 Precincts 1, 2; Ward 4 Precinct 1; Ward 5 Precinct 2; Ward 6 Precincts 1, 2A; Ward 7; Ward 8 Precincts 1, 2A)

Learn More: https://www.heatherforwaltham.com/

16th Middlesex: Zoe Dzineku

Zoe Dzineku for 16th Middlesex

Zoe Dzineku brings the experiences as an immigrant, a small business owner, a single mother, and a community organizer. As Chair of the Lowell Election Commission, she successfully fought back the City’s attempt to reduce the number of polling locations in the first election with newly drawn Council districts. She has been involved in community organizing with the African community in the Merrimack Valley and with the Merrimack Valley Project, fighting for racial and economic justice. She has channeled that work in her role as a well-regarded Director of Constituent Services in the State Senate. Solidarity Lowell endorsed her, and we are proud to as well.

Where’s the District? Chelmsford (Precincts 1, 2, 3A, 5B, 6); Lowell (Ward 1 Precincts 1-4, Ward 2, Ward 4 Precinct 4)

Learn More: https://www.govotezoe.com

18th Middlesex: Tara Hong

Tara Hong for 18th Middlesex

Tara Hong is a Cambodian immigrant and a community activist in Lowell. He is the Civic Engagement Coordinator at the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, where he has worked on voter education and community empowerment. He serves on the board of the Lowell Litter Krewe and Mill City Grows, making sure Lowell is a more sustainable and equitable city. He is running on a strong progressive platform, rooted in transparency, affordable housing, and bold climate action, and he is challenging an incumbent who has voted lockstep with the Speaker (if not worse, given the incumbent’s votes against police reform). Solidarity Lowell endorsed him, and we are proud to as well.

Where’s the District? Lowell (Ward 1 Precinct 1A; Ward 4 Precincts 3, 4A; Ward 5 Precinct 1A; Ward 6 Precincts 1, 2, 3A, 4; Ward 7 Precincts 1-4; Ward 8 Precincts 1-4)

Learn More: https://www.tarahong.com/

22nd Middlesex: Teresa English

Teresa English for 22nd Middlesex

Teresa English is a public school teacher in Lawrence with a lifelong commitment to public service. She is running to fight for increased aid for public schools, bold climate action, stronger worker protections, and a Massachusetts where people can afford to live at any stage of their life. She understands the importance of investing in the future of the Commonwealth and ensuring that government is accessible to the public. She is challenging a Republican incumbent who has one of the most conservative records in the entire State House. Solidarity Lowell endorsed her, and we are proud to as well.

Where’s the District? Billerica

Learn More: https://www.voteteresaenglish.org/

6th Norfolk: Tamisha Civil

Tamisha Civil for 6th Norfolk

Tamisha Civil combines a history of community involvement and strong progressive values. She has been a legal advocate for women and children impacted by domestic violence, a Commissioner for the Eastern Regional Commission on the Status of Women, a committee member for the Diversity and Inclusion for the Massachusetts Trial Court, a volunteer of the Stoughton’s Energy & Sustainability Committee, and a board member of Canton Residents for Sustainable Equitable Future (CR4SEF). She is running against a conservative Democratic incumbent who has opposed the Fair Share Amendment as well as police reform legislation.

Where’s the District? Avon, Canton, Stoughton

Learn More: https://www.tamishacivil.com/

15th Norfolk: Raul Fernandez

Raul Fernandez has been an impressive local leader in the fight for more progressive municipal government, expanding the vision of what’s possible. As a member of the Select Board in Brookline, he chaired the Task Force to Reimagine Policing in Brookline, leading a community process to imagine a crisis response system that puts mental health and well-being first. At Boston University, where he is a lecturer, he co-developed the course “Identity, Inclusion & Social Action,” which helps students to examine systems of oppression and identify opportunities to work toward social justice, and he is a Board Member of the Racial Imbalance Advisory Council at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Through both lived and professional experience, Raul understands the urgency of action on the many crises the Commonwealth faces and the need for systemic change to address them.

Where’s the District? Brookline (Precincts 1-4, 5A, 6-12, 17)

Learn More: https://www.raulforrep.com/

Take Action: The MA Legislative Session Ends in TWO WEEKS

Did you know that the current legislative session at the MA State House ends in just two weeks?

That’s right: any bills that don’t pass between now and July 31st are done until next year (at the earliest).

That means that there will be a flurry of activity in the coming weeks, and we want to keep you in the loop.

Stop the MA Legislature from Giving Massive Tax Breaks to the Wealthiest Estates

The Massachusetts tax system hits the wallets of lower-income people harder than high earners, with the bottom 20% of earners paying a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes than the top 1%. An exception is the Commonwealth’s relatively robust estate tax. The estate tax is one of the main policies we have focused on reducing the gaping racial wealth gap in Massachusetts.

Nonetheless, the Massachusetts House voted last week to roll back the estate tax, to the cost of $207 million. This lost revenue means money isn’t available for important investments or for tax relief for the struggling residents of the Commonwealth.

Even worse, the estate tax rollback was designed in a way that disproportionately benefits the largest estates, namely those over $3 million. This would be the biggest increase in the racial wealth gap in decades.

If legislators want to help comparatively smaller estates, they should design their design their policies to do so, not advance a costly giveaway to the wealthiest estates.

Can you write to your state senator to urge them to reject the House’s estate tax proposal?

Turn up the Heat: MA Needs Climate Action

A climate bill is in the works, but it hasn’t reached the Governor’s desk yet. Together, the provisions laid forth in the House and Senate proposed bills put Massachusetts in a good position to implement strategies to reduce our emissions 50% by 2030 – as required by law – and create healthier communities.

But these strategies cannot wait two years more to be passed into law! Let’s ensure that lawmakers finalize a climate bill that moves us toward our shared climate and justice goals.

The conference committee and House and Senate leaders must send a bill to the Governor’s deskby Thursday, July 21 to avoid the chance of a pocket veto by Governor Baker.

Your legislators need to hear from you: no climate bill is not an option! Advocates are circulating a public sign-on letter for legislators to show their support for moving this forward swiftly. Your legislators need to hear from you that it’s important they demonstrate support!!

Take action!

  1. Check if your legislators have signed onto the letter
  2. If not, send your legislators a message asking them to sign on – either by emailing them or calling them.

Email

Dear _________

I am alarmed to hear that, in the final days of the legislative session, a comprehensive climate bill is still not on the governor’s desk. We have very little time before the end of the session.

[why passing a climate and justice bill is important to you]

We must get a climate bill to the governor’s desk by Thursday. Please join me in voicing your support for swift passage by signing on to this public “Dear Colleague” letter.

Thank you,

Call

I’m calling to voice concern that the legislature has still not passed a climate bill this session. Climate advocates are circulating a public sign-on letter for legislators in support of quickly moving a bill. Has the Representative/Senator seen the letter? You can view the form and the letter at bit.ly/maclimate22. Will the Representative/Senator sign on?

If yes: Wonderful, thank you. They can use the sign-on form found in the letter

If not sure/need to get back to you: Please let me know what the legislator says.

If no: Can you explain why not?

Two More Asks from Our Allies

Take Action: How to Make the MA House’s Economic Development Bill More Equitable

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Legislature released their economic development bill, a mix of investments and tax reforms. While there are many parts of the bill that are welcome and overdue, the Legislature misses the mark on others.

No Excuse for Excluding Those Most in Need from Rebates

The economic development bill includes a provision to send one-time taxpayer rebates of $250 (or $500 for married couples) to individuals who reported between $38,000 and $100,000 in income (or up to $150,000 for joint filers) in 2021 as a way of blunting the impact of inflation on households.

But what about those with less than $38,000? Speaker Mariano argued that such individuals already received support through essential worker bonuses earlier this year, but if anyone could benefit from additional money right now in our increasingly unaffordable state, it is those who have the least.

Rep. Tami Gouveia’s Amendment #813 would eliminate this income floor.

Regressive Tax Cuts

All in all, the bill spends $523.5 million through tax policy changes. $207 million of that (almost 40%) will go to more affluent residents—an estimated 2,500 taxpayers.

That’s because of a change to the estate tax in the bill. Currently, the estate tax kicks in for estates valued $1 million or more (with a graduated rate above that), with a “cliff” effect leading to the whole value of the estate being taxed after that $1 million.

Cliffs can be bad policy designs, but what’s even worse is cuts to vital programs and services that would result from lost revenue. The Legislature could have chosen clear, readily available ways to fix this without costing so much money but chose not to.

Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven’s Amendment #621 would eliminate the estate tax language entirely and send the House back to the drawing board for a better proposal and Amendment #630 would would eliminate the cliff effect while preserving the progressive nature of the estate tax.

A Whiff on Housing Policy

In last year’s economic development bill, the Legislature included important zoning reforms and tenant protections. The economic development bill is one of the last chances for the Legislature to continue that work, and they missed that opportunity — a stunning decision as this state becomes increasingly unaffordable.

Rep. Mike Connolly filed several amendments to address this gap in the bill:

  • Amendment #26: Increase rental deduction to $5,000, which increases the rental deductions from $4,000 to $5,000.
  • Amendment #113: Simple-majority approval standard for inclusionary zoning ordinances, which would enable municipalities to approve inclusionary zoning ordinances by simple majority vote
  • Amendment #176: Local Option Real Estate Transfer Fee for Housing Affordability, which would enable municipalities to pass locally appropriate transfer fees on high-end real estate transactions to create dedicated funds for affordable housing

Can you contact your state rep in support of these amendments?

Time is Short: The Legislature Can Take Action to Rein in the Costs of Child Care and Housing

The national discourse around inflation tends to leave out major sources of rising costs facing individuals and families across the Commonwealth and the whole country: the spiraling costs of child care and housing.

Fortunately, the MA Senate is planning to vote on a bill this Thursday that represents a substantial step toward implementing a vision of a high-quality early education and child care system that is affordable and accessible for all families. You can read the Common Start Coalition’s statement on the bill here.

Let’s talk about housing for a moment too. There are less than four weeks left in the Legislative Session, and we need action–fast.

The Housing Crisis Requires Every Tool in the Toolbox

QUICK VERSION: Urge your state legislators to advocate for the inclusion of legislation to increase affordable housing production, preserve affordable housing stock, and protect tenants in the upcoming economic development bill.

CONTEXT: At the end of the last legislative session, the MA Legislature passed an economic development bill that included several key provisions to address the housing crisis in Massachusetts:

  • Reducing the voting threshold to a simple majority for smart growth zoning and affordable housing
  • Requiring cities and towns served by the MBTA to create at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right because transit-oriented development is good for equity and for the environment (“MBTA communities”)
  • Allowing municipalities the option of providing tenants in multi-family buildings the right to match a third-party offer when their homes are being sold, a key tool for preserving affordable housing stock (“tenant opportunity to purchase”)
  • Creating a process to seal eviction records for no-fault evictions, as eviction records can stay with tenants for life and make it prohibitive to find stable housing

But, on all four fronts, the work is unfinished.

  • A 2/3 majority approval threshold is still required for municipalities to adopt inclusionary zoning ordinances that would require a certain percentage of new construction be affordable.
  • The MBTA communities requirement lacks an enforcement mechanism, and it is too limited in application.
  • Charlie Baker VETOED the two pro-tenant proposals, and because the legislative session had already ended, the Legislature could not override him.

OPPORTUNITY: The Legislature is going to be passing another economic development bill in the final weeks of the session, and it’s essential that that bill finish the work of last year’s bill. And it’s essential that the Legislature doesn’t wait until the last minute to pass it.

REQUEST: Can you email your state legislators to urge them to prioritize a pro-housing, pro-tenant agenda in the economic development bill that includes the following?

  • H.1448: An Act Relative to Housing Production, which would lower the threshold for municipalities to approve inclusionary zoning ordinances, require multi-family zoning around public transportation and other suitable locations, and facilitate the conversion of underutilized public land and vacant commercial properties for housing
  • H.1426: An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal, which would let cities and towns adopt “tenant opportunity to purchase” ordinances that can preserve affordable rental housing stock, provide a mechanism for tenant associations to collectively purchase their buildings, and stabilize low-income households.
  • H. 4505: An Act promoting housing opportunity and mobility through eviction sealing (HOMES), which would create a process for the sealing of no-fault eviction records

MA Senate Votes to Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture, Juvenile Justice System

On Thursday, the MA Senate passed two bills to advance the “justice” component of our criminal justice system.

First, the Senate voted 31 to 9 to reform the civil asset forfeiture system, raising the legal bar that law enforcement must meet to seize and keep people’s money and property in suspected drug crimes. MA currently allows DAs the lowest legal burden of proof to keep property that’s seized, even when charges are never filed, and we’re the only state to do so.

The Senate also rejected 29 to 10 an amendment from Senator Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) to strip the language of the bill that would create a right to counsel for (1) defendants in related criminal cases (regardless of indigency) and (2) defendants in cases where there’s no related criminal case and who meet the indigency standard. 

Unfortunately, however, the Senate, on voice vote, adopted an amendment from Senator John Keenan (D-Quincy) to strip language from the bill that would have prevented funds seized through civil asset forfeiture from going to local police departments and DA offices and allocated them to the general fund instead. Allowing police departments and DA’s offices to keep the money creates a perverse set of incentives and also enables them to use the money for propaganda purposes.

The Senate also voted 32 to 8 to pass a bill (S.2942) that would increase opportunities for judicial diversion for youth.

Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) roll-called three amendments to limit the scope of the bill.

The first was to eliminate options for diversion for a long list of offenses. It failed 30 to 9, with Senators Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Anne Gobi (D-Spencer), Michael Moore (D-Auburn), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Walter Timilty (D-Milton), and John Velis (D-Westfield) joining the 3 Republicans in voting for the amendment.

His second was to strip the offense of “assault and battery with a dangerous weapon” from the list of offenses for which diversion would be an option. This offense, as Citizens for Juvenile Justice explain in an earlier link, is widely invoked, with things like eggs or lotion having been called “dangerous weapons” in past cases. It failed 26 to 12. The aforementioned 9 were joined by Sen. Nick Collins (D-South Boston), Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), and Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford).

His third amendment, to limit diversion opportunities to only a first offense, was defeated 33 to 6, with only Finegold, Montigny, and Pacheco joining Republicans.

MA House Votes 136 to 17 to Strengthen Reproductive Rights

On Wednesday, the MA House voted 136 to 17 to pass H.4930: An Act expanding protections for reproductive rights, which would, among other steps,

  • Declare that access to both reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming care are a constitutional or legal right
  • Do everything in the state’s power to shield providers and their patients from out-of-state legal action
  • Prohibit licensing boards from disciplining professionals for providing legally-protected care care
  • Bar police from providing discretionary assistance to aid in hostile investigations or litigation
  • Prohibit the Governor from extraditing someone to another state to face charges for providing care that is lawful in Massachusetts
  • Boost access to emergency contraception
  • Require insurers to cover abortion and related services without imposing deductibles, co-pays, or cost-sharing
  • Close a perceived loophole in the ROE Act to ensure access to abortion care in MA after 24 weeks in cases of a “severe” fetal anomaly

Letter to the Budget Conference Committee on No Cost Calls


Monday, July 27, 2022

Dear Chair Michlewitz, Chair Rodrigues, and members of the Committee:

I am writing on behalf of Progressive Massachusetts to thank you for your support of legislation that would keep families connected by eliminating the cost of phone calls for those who are incarcerated and for their loved ones. As you and the other members of the Conference Committee consider the FY23 budget reports, we urge you to consider that, to truly keep families connected, calls should be free, fully funded, and guaranteed.

We are proud to be among the 70 organizations, including legal service providers, public defenders, social workers, bar associations, and directly-affected people, that have advocated for No Cost Calls. We recognize that criminal legal reform is a racial justice issue and that mass incarceration disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities and people living in poverty. We understand that families often have to choose between staying connected to an incarcerated loved one and paying for necessities like rent or food—or risk going into debt.

We urge you to include the following essential pieces in the ultimate budget language:

Guaranteed Telephone Access

Currently, Massachusetts jails and prisons do not restrict how many minutes incarcerated people can talk to their loved ones each day. Calls are only limited by the cost. The Legislature must ensure that this current level of contact does not decrease once calls are free. Both the House and the Senate have approved language that aims to avoid new restrictions on access to phone calls. We urge you to bar any new caps on calls in order to maintain continuity and to guarantee at least 120 minutes per person per day.

Funding of Communication Services

We strongly support the House language creating a $20M Trust Fund dedicated to communication services. Upon proof of expenditures, the Fund would reimburse prisons and jails for their spending on communication services. That Trust Fund should be in the final FY23 budget, to take effect this year.

Prohibition on Commissions 

Both the House and Senate budgets address site commissions, i.e., payments made by phone companies to jails and prisons, taken from revenue paid by consumers. While some Sheriffs have said they need this money to provide programs, the House and Senate have agreed that low-income telephone consumers should not pay for programs in the jails and prisons. Instead, the Sheriffs should seek such funding through their budget requests, with full transparency and accountability, and the Legislature should ban site commissions.

Start Date

Families have shouldered the financial hardship of paying the high costs of maintaining contact with their incarcerated loved ones for too long. We respectfully request that you include fully funded, guaranteed No Cost Calls in the final FY23 budget, to take effect this year.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director Progressive Massachusetts





This Week: Take Action on Juvenile Justice Reform

What do eggs, lotion, and Slurpees have in common?

All of them have been deemed “dangerous weapons” in courts that made young people ineligible for judicial diversion to community supervision instead of incarceration.

This Thursday, the MA Senate will be voting on an important juvenile justice reform bill (S.2942) to expand opportunities for judicial diversion for youth, as well as another bill (S.2943) that eliminates the requirement that youth pay an $40 administrative bail fee as a condition of being released on bail.

The Senate also has the opportunity to strengthen these reforms by including an amendment (#4 to S.2942, filed by Sen. Pat Jehlen) to preserve the right to education of students who are accused of a felony offense allowing them to remain in school as long as their case has not moved towards an arraignment and that the felony be a “serious violent felony” before a student is suspended from school.

Can you contact your state senator in support of these reforms?

TOMORROW: Fair Share Canvass with Elizabeth Warren

Join Fair Share for Massachusetts and Senator Elizabeth Warren TOMORROW at 5:30 PM to canvass voters and spread the word to vote YES of Fair Share this November!

The kickoff will be at Lincoln Commons Park, Bryant and Cross Street, Malden.

RSVP HERE.

Tell Your Legislator: Pass Child Care Legislation This Legislative Session!

In early 2021, the Common Start Coalition drafted legislation, originally filed by Reps. Gordon & Madaro and Senators Lewis & Moran, that would establish a framework for delivering increased access to affordable, high-quality early education and child care to Massachusetts families, over the course of several years. On May 18, the Legislature’s Education Committee approved a landmark bill, H.4795/S.2883, titled An Act to Expand Access to High-Quality, Affordable Early Education and Care.

Major sections of the Education Committee’s legislation are heavily based on the Common Start bill. Now, we have until the end of the current legislative session on July 31 to pass H.4795/S.2883 and make progress this year on transforming the childcare system in Massachusetts!

Contact your legislators here!

PM in the News: Final Day of the SCD for Governor Campaign

Anthony Brooks, “Sonia Chang-Díaz is the Democratic underdog in the Mass. governor’s race, but she’s overcome long odds before,” WBUR, June 23, 2022.

Some other progressives agree, including Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Massachusetts, which endorsed Chang-Díaz.

“She’s been a leader on a number of the marquee progressive victories in recent sessions — where she’s been somebody who really did go to bat for those issues,” he said.

Cohn said Chang-Díaz has led on education, transgender rights, criminal justice reform and police accountability. And unlike Maura Healey, he points out that Chang-Díaz supports other big progressive goals, including single-payer health care and debt-free public college.

Lisa Kashinsky, “Maura Healey’s Democratic rival drops out of Massachusetts governor race,” Politico, June 23, 2022.

And with a growing air of inevitability around Healey’s ascension to the governor’s office, Democratic activists are now starting to look ahead to January. Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Massachusetts, which had endorsed Chang-Díaz, said now is the time for activists and progressive groups to begin having conversations about early priorities for a progressive Democratic governor and a Democratic supermajority Legislature that skews more moderate.

“It’s not clear what are the first things a governor Healey wants to do, or wants the Legislature to do,” Cohn said. “There need to be discussions among groups about what can be pushed early on in her term, both when it comes to executive actions and what having a Democratic governor means for shaping what action looks like in the Legislature.”

Statement on Sonia Chang-Díaz’s Ending of her Campaign for Governor

Sonia Chang-Díaz has been a proactive, prolific, and progressive state legislator and an ally to movement organizers, which is why our members overwhelmingly voted to endorse her earlier this year. We are disappointed to see that she will not be continuing her campaign for Governor. Throughout her campaign, she has emphasized the need for bold action on ending racial disparities, combating climate change, and investing in our future as a Commonwealth, and we know that she will continue to do so. — Jonathan Cohn, Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts