PM in the News: “Here’s what 6 Mass. political observers want to hear in Thursday’s State of the Commonwealth speech”

Chris Van Buskirk, “Here’s what 6 Mass. political observers want to hear in Thursday’s State of the Commonwealth speech,” WBUR, January 22, 2026.

Progressive Democrat: Jonathan Cohn, policy director at the advocacy group Progressive Mass, said he has “quite a long wish list” for Healey’s speech. At the top of that list is outlining “a clear agenda on reining in corporate power in the state” and plans to take action against ICE in the Commonwealth. “What are we actually doing to protect the people of the Commonwealth from the abuses of the Trump administration, most notably, the terrorism that ICE has been unleashing on communities,” Cohn said.

PM in the News: “Unpaid parking tickets? MA bill would let you keep your license”

Margie Cullen, “Unpaid parking tickets? MA bill would let you keep your license,” USA Today, January 15, 2026.

While the practice is meant to coerce people into paying their fines, some studies suggest that the practice does not increase collections of fines. And supporters of the bill say that the practice punishes the poor and traps people into a cycle of debt.

“When someone’s license is suspended because they are unable to afford to pay off their fines and fees, they are placed in an impossible situation,” Jonathan Cohn, the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, wrote in testimony in support of the bill in July. “If they stop driving, they might lose access to job opportunities that they need to pay the fine. If they continue driving, then they risk further punishment.”

PM in the News: Do Millionaire Surtaxes Lead to Millionaire Exodus?

Richard Solomon, “Do Millionaire Surtaxes Lead to Millionaire Exodus?,” People’s Policy Project, November 17, 2025.

“On a political level, passing Fair Share was a Herculean effort that squeaked by at 52% yes-vote, even in deep-blue Massachusetts. This might present a challenge for those seeking to replicate the strategy elsewhere. I spoke with Jonathan Cohn, policy director at Progressive Mass, as well as Enid Eckstein who served on the steering committee for the organization Raise Up that led the fight for Fair Share. According to them, Raise Up created a winning coalition for the amendment, backed by service worker, building, and teacher unions, even the AFL-CIO. The campaign survived a Supreme Court objection by finding a runaround through constitutional convention. Raise Up came out early on TV ads, canvassed nearly a million doors, and had disciplined messaging on earmarking funds and the home-selling issue.”

The wealthy were caught off guard by the amendment’s passage. Cohn told me that right-wing interests, having realized that repealing the millionaire surtax is a losing battle, are now collecting signatures to reduce state income taxes as a whole. According to Eckstein, the task ahead is not just staving off relapse to a more regressive tax structure but extending progressive gains to a corporate fair share tax on excess profits concealed offshore. Finally, as the People’s Policy Project has argued, further inroads against inequality and poverty will require plans to socialize capital income and fund generous welfare states.

PM in the News: “State legislators pledged efficiency, but critics expected more amid Trump’s attacks on Mass.”

Chris Van Buskirk, “State legislators pledged efficiency, but critics expected more amid Trump’s attacks on Mass.,” WBUR, November 4, 2025.

Jonathan Cohn, political director at Progressive Mass, said Democrats knew before the 2024 election what the Trump administration planned to do to states like Massachusetts.

“It’s striking that in our state, in Massachusetts, where we have, as I often like to point out, the third largest Democratic super majority in the country after Hawaii and Rhode Island, our Legislature isn’t doing very much,” Cohn said in an interview.

PM in the News: “Measuring Wu’s mandate”

Kelly Garrity, “Measuring Wu’s mandate,” POLITICO, September 12, 2025.

“Mayor Wu has been progressive, but also she’s been a nuts-and-bolts problem solver,” Rachel Poliner of Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale said in an interview Thursday night, pointing to things like the city’s expanded universal pre-K program. “I hear more about things like that than I hear about progressive stances, even though she’s problem-solving with progressive policies,” Poliner said.

…

And while the message matters, “You also need to show that you can accomplish things when you win,” Jonathan Cohn, the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, told Playbook.

PM in the News: “These Mass. congressmen signed a resolution thanking ICE for ‘protecting the homeland.’ Here’s why.”

Ross Cristantiello, “These Mass. congressmen signed a resolution thanking ICE for ‘protecting the homeland.’ Here’s why.,” Boston.com, June 11, 2025.

Cohn told Boston.com that ICE is “terrorizing” communities across Massachusetts and “acting in service of a hateful vision from Donald Trump and his desire for a more repressive, more divided country.”

He characterized the vote on this resolution as a “dishonest trap” set by congressional Republicans and another example of them wanting to “weaponize” concerns about antisemitism. He pointed to another resolution that condemned the Boulder attack without any language referencing ICE. It was overwhelmingly passed 7 minutes later, Cohn said.

“You do not need to praise ICE in order to condemn the recent attack and tragedy in Boulder,” he said. “The Democrats who voted with Republicans on HRES488 should start actually listening to their constituents about what safety means and focus on fighting the cruelty, chaos, corruption, and constitutional crisis of the Trump administration, not whitewashing what ICE is doing.”

PM in the News: “Mayor Wu’s week in the crosshairs of the feds”

Eve Zuckoff and Walter Wuthmann, “Mayor Wu’s week in the crosshairs of the feds,” WBUR, June 7, 2025.

“Mayor Michelle Wu understands that hiding under the bed and thinking that they won’t come after you isn’t a viable strategy,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts. “Anything that you can do to slow them down and make those attacks more difficult is what the city should be doing, not trying to avoid attention.”

In his view, it’s good policy and good politics; “show fight,” as he said.

PM Lobby Day in the News

Chris Lisinski, “After a noisy launch, Mass. Senate’s response to Trump is in park,” State House News Service, May 28, 2025.

Progressive groups have been pushing the House and Senate Democratic supermajorities to take quicker action in response to the Trump administration.

Jonathan Cohn, policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, ridiculed the pace of legislative activity this session during the organization’s lobby day on Beacon Hill.

Five months into the term, Cohn said the “Legislature and governor have only signed three bills into law.” That summation prompted an attendee to gasp loudly before Cohn continued.

“Which shows that the kind of urgency that many of you probably feel about the need to act in Massachusetts is not registering yet in the State House, which is the importance of putting that pressure on them,” Cohn said.

PM in the News: “Still split over joint committee rules”

Kelly Garrity, “Still Split Over Joint Committee Rules,” Politico, April 30, 2025.

“It’s kind of embarrassing that we’re hitting the marker of Trump’s first 100 days and they still haven’t even passed joint rules,” said Jonathan Cohn, the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts.

….

In other words: “It’s a bad sign when their attempt to reform the legislative process to be more efficient and to avoid bottlenecks gets bottlenecked,” Cohn said.