Endorsement Alert: Rob Orthman for the 10th Suffolk

All elections are special, but some are more “special” than others. On Tuesday, May 2, voters in West Roxbury, part of Roslindale, and part of Jamaica Plain in Boston, as well as part of Brookline, will be going to the polls for a special election for state representative for the 10th Suffolk district, vacated by Rep. Ed Coppinger.

We invited all candidates running to submit candidate questionnaires, and you can find those that we received here.

Both of our chapters in the district — JP Progressives and Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale — held forums, interviews, and endorsement votes, and both of them endorsed Rob Orthman for the 10th Suffolk.

Progressive Mass conducted our own member vote for the race, and we are proud to say that we will be joining our chapters in endorsing Rob Orthman for the 10th Suffolk.

Here is what some of our members said about Rob:

  • “Rob is an extremely smart, engaged person who has a huge depth of knowledge on policy. His experience negotiating with developers on expanding affordable housing and finding practical, low-cost ways to improve the T would be critical assets in the State House.”
  • “Rob has amazing depth in so many crucial policy areas, he’s been a courageous leader in this community already, and he’s been successful in supporting small businesses and bringing about change, including the dedicated bus lane and affordable housing. He addresses housing, climate, transit, early education access, and justice issues with urgency. Besides being bold and persistent, he’s also accessible and responsive.”
  • “Rob is a proven local leader who gets results for his district in housing affordability and transportation, the two desperately needed areas of leadership statewide. These issues are not only drastically important for Massachusetts with housing inflation and crumbling state transportation infrastructure, but intersect with nearly every issue facing Massachusetts residents, including climate change, cost of living, traffic, and sense of community.”

And here is what our chapters said:

JP Progressives:

The JP Progressives Steering Committee recommends the endorsement of Rob Orthman for the May 2 special election for the 10th Suffolk State Representative seat…We were inspired by Rob’s organizing work in the district to advance these policies, including a recent success mobilizing in Roslindale on a housing project that led to a substantial increase in the number of affordable units, and his advocacy work with Walk Up Roslindale, which led to the creation of the morning inbound bus lane on Washington Street between Roslindale Village and Forest Hills. ….Rob has secured endorsements from candidates and elected officials we have endorsed previously, including David Halbert (former candidate for City Council At Large), Ruthzee Louijeune (Boston City Councilor At Large), and, importantly, Sam Montaño, the other state representative representing Jamaica Plain and a staunch advocate for affordable housing.

Progressive WRox/Roz:

PWRR endorses Rob Orthman for his tireless community leadership in critical policy areas and his knowledge of how policies impact the daily lives of residents. Rob has experience throughout the district; he’s been a leader on housing, transportation, climate, and small business. Rob is a consistent and courageous voice for a more sustainable and equitable future — crucial for the multiple crises we face in our state. Many members noted that Rob is already a community leader, effective, tireless, and visionary, focused on local and regional challenges. Rob has professional experience in the statewide childcare affordability crisis, and is a Boston Public Schools graduate and parent committed to progressive education policy. He has deep knowledge of all the district’s communities from personal and professional experience, including constituent services when he was on Councilor Tobin’s staff.

“Our commonwealth…took away the right to vote from a category of people who were formerly enfranchised.”

Democracy Behidn Bars

April 6, 2023 

Chair Keenan, Chair Ryan, and Members of the Joint Committee on Election Laws: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director at Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic commonwealth. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.26 and S.8: Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to voting rights.

I would like to begin with a bit of history. Felony disenfranchisement in Massachusetts is a recent phenomenon. Indeed, although we often think of the history of voting rights in the US as one of ever-forward motion, Massachusetts stands as an outlier. In the late 1990s, after incarcerated individuals in MCI-Norfolk started organizing for better conditions, Republican Governor Bill Cellucci and the MA Legislature responded with retaliation: a multi-step process of disenfranchisement. In 2000, Massachusetts voters approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit people incarcerated for felonies in state prison from voting in state elections; the subsequent year, Cellucci signed a law to extend this prohibition to federal and municipal elections. Our commonwealth did something rare in recent history: it took away the right to vote from a category of people who were formerly enfranchised. 

In 2022, the Massachusetts Legislature took an important step forward when passing the VOTES Act by including language creating protections for jail-based voting for those who still maintain the right to vote, but we must build on that momentum by ending remaining disenfranchisement, as these bills would. 

Felony disenfranchisement compounds the systemic racism of the criminal legal system. Approximately 8,000 residents of the Commonwealth are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, more than 50% of them are Black or Latinx. 

Felony disenfranchisement laws disenfranchise more voters than those directly affected. Whenever someone loses the right to vote even temporarily, they are likely to mistakenly think that they have lost it permanently. We must eliminate archaic laws that create voter suppression and voter confusion. 

Felony disenfranchisement exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in our prisons and jails. Even Trump’s DOJ pointed out that Massachusetts correctional facilities are engaging in torture, and a lack of political voice puts individuals at risk for abuse. 

Moreover, studies have often shown that fostering ties to the outside world is central to reducing recidivism. Civic engagement provides just that, and we should welcome it. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn

Making sense of the Massachusetts midterms | The Justice

Noah Risley, “Making sense of the Massachusetts midterms,” The Justice, November 15, 2022.

Jonathan Cohn, the policy director at Progressive Mass, a grassroots activism organization, felt Healey had not been “as direct in her policy proposals” as he would have liked. In a Nov. 14 email to the Justice, he elaborated that he was hopeful about the Healey/Driscoll team, and said they care far more about “climate action, reproductive rights, public schools, and public transit than [Governor] Baker does.” Cohn said Baker “tends to get a pass” for right-wing beliefs due to a “boring congeniality” and that he “enables the worst instincts” of the Massachusetts legislature, saying they can “always use the real or imagined threat of a veto as an excuse for inaction.” Cohn hopes that with Healey as Governor, the Legislature will embrace new opportunities to deliver on Democratic priorities. For instance, Cohn said that his organization plans to push for more ambitious legislation to counteract the “inertia” of inaction in the Legislature.  

Celebrating—and Building on—Historic Victories

YES on 1 YES on 4

On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters made history. We made history.

YES on 1, YES on 4

By voting YES on 1 and passing the Fair Share Amendment, Massachusetts voters said YES to a more equitable tax code and to transformative investments in our public schools and infrastructure.

This victory was years, decades, in the making. Since voters put a flat tax into the state constitution in 1915, Massachusetts has suffered from a regressive tax code, hamstringing our ability to deliver on a goal on shared prosperity despite great resources. Five times, activists tried to change that, but each time, facing moneyed opposition, misinformation, and anti-tax sentiment, they lost.

But this time, we—the people—won. The millionaires and billionaires of the state will chip in more so that every student can get a high-quality public education, so that our public colleges and universities can get proper funding, so that our roads and bridges can be safe to drive on, and so that our public transit systems can move us around the commonwealth more quickly.

And that win would never have happened without the countless hours of work from members of the Raise Up Mass Coalition, which we have been proud to be a part of. Your hours of signature collection, pledge card collection, phone calling, canvassing, educating friends and neighbors, holding events. It is that work that is the lifeblood of democracy.

By voting YES on 4 and upholding the Work & Family Mobility Act, we cemented our status as the 17th state to ensure that all qualified drivers, regardless of immigration status, can obtain a driver’s license, making our roads safer, expanding economic opportunity, recognizing that mobility is a basic right, and treating our immigrant communities with the dignity they deserve.

That victory, both legislative and ballot, was the result of the Driving Families Forward coalition, which we were proud to be a part of. And it, again, required the work of outreach, of organizing, and of pushing back against misinformation.

Both wins show the power of organizing across the Commonwealth in ways that bring community groups into coalition with labor and in ways that listen to the voices and needs of the most impacted.

So, THANK YOU for what you’ve done in making those victories possible.

But also THANK YOU for the work you will continue to do. Progressive Mass was founded almost ten years ago out of a recognition that this work needs to continue after the election is over. That period in between cycles is when we preserve and grow the power that we build, where we foster communities of organizers, where we educate our neighbors about what is possible.

We hope you’ll join us in that work by becoming a member of Progressive Mass.

Thank you for all you do.

PM in the News: What to expect when you’re expecting Maura Healey

Adam Reilly, “What to expect when you’re expecting Maura Healey,” WGBH, November 9, 2022.

The anticipatory goodwill has its limits. Jonathan Cohn, the policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, acknowledges that Healey will be (from his vantage point) better than Baker on a number of issues, from abortion rights to the environment to driver’s licenses for unauthorized immigrants. Yet Healey’s unwillingness, on the campaign trail, to speak frankly about where she parts ways with Baker left him perplexed.

“I have found it kind of strange that she doesn’t even go for low-hanging fruit when trying to describe how she would be different than Charlie Baker,” Cohn said.

The polls close soon…where is your vote?

It’s finally Election Day!!!  
This year’s ballot questions have the possibility to greatly impact the safety and equity of life in Massachusetts.

Whether that impact will be positive or negative is up to your YES votes.

Below is an explanation of why we have endorsed YES on Questions 1, 2, and 4 (and for those select districts, 5 and 6). Please share these resources with your family, friends and neighbors and help us promote progressive policy.

YES ON 1: Fair Share Amendment

The Fair Share Amendment – Question 1 on the November ballot – will allow Massachusetts to improve our transportation and public education systems by making the very rich pay their fair share. Question 1 would create a 4 percent tax on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million and constitutionally dedicate the funds to be spent on transportation and public education. Only people who earn more than $1 million annually will be impacted; 99% of us won’t pay a penny more. And we’ll all benefit from better schools, roads, bridges, and public transportation.

We know that there are lots of questions about how the tax will be implemented and spent. The Fair Share FAQ website has factual, easy to understand answers, including in the extremely rare instances where it will apply to the sale of houses and businesses.

YES on 2: Better Dental Care

In Massachusetts, we have a law that requires medical insurance plans to spend at least 88% of all premiums on health care or efforts to improve the quality of health care delivery. However, no such requirement exists for dental insurance. If Question 2 passes, a minimum of 83% of your premium would have to be spent on care, rather than profit, and strengthen financial transparency of dental insurance companies.

To learn how a Yes vote on Question 2 will require more patient dollars to be spent on patient care check out the Yes on 2 website FAQ.

YES on 4: Safer Roads

A YES on 4 would uphold the Work & Family Mobility Act, a bill passed by 75% of the MA Legislature that would allow qualified drivers – regardless of immigration status – to pass a road test, buy insurance, obtain a license and legally drive in Massachusetts. By voting YES ON 4, Massachusetts voters will ensure that immigrants without status can legally make essential trips, like dropping off kids at school and getting to work, while promoting road safety for all of us.

Learn more about the positive impact similar legislation has made in other states and why it should stay law by visiting the Safer Roads MA FAQ site.

Wait, Is There a Q5 or a Q6, too?

In select state representative districts, there are non-binding advisory questions as well, and if you see them on your ballot, we recommend voting YES on these questions also:

  • YES on 5, which would instruct the district’s state representative to support legislation to create a single payer health care system in Massachusetts so that we finally treat health care as a right, not a privilege.
  • YES on 6, which would instruct the district’s state representative to support a change to the MA House’s rules enabling all legislative committees’ votes to be public, posted online as they are in most other states.

Both are clear and simple; and lots of YES votes send a strong message to your state representative.

Some final voting reminders…

If you have any questions about the ballot questions or making your vote count, please feel free to respond to this email- we are here to help!

PM in the News: Immigration Justice Ballot Measure Tests Massachusetts Progressivism

Tisya Mavuram, “Immigration Justice Ballot Measure Tests Massachusetts Progressivism,” The American Prospect, November 2, 2022.

“For many voters, the idea that everybody who is driving should be licensed and insured just makes sense,” Progressive Massachusetts Political Director Jonathan Cohn told the Prospect.

….

Despite these challenges, Cohn remains optimistic about the coalition behind the Yes on 4 campaign. “It’s important to make sure that your legislative campaigns are done in such a way that you build an organizing apparatus to not only win legislation but to protect legislation,” he said. “Passing a bill is the first step.”

A real Halloween fright…not knowing your voting plan.

Wouldn’t it be terrifying if you didn’t having a voting plan?! Don’t worry we have all the resources you need to get your vote out, and help get your community to the polls as well!

Upcoming Election Deadlines

  • Vote by mail:
    • We strongly encourage you to submit your mail in ballot by November 1st so it reaches your town clerk or local elections office by November 8th. Your ballot will be counted as long as it’s postmarked by November 8th and arrives by November 12, but please don’t wait until then!
    • If you haven’t sent in a vote-by-mail application yet and wish to do so, you can download a form here. The deadline to receive your application is November 1st at 5 pm.
    • If you’ve already received your ballot, you can send it back via mail or via a dropbox near you. And if you want to confirm receipt, you can track your ballot.
    • If you’re unsure if you applied for a mail-in ballot, use track your ballot to check
  • Vote early in person:
    • Early voting is available across the state, and each community has their own dates/deadlines. You can find locations in your community here.
  • Vote on Election Day:
    • The deadline for registering to vote has passed.
    • You can confirm your polling place at wheredoivotema.com.

Beyond voting, you can help ensure Progressive wins on Election day by helping advocate for Yes on 1 and Yes on 4.

  • Join the Progressive Mass Yes on 1 and 4 joint phonebank next week:
    • https://tinyurl.com/Yeson1and4Nov1
  • Find a canvass near you for Yes on 1:
    • https://www.mobilize.us/fairshareamendment2022/
  • Sign up for a YES on 1 phone bank:
    • https://www.mobilize.us/fairshareamendment2022/event/476323/
  • Volunteer for YES on 4:
    • https://saferroadsma.com/events/
  • Tell 10 friends or neighbors to be sure to vote for Yes on 1 and Yes on 4, and share the accurate information on Question 1.

Your Voter Guide for The Upcoming Election

Election Day is less than three weeks away. Do you have a plan to vote?

Fortunately, you have options for how to vote this year (and, indeed, you may have already voted!):

  • Vote by mail: If you haven’t sent in a vote-by-mail application yet and wish to do so, you can download a form here. If you’ve already received your ballot, you can send it back via mail or via a dropbox near you. And if you want to confirm receipt, you can track your ballot.
  • Vote early in person: Early voting starts this weekend. You can find locations in your community here.
  • Vote on Election Day: As always, you can confirm your polling place at wheredoivotema.com.

And remember, the deadline to register to vote or update your registration is Saturday, October 29. You can register online here if you need to.

Your Progressive Guide to the Statewide Ballot Initiatives

YES ON 1: Fair Share Amendment

The Fair Share Amendment – Question 1 on the November ballot – will allow Massachusetts to improve our transportation and public education systems by making the very rich pay their fair share. Question 1 would create a 4 percent tax on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million and constitutionally dedicate the funds to be spent on transportation and public education. Only people who earn more than $1 million annually will be impacted; 99% of us won’t pay a penny more. And we’ll all benefit from better schools, roads, bridges, and public transportation. Learn more and get involved at FairShareMA.com.

YES on 2: Better Dental Care

In Massachusetts, we have a law that requires medical insurance plans to spend at least 88% of all money taken in by premiums on health care or efforts to improve the quality of health care delivery. However, no such requirement exists for dental insurance, enabling insurance companies to siphon off as much as they want to line executives’ pockets. Question 2 would establish such a requirement for dental insurance plans so that dental insurance premiums go toward care, rather than profit, and strengthen financial transparency and regulation of dental insurance companies.

YES on 4: Safer Roads

A YES on 4 would uphold the Work & Family Mobility Act, a bill passed by 75% of the MA Legislature that would allow qualified drivers – regardless of immigration status – to pass a road test, buy insurance, obtain a license and legally drive in Massachusetts. By voting YES ON 4, Massachusetts voters will ensure that immigrants without status can legally make essential trips, like dropping off kids at school and getting to work, medical appointments, and the grocery store, while upholding the regulatory framework that ensures all drivers have passed a road test, bought insurance, and have a form of verified identification. Learn more and get involved at https://saferroadsma.com/.

Wait, Is There a 5 or a 6, too?

In select state representative districts, there are non-binding advisory questions as well, and if you see them on your ballot, you should also vote YES:

  • YES on 5, which would instruct the district’s state representative to support legislation to create a single payer health care system in Massachusetts so that we finally treat health care as a right, not a privilege.
  • YES on 6, which would instruct the district’s state representative to support a change to the MA House’s rules enabling all legislative committee’s votes to be public, posted online as they are on most other states.

Both are clear and simple; you should vote YES, and your state representative should listen.

Legislative Endorsements

As a reminder, our members have endorsed the following candidates:

State Senate

Hampden, Hampshire & Worcester: Jake Oliveira

Norfolk, Worcester & Middlesex: Becca Rausch

Second Suffolk: Liz Miranda

First Worcester: Robyn Kennedy

State House

3rd Bristol: Carol Doherty

7th Essex: Manny Cruz

8th Middlesex: James Arena-DeRosa

22nd Middlesex: Teresa English

27th Middlesex: Erika Uyterhoeven

9th Norfolk: Kevin Kalkut

11th Plymouth: Rita Mendes

5th Suffolk: Christopher Worrell

15th Suffolk: Sam Montaño

11th Worcester: Stephen Fishman

17th Worcester: David LeBoeuf

District Attorney

Plymouth County: Rahsaan Hall

Election Day Is One Month and One Day Away. Let’s Get to Work.

Election Day is one month and one day away. That’s right: November 8 is coming fast.

And there are many opportunities, all across Massachusetts, to help ensure victory for Question 1 and Question 4 this November.

Question 1: The Fair Share Amendment

As a reminder, Question 1, the Fair Share Amendment, would add a 4% surtax to the portion of someone’s annual income over $1 million to raise $2 billion in constitutionally dedicated funds for public education and transportation across the Commonwealth. 99+% of us won’t pay a penny more, but we will all benefit from the investments the revenue would make possible.

Those investments can mean greater funding for early education, for more teachers and counselors in our schools, for lowering tuition and hiring faculty and at our public colleges and universities, for fixing potholes, for upgrading structurally deficient bridges, and for expanding access to high-quality public transit.

Here’s how you can help:

  • Find a canvass near you.
  • Sign up for a phone bank.
  • Sign up for a relational organizing training.

Question 4: The Work & Family Mobility Act / YES for Safer Roads

As a reminder, in June over 75% of Massachusetts State Senators and Representatives voted to override a gubernatorial veto so that all qualified state residents, regardless of immigration status, can apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license starting on July 1, 2023, joining 18 other states with such laws including our neighbors New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Unfortunately, xenophobes and reactionaries in the state are trying to overturn this and are hoping to repeal it by ballot. But we won’t let them.

Vote YES to keep the law in place for safer roads, greater public safety, and work and family mobility.

  • Find a canvass near you.
  • Sign up for a phone bank.
  • Pledge to vote YES on Question 4 here.