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.”

PM in the News: Markey Endorsement

Our endorsement of Senator Markey was featured in MASSterlist:

Advocacy group Progressive Mass formally endorsed Sen. Ed Markey for reelection on Tuesday as Democratic Party caucuses ramp up.

“Ed Markey has been a stalwart champion for workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ rights, bold climate action, and so much more,” Jonathan Cohn, the group’s policy director, said in a statement. “He is not only fighting every day in DC against the chaos, cruelty, and corruption of the Trump administration, but also continuing to introduce and endorse the big ideas necessary to make a more equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth and country.”

Markey, who was endorsed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu a day earlier, is facing Rep. Seth Moulton in a primary for the Democratic nomination. John Deaton, who ran against Sen. Elizabeth Warren two years ago, is the expected GOP nominee. 

Moulton also went for the Progressive Mass endorsement. He sent a six-page letter instead of answering a lengthy questionnaire, a move that invalidated his application. His letter said he wanted to “outline my agenda rather than reduce such important questions to yes/no answers.”

Another Democrat running, Alex Rikleen, and socialist Joe Tache, both filled out the questionnaire along with Markey.

“I am deeply grateful for Progressive Mass’ endorsement and proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in this fight as we take on corporate greed, defend our democracy, protect LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities, and accelerate the transition to clean energy,” Markey said.

Endorsement: Vanna Howard for State Senate

Progressive Mass members overwhelmingly voted to endorse Rep. Vanna Howard for the special election for the First Middlesex State Senate district. The district includes Lowell, Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough and was formerly held by the late Sen. Ed Kennedy.

“Progressive Mass is proud to endorse Rep. Vanna Howard for the First Middlesex State Senate special election. Rep. Howard has been a champion for critical issues like food security, educational equity, and health care access, and she stands up for and stands with the diverse communities of the district both at the neighborhood level and in the State House. At a time when we need our legislators to be proactive, Howard is the clear choice.”

Testimony: Cities and Towns Want the Right to Rank.

Thursday, November 13, 2025 

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

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I’m the policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide, member-based grassroots advocacy organization fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic Commonwealth. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.531: An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections. 

Democracy in this country needs strengthening. We see the need for that every single day, and for us to have a robust, participatory, inclusive democracy, we must start at the local level. 

Cities and towns across Massachusetts are doing just that. By passing home rule petitions for ranked choice voting, they are embracing a time-tested reform that makes our elections both more competitive and more collegial. 

Ranked choice voting can inspire more candidates to run by eliminating “spoiler” effects, discourages negative campaigning, and ensures that voters don’t need to become dime-store game theorists thinking about how other people will vote before casting their own ballot. 

When cities and towns want to strengthen democracy, the Commonwealth should embrace the opportunity to say yes. Cities like Easthampton and Cambridge already employ ranked choice systems, and this enabling legislation would make it easier for other communities seeking to do so as well. 

I could speak to the merits of ranked choice voting for a while, but what’s at stake in this bill is really something else. Do we believe in local democracy? 

Your lives as legislators are better off, and cities and towns are better off, if you aren’t bogged down with having to approve home rule petitions about policies that some cities and towns already have. Enabling legislation, or local option legislation, like this sets clear parameters for what cities and towns can do, and then puts the power in people on the ground and their local elected officials to make the decision that’s best for them. It, in other words, gives clear choice, that central hallmark of democracy at any level. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn 

Policy Director 

Progressive Massachusetts

Election Day Is Two Weeks Away! Here’s What to Know

Election Day — Tuesday, November 4 — is just two weeks away. If you live in one of MA’s cities, that means it’s time to vote.

Remember: The deadline to register to vote or update your registration is Saturday, October 25.

But there’s a key question that might be on your mind: Who’s on my ballot?

In addition to the questionnaires collected by our Boston chapters for their endorsement processes, our Elections Committee has been collecting informational questionnaires from candidates across the state. Learn who’s running in your city or town and whether they are standing up for your progressive values.

You can find questionnaires for the following municipalities:

  • Attleboro
  • Beverly
  • Chelsea
  • Everett
  • Fall River
  • Fitchburg
  • Framingham
  • Everett
  • Haverhill
  • Holyoke
  • Lawrence
  • Lynn
  • Marlborough
  • Medford
  • Methuen
  • Newburyport
  • North Adams
  • Northampton
  • Peabody
  • Quincy
  • Revere
  • Salem
  • Springfield
  • Taunton
  • Waltham
  • Weymouth
  • Winthrop
  • Worcester

Progressive Massachusetts Stands in Solidarity with Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj

Councilor Haxhiaj is fighting every day on the ground with and for her constituents. She has been a champion of housing justice, climate justice, and immigrants’ rights–a leader who speaks with moral clarity and backs it up with action. 

We condemn the retaliation against her for defending her constituent against a brutal and unnecessary abduction. Communities are under attack daily by lawless, violent ICE agents, and local elected leaders are best positioned to intervene to protect their constituents and to make clear that our communities do not support President Trump’s harmful, xenophobic agenda. City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj stands up for her constituents, and we stand with her. 

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.

House, Senate Pass Consensus Economic Development Bill

Yesterday, the House and Senate passed their conferenced versions of the economic development bill, which had been stalled in negotiations since July. The bill passed easily, 39 to 1 in the Senate and 137 to 8 in the House — the only opposition coming from the most conservative of Republicans.

The economic development bill contains a number of policy measures, such as the following ones that we or our allies supported:

Educator diversity. It allows the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to develop an alternative certification process for teachers who may face challenges passing the educator certification exam but can otherwise demonstrate their competence as teachers. MTA, AFT Mass, and BTU had been advocating for this.

Strengthening local and regional public health systems. It overhauls the state’s fragmented public health system to ensure strong public health protections for all residents regardless of race, income, or zip code. The Mass Public Health Association had been advocating for this.

Pathway for foreign-trained physicians. It creates a pathway in Massachusetts for physicians previously authorized to practice medicine outside the United States to practice in an underserved region of the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) had been advocating for this.

Childcare as campaign expense. It removes current limitations on political candidates using campaign funds for childcare services that occur because of campaign activities. The Mass Women’s Political Caucus had been advocating for this.

FAFSA. The bill requires each school district to notify students prior to graduating from high school of the availability of FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and to provide students with information on financial aid options. uAspire, a fellow member of the Higher Ed for All coalition, had been advocating for this.

Project labor agreements. It authorizes public agencies and municipalities to enter into project labor agreements for public works contracts when such an agreement is in the best interest of the public agency or municipality. The Mass AFL-CIO had been advocating for this.