PM in the News: Progressives make the case for going beyond housing bond bill

Ella Adams and Eric Convey, “Progressives make the case for going beyond housing bond bill,” MASSterList, October 3, 2024.

What exactly do progressives think can help address the state’s 200,000-unit housing deficit?

Grassroots group Progressive Massachusetts looks at the Healey administration’s recent housing bond bill as a good step forward, but still falling short in a housing environment that needs much more investment. 

Progressive Mass. Policy Director Jonathan Cohn told MASSterList that as the group prepares for next session, it’s continuing to support authorization of local option transfer fees and rent control, a pair of ideas that have pockets of support but have failed to unite legislative Democrats.

Cohn is calling on lawmakers to be more vocal and to “hear from and listen to” their constituents more on housing. He also thinks the way municipalities need to get approval from Beacon Hill in order to implement local housing policies — like the aforementioned transfer fees — needs to change.

“I think that we really need comprehensive reform around home rule in Massachusetts because on too many issues, cities and towns are blocked from taking necessary action by the state,” Cohn said. He added that the state could “use its power of the purse better” by closing tax loopholes and raising more revenue from high earners that could fund housing.

PM in the News: Does the legislative clock and calendar matter on Beacon Hill?

Chris Van Buskirk, “Does the legislative clock and calendar matter on Beacon Hill?,” Boston Herald, September 22, 2024.

“With five high-profile bills still locked up in secretive talks heading this session, Progressive Massachusetts Policy Director Jonathan Cohn said the fall dealmaking proves “all of their self-imposed deadlines are fake.”

The proposals cover a wide range of issues including prescription drugs, hospital oversight, clean energy, and economic development. But Cohn argued breakthroughs on major bills could have happened earlier.

“If you push off everything to the end of the session, and then you have all the conference committees at the same time and you have people who are in multiple of them, they simply won’t get things done,” he said. “The way in which they slowly finished things after (July 31) speaks to how it would have been a perfectly functional way to operate if they just started everything early.””

PM in the News: “Cartwright wins big in SJC clerk race despite hurdles”

Yawu Miller, “Cartwright wins big in SJC clerk race despite hurdles,” Bay State Banner, September 11, 2024.

Jonathan Cohn, policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, said the election results point to a progressive majority in Boston that has rendered it virtually impossible for conservative-leaning candidates to win.

“It’s like a rainbow coalition that brings together Black Boston, Chinatown, Latinos and white liberals,” he said. “That kind of coalition is one that can win power, and has won against more conservative interests in the past.”

PM in the News: Frustration and the Ballot Box in WGBH

Katie Lannan, “Why frustrated activists can’t rely on the ballot box for change in Massachusetts,” WGBH, August 15, 2024.

Other observers and advocates, like Jonathan Cohn of the advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts, say the dynamic can fuel a sense of complacency on Beacon Hill. For one thing, Cohn said, most state legislators don’t need to worry about defending their record on the campaign trail.

“One of the problems is that for legislators, because of the fact that so few of them are ever really contested in elections, it flattens the sense of time so they can think, ‘Oh, well, we’ll just be back at it in January,’” he said. “Issues just lose a basic degree of urgency because it’s just one never-ending legislative session for them.”

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Democrats have supermajority control of both legislative branches on Beacon Hill, and Cohn said the red-versus-blue partisan framework through which many people view elections doesn’t really apply in deep-blue Massachusetts.

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“I also think that the Legislature’s history of long, late-night sessions that end with nothing also make it seem like an unattractive job,” said Progressive Mass.’ Cohn. “If you see a place where you look at it and you think, ‘I don’t even know that I could accomplish anything by being here,’ it’s understandable why somebody might not want want to run for that office or think that their that their talents, skills, etc., would be better used elsewhere — even though those people could be the best people for the jobs.”

PM in the News: Housing Bill Leaves a Lot on the Table

Sam Drysdale, “Guv Signs Housing Law, But Advocates Say It “Left So Much On The Table,” State House News Service, August 6, 2024.

“Inclusionary zoning is something that could have helped lower-income and working class communities,” Progressive Mass Director Jonathan Cohn said. “Legislators love the Housing Development Incentive Program, which is basically how do we build more high-end housing to gentrify Gateway Cities. They seemed to leave ideas that could have helped working or
middle class people living in expensive cities.”

Cohn said he would have liked to see more robust tenant protections in the bill….”The Senate’s language on broker’s fees — it was never that clear how much they were willing to fight for it. It didn’t seem to be something the governor cared about, the Senate had other priorities; it ended up on the chopping block as well,” he said.

“Having it be a $5.2 billion authorization means more money will be spent, and it’s an increase from what Baker did, but with all bonding, there’s so much that needs to happen for it to yield results. And unlike Baker, I think Healey wants to act ally spend that money. But now all these priorities that actually made it into the bill will be competing with each other for actual spending,” Cohn said.

Cohn, Park, Chou and other advocates said they hope lawmakers and Healey don’t put housing legislation on the backburner after the signing of Tuesday’s housing bond legislation….”If you build a nice affordable development in 10 years that’s great, but by then Massachusetts’s low-income residents will be living in Rhode Island,” Cohn said.

PM in the News: “Beacon Hill faces calls for culture change after chaotic end of session”

Chris Van Buskirk, “Beacon Hill faces calls for culture change after chaotic end of session,” Boston Herald, August 4, 2024.

“Jonathan Cohn, the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, said there is a “real downside” to having a permanent supermajority in both branches “that never feels the urgency of any issues.”

“For them to change, I think ultimately, some people will have to lose their seats because of it. I think that too often, the House and Senate operate like incumbent protection rackets,” he told the Herald.”

Eagle Tribune: “Mass. legislative process is out of whack”

The Editorial Board, “Mass. legislative process is out of whack,” The Eagle Tribune, August 3, 2024.

“The Legislature ran out the clock on passing meaningful legislation on climate change, despite our living through a summer that continues to break heat records,” said Progressive Massachusetts policy director Jonathan Cohn.

“The Legislature whittled away at the policy components of Gov. Healey’s housing bond bill, caving to real estate interests and ignoring public opinion. We have a housing crisis and a climate crisis, and our Legislature is in clear denial about both,” he said.

WGBH: “Why does the Massachusetts Legislature wait so long to do so much?”

Adam Reilly, “Why does the Massachusetts Legislature wait so long to do so much?,” WGBH, August 2, 2024.

“Jonathan Cohn, the political directorof the group Progressive Massachusetts, argues that this dynamic creates a structural problem that naturally leads to a slowed-down pace.

“In any system … if you have too few people in charge of too many decisions, you get a bottleneck effect,” Cohn said. “And you have that with the Legislature, where you know that the decision making is ultimately Ron Mariano’s decision about what’s in the bill, Karen Spilka’s decision about what’s in the bill … If it’s all just coming through one person, that just slows everything down even more.”

But Cohn also believes there’s a tactical consideration at play. By finalizing key legislation at the last minute, he says — and packing individual bills with a sprawling array of provisions on a particular topic — the House and Senate pave the way for marathon negotiating sessions just prior to the session’s end, in which each side defers to its counterpart in some areas and has the favor returned in others.

“Almost to a person, they’ll just all be back in January,” Cohn, of Progressive Mass, said of state lawmakers. “A handful of retirements. Maybe somebody might lose a seat in a primary or general. But they’ll all be back. And there’s often a way in which they just see it as, ‘Well, we didn’t finish now. We’ll come back in a few months and maybe we’ll pass it then.’ … It flattens the sense of time, because if it happens now, if it happens next year, it’s all the same.”