PM in the News: “Maura Healey Looks to Have a Lock on the Massachusetts Governorship, But …”

Gabrielle Gurley, “Maura Healey Looks to Have a Lock on the Massachusetts Governorship, But …,” The American Prospect, September 15, 2022, https://prospect.org/politics/maura-healey-looks-to-have-a-lock-on-the-massachusetts-governorship/.

“The way I describe the Massachusetts legislature’s evolution over the past decade is that they have gone from doing things that are actively harmful to things that are woefully insufficient,” says Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide political advocacy group. “There is a certain type of conservatism bred out of inertia, risk avoidance, lack of engagement on policy on an individual level and the fact that the most powerful interests militate in favor of the status quo. Not an outright ‘big C’ conservativism like a Republican legislature, but a status quo bias in operation.”

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“Under a Republican governor power resides within the legislature, they set the agenda: They can ignore whatever the governor asks them to do because, at the end of the day, they can pull together the votes for what they want to do regardless,” says Cohn. “[A] Democratic governor assumes that the legislature should pass the Democratic governor’s priorities, which takes power away from the Speaker and away from the Senate president.”

WBUR on Maura Healy’s Run for Governor — And What Progressives Think

Anthony Brooks, “Maura Healey could be the next governor. Her ties to Mass. begin with a surprising backstory,” WBUR, June 9, 2022.

But a number of progressives say Healey is too conservative on some issues, including criminal justice. For example, they point out that Healey pushed to expand the state’s wire tapping law; she supported no-knock warrants and facial recognition software in some circumstances.

Jonathan Cohn, policy director for the group Progressive Massachusetts, is among those critics. The group has endorsed Chang-Díaz for governor, and Cohn says Healey sides with law enforcement too often and is too comfortable working within the current criminal justice system — instead of fighting to reshape it.

“If inequities are baked into a system and you’re accepting the system as it is, you’ll never fully address them,” Cohn said. “Because she’s largely operating as a law enforcement official.”

Boston Globe: “Mass. Democrats set to gather for convention, hopes high to expand their grip on power this fall”

Matt Stout, “Mass. Democrats set to gather for convention, hopes high to expand their grip on power this fall,” Boston Globe

“The type of voter who pays attention to all of the constitutional offices really early are a subset of a subset. When you have those people, you go in knowing there’s a large pool of people who are undecided,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director for the group, Progressive Massachusetts. “It ups the stakes.”

PM in the News: Massachusetts lawmakers should put their name where their vote is

Editorial Board, “Massachusetts lawmakers should put their name where their vote is,” Boston Globe, May 9, 2022.

That one voice vote illustrates the larger cultural problem on Beacon Hill. “There is a fundamental opacity in the legislative process in Massachusetts and a damning lack of transparency here,” Jonathan Cohn, the policy director of the grassroots organization, Progressive Mass, said after the vote. Senate President Karen Spilka’s response to such criticism — along with her refusal to say where she herselfstands on the legislation — does nothing to dispel it. Spilka told the State House News Service that an “exhaustive process” led up to the measure coming to the floor and that roll call votes were taken on some amendments to the bill.

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The Massachusetts House of Representatives has a reputation for operating with less transparency than the Senate, said Cohn of Progressive Mass. But both legislative bodies, he said, embrace a style of consensus-building that “likes to pretend divisions don’t exist.” When they do, roll call votes are avoided. Lawmakers are counselled to withdraw amendments and a quick voice vote is called. He also said lawmakers who oppose a measure that is generally seen as popular seek the cover of a voice vote, rather than be recorded with a “nay.” Beacon Hill’s lack of transparency, said Cohn, “is striking, compared to other states. Massachusetts likes to view itself as a positive example, but this is one place where we can learn something from other states.”

PM in the News: Scorecards in Action

Alison Kuznitz, “Auditor candidate Chris Dempsey accuses rival Sen. Diana DiZoglio of a ‘falsehood born of willful ignorance,'” MassLive, May 4, 2022.

Dempsey, for his part during the forum, blasted DiZoglio for her 30% rating on the Senate’s police reform bill, as tracked by Progressive Massachusetts based on a string of amendments to the legislation. The organization, which has endorsed Dempsey for state auditor, gave other statewide candidates — including lieutenant governor candidates Sen. Adam Hinds and Sen. Eric Lesser, as well as gubernatorial candidate Sen. Sonia Chang- Díaz — a 100% rating.

PM in the News: A “Damning Lack of Transparency”

Erin Tiernan and Alison Kuznitz, “‘Damning lack of transparency’ on Massachusetts sports betting vote in Senate raises skepticism law will get on the books this session,” MassLive, April 30, 2022.

Progressive Mass Policy Director Jonathan Cohn called out a “damning” lack of transparency that permeated the Senate debate on Thursday. Members passed the bill in a voice vote — an unusual move for a major policy change that he suggested was “intentionally opaque” and “choreographed” to tee up contentious closed-door negotiations as the two chambers work to reconcile major policy differences and pass a bill over the next three months.

“There is a fundamental opacity in the legislative process in Massachusetts and a damning lack of transparency here,” Cohn said of the Senate sports betting vote. “This is something you see again and again across issues — a tendency to avoid taking difficult votes as a way of asserting power.”

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Cohn pointed to a practice in both chambers to whip up unanimous and near-unanimous support out of view before legislation is debated and voted on publicly.

“So much is already decided behind closed doors that they’re not actually even pretending to do the process because the outcome of a vote is more than likely to be predetermined,” Cohn said.

He said both chambers “ironically” almost always conduct roll-call votes when leaders are confident they have overwhelming support and will push for voice votes on more contentious bills that would likely reveal slimmer margins.

“The opposite should be true,” he said.

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“We need electeds who are more willing to actually bring things to a vote, who aren’t afraid to put themselves and their colleagues on the record,” Cohn said.

Globe: “Two months in, Maura Healey’s pitch for Mass. governor is light on the details”

Matt Stout and Samantha J. Gross, “Two months in, Maura Healey’s pitch for Mass. governor is light on the details,” Boston Globe

Chang-Díaz’s platform web pages link to news articles, studies, and votes the senator has taken while serving on Beacon Hill, going into great detail with bulleted lists of actions she would take as governor. She’s been endorsed by groups like Progressive Massachusetts, which require lengthy, detailed questionnaires. Chang-Díaz’s was 48 pages long.

Healey did not file a questionnaire with the group, and thus did not partake in its endorsement process. Instead, Healey’scampaign sent the group an e-mail with an abbreviated version of her record as attorney general.

“For Some Democratic activists, Healey’s positions on criminal justice give them pause”

Samantha Gross, “For some Democratic activists, Healey’s positions on criminal justice give them pause,” Boston Globe , March 20, 2022.

“When you are an attorney general, there tends to be a built-in relationship [with police] and she has definitely been too deferential to state and local police,” said Progressive Massachusetts policy director Jonathan Cohn. “There are many good things she has done as attorney general, but she has not been a leader on criminal justice issues.”

“Boston Progressives Fear Rollback of Reforms After DA’s Early Exit,” Bolts

Eoin Higgins, “Boston Progressives Fear Rollback of Reforms After DA’s Early Exit,” Bolts Mag, March 8, 2022, https://boltsmag.org/boston-declination/.

Jonathan Cohn, the political director of Progressive Massachusetts, a state group that supports criminal justice reforms, says Hayden’s backtracking is a major mistake. 

“There’s a strong and growing body of research that shows that declining to prosecute nonviolent misdemeanor cases not only minimizes individuals’ current involvement with the criminal legal system, but also substantially reduces the probability of future involvement,” Cohn told Bolts. 

“House should pass same-day voter registration,” CommonWealth (Op-Ed)

Jonathan Cohn and Kristina Mensik in CommonWealth:

“House leadership and members must vote to include same-day registration and strong jail-based voting reforms in the VOTES Act so that we can guarantee that no eligible voter who wants to participate in our democratic process gets turned away. Then, it’s time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and work on the harder, and year-round, task of increasing the number of people who want to participate in the first place.”