PM in the News: New Boss — Same or Different Than the Old One?

Issues Committee Chair Jonathan Cohn recently penned an op-ed in CommonWealth about the ascension of Majority Leader Ron Mariano as Speaker of the House. Entitled “Don’t Expect Change for the Better under Mariano, it begins:

All signs point to House Majority Leader Ron Mariano being elected the next speaker of the Massachusetts House.

What does a Mariano speakership mean for a progressive policy agenda in Massachusetts? As Reps. Denise Provost and Jonathan Hecht remind us, he shares the same top-down leadership style as Speaker Bob DeLeo, with an even more conservative ideology.

If we want to get a sense of what a Mariano speakership will be like, it’s useful to look at the process and output of the working groups and task forces he has led. And that doesn’t inspire confidence.

You can read the full piece here.

Jonathan was also quoted on the Speaker change in CommonWealth and The Patriot-Ledger.

Shira Schoenberg, “A Deal-Making Speaker,” CommonWealth, 12/29, 2020:

Jonathan Cohn, issues chair of Progressive Massachusetts, a liberal activist group that has been critical of House leadership, said he believes Mariano was one of the driving forces opposing the passage of the Safe Communities Act, which would restrict state law enforcement officials’ ability to cooperate with federal immigration agents. Cohn said Mariano is “often doing the bidding of industry,” citing as an example a debate over drug pricing policy where Mariano took a pro-pharmaceutical company position. 

Joe DiFazio, “Longtime Quincy Rep. Ron Mariano becomes Massachusetts House speaker,” The Patriot-Ledger, 12/30/2020:

It has long been assumed that the speakership was Mariano’s once DeLeo left office, a conclusion that Johnathan Cohn said is bad for the House. 

“The thing that’s mainly disappointing to me is how it had pretty much all been settled years ago,” said Cohn, co-chairman of the issues committee for Progressive Massachusetts, a liberal activism group. “When it comes to worst-case scenario, it would be that if we end up getting an all-white leadership team that’s even more conservative, and that it becomes even harder to get things through the House, and the House and Senate’s relationship gets worse.”

Bay State Banner: Boston Embraces Progressive Politics

Yawu Miller, “Wu challenges Walsh as Boston embraces progressive politics,” Bay State Banner (9/16/20)

The growth of the activist groups Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale and Jamaica Plain Progressives has helped candidates of color pick up votes in neighborhoods that in past years they might write off. Those groups regularly hold forums where candidates are asked their positions on progressive issues such as support for rent control and curbing police abuse.

Shifts have also occurred in Hyde Park, a majority people of color neighborhood that has long been dominated by Irish-American and Italian-American city councilors. In 2019, Ricardo Arroyo became the first person of color elected to the council from that neighborhood. Then, in March, a coalition of Black, Latino, Haitian and progressive white activists wrested control of the Ward 18 Democratic Committee from the mostly white group that had long dominated the city’s largest ward committee.

…

While in years past, Boston’s electorate based support for candidates primarily on ethnicity and neighborhood affiliation, now it’s candidates’ stands on public policy issues that drives voter interest, notes Rachel Poliner, an organizer with Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale.

“Now the City Council is more like the city’s creative think tank,” she said.

Boston Globe: “Ed Markey Beats Joe Kennedy”

Victoria McGrane’s write-up of the MA Senate primary included a quote from Progressive Mass Issues Commmittee chair Jonathan Cohn:

Markey also benefited from the frustrated energy of young progressives who watched their chosen candidates, Sanders and Warren, lose the presidential primary this spring. The Markeyverse, as his young online backers call themselves, started taking off in early March, as the primaries ended and the pandemic shutdown began.

“Ed Markey became their cause,” said Jonathan Cohn, chairman of Progressive Massachusetts’ issues committee.

Vox: “It’s been a weird campaign”

Progressive Mass Elections Committee chair Jonathan Cohn was quoted in Li Zhou’s write-up of the MA Senate primary for Vox:

 “On a number of issues, I would expect Markey to vote against a poorly negotiated bipartisan deal. Especially on climate and technology, I expect him to be introducing the new policy and moving the ball forward,” said Jonathan Cohn, of Progressive Massachusetts, who said he saw Kennedy as less likely to be making the same advancements.

…..

Ultimately, this lack of awareness is something the Markey campaign capitalized on to reestablish his image, Cohn said.

“Starting out with lower name recognition can be a blessing and a curse for a candidate,” he told Vox. “It allows them to craft what they want the narrative to be. They’ve had a very strong digital team, people who are either with Bernie or Warren in the primary, boosting the narrative about him.”

HuffPost & The Intercept Report on MA-08

Progressive Mass Elections Committee chair Jonathan Cohn was quoted in two recent articles in the MA-08 primary between Congresswoman Stephen Lynch and Dr. Robbie Goldstein.

 “Boston Doctor Aims To Unseat Longtime Democrat Who Voted Against Obamacare” — Tara Golshan, HuffPost (8/24/20)

The Goldstein race “has the potential to be one of those sleeper races,” said Jonathan Cohn, with Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide advocacy group. “[Lynch] doesn’t have a strong presence. He’s not particularly outspoken on much of anything. I think there is fertile ground to not do as well as people expect.”

“Progressive Boston Doctor Seeks to Unseat “Do-Nothing Moderate Democrat” in Congress” — Rachel Cohen, The Intercept (8/16/20)

“I don’t think [Lynch] is as conservative as Lipinski, but I do think the thing that sticks with people here is him having voted against the Affordable Care Act, given how much activism there was around that,” said Jonathan Cohn, a leader with Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide advocacy group. “People remember that.”

“The Democratic Party’s Most Confounding Primary” — The Intercept

PM elections committee chair Jonathan Cohn was recently quoted on the MA Senate primary in The Intercept:

“One thing we’ve pointed out is that in 2018, he had the choice to support progressive women of color — Ayanna Pressley and Nika Elugardo — but he didn’t,” said Jonathan Cohn, a leader with Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide advocacy group that has endorsed Markey. In those races, Kennedy endorsed incumbents Capuano and Jeffrey Sanchez, who both lost. (This cycle Elugardo has endorsed Markey, and Pressley is staying out of the race.)

Boston.com: The Left & Ed

 PM elections committee chair was quoted in Boston.com’s Nik DeCosta-Klipa’s article “Ed Markey ‘ain’t no Bernie.’ But left-wing groups are rallying behind him all the same.”

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And then there’s the actual substance of the Green New Deal resolution, which calls for a transformative shift toward clean energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Jonathan Cohn, the issues chair for Progressive Massachusetts, says climate change has become “especially salient” for younger voters and that Markey has been doing “solid work” in the space for years.

“It’s much to his credit that he’s one of the few people in the Senate who actually understands environmental policy,” Cohn said. ….

Cohn says Markey — who long wielded corny acronyms as part of his communications strategy — has developed an “older dad joke personality” that has endeared him to the younger generation. And his campaign has played up that perception. …

“His Iraq War vote was bad,” Cohn said. “But he’s not a hawk in the same way as some of his colleagues are.” …

Markey’s supporters are not convinced. And if their candidate loses, they wonder what happens to the movement to address climate change before it’s too late. Even if the Green New Deal — which framed racial and economic justice as focuses along with fighting climate change — continues to have advocates in the Senate like Sanders and Warren, the defeat of its co-author could have ripple effects for the movement, according to Cohn.

In addition to losing Markey’s expertise, he said a Kennedy win would effectively be disincentive for other Democrats to prioritize climate change

“It sends a really bad message about what it means to be somebody who stakes their ground on environmental policy,” Cohn said, noting that there will be a lot of competing priorities — and proverbial fires — to address in 2021 if Democrats retake the White House and Senate.

Progressive Needham announces scorecard with Needham representatives

WickedLocal Needham reported on the scores of the Needham delegation on PM’s legislative scorecard:

Progressive Needham, a chapter of advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts, recently released a statement regarding the Progressive Mass scorecard, which grades state legislators for their actions in 2019.

The scorecard can be found at http://scorecard.progressivemass.com.

State Sen. Becca Rausch, D-Needham, distinguished herself by writing, cosponsoring and supporting “progressive” legislation and backing the transparency pledge, standing for votes in the senate eventually being joined by colleagues in this effort.

State Rep. Denise Garlick voted against bills rescinding corporate tax breaks and increasing oversight of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. While Garlick was lead sponsor for the Medicare for All bill in the house, her testimony left many questioning “whether she was in fact for the bill or against it.”

The Massachusetts Legislature is one of only four states in the country that exempt themselves from public records law. After a commission to address this failed, state legislators tried to change this, filing amendments to allow more time for legislators to read bills and amendments and to publish committee votes and testimony online. Garlick was actively lobbied to sign the Transparency Pledge and votes for all transparency bills. Garlick voted no, with her process related reasons including reduced efficiency of the Statehouse.

State Sen. Mike Rush, D-Needham, voted against increasing the frequency of reviewing school funding allocations, voted to weaken the Fair Share Amendment and skipped votes on both the ban of conversion therapy, gap funding for family planning and on a bill that would have tightened child welfare eligibility requirements.

Boston Globe: Is Boston Ready for Michelle Wu?

Milton Valencia, “Michelle Wu says Boston is ready for change. But is Boston ready for Michelle Wu?,” Boston Globe (6/30/20)

“It doesn’t feel to me that people in the traditional power center of the city have noticed the city is changing, not only demographically but ideologically,” said Rachel Poliner, of the Roslindale and West Roxbury chapter of Progressive Massachusetts. (Wu was the only incumbent to get the group’s support.)

In recent candidate forums, Poliner said, members were less focused on neighborhood matters and more driven by big-picture issues: housing, transportation, the environment.

“There are issues that we really need action on,” Poliner said. “And there are processes that we believe we can engage in, in ways the city isn’t.”

New progressive strongholds have sprouted within the city, as well. The city’s highest turnout in 2018, by the percentage of registered voters who cast ballots, was in Wu’s neck of Boston: along the Southwest Corridor that stretches from Jamaica Plain through Roslindale and into West Roxbury, what Larry DiCara, a former councilor and longtime city politics observer, called Boston’s new “lefty strip.”