Our Endorsements for Governor and Lt. Governor

2022 Gov & LG

Progressive Massachusetts reached out in late December to gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates with our comprehensive policy questionnaire. In mid-February, we polled our statewide membership on whom and whether to endorse, and the results were clear: Sonia Chang-Díaz for Governor and Tami Gouveia for Lt. Governor.

Each received a commanding 78% of the vote in our member poll, far clearing the 60% threshold required for endorsement.

Each has consistently and persistently demonstrated a commitment to our fundamental mantra that “We all do better when we all do better.” They each bring a deep commitment to equity and justice and a proven track record.  

Why Sonia Chang-Díaz for Governor

When we think of the big achievements of our Legislature from the past five years, the bills that were far-reaching and agenda-setting, they have one thing in common: Sonia Chang-Díaz. She has been a leader in the fights to ensure that members of the trans community are able to exist in public life with full respect and access, to reform our criminal legal system, to update our decades-old education funding formula to help close deep inequities, and to strengthen police accountability. And we know Sonia doesn’t only fight: she wins. And she does so by building coalitions both inside and outside the Legislature and by listening to the voices of those most impacted. But she has been more than just a legislator. She brings the experience of a former teacher and a working parent, ready to roll up her sleeves to invest in our commonwealth to make it a better place for current and future generations.

Here is what some of our members had to say about why they support Sonia Chang-Díaz for Governor.

“I have been impressed with Sonia Chang-Díaz since she has been a state senator. I think her focus on education and social justice will bring fresh air to the Governor’s office.”

“Sonia has fought and won in the Senate for so many of our progressive values, like education funding and criminal justice reform. Sonia has proven that she not only shares these values, but can deliver results.”

“Sonia is smart, driven, empathetic, inclusive, and creative. Whereas many politicians take credit for things, Sonia leads and gets things done. I don’t think anybody in state government has more impressive progressive wins in the last decade than Sonia.”

“Sonia is that rare combination of principled and pragmatic. She is clear about where she stands, she sticks to her guns, and knows when to push and stand firm and when to move forward.”

“Sonia Chang-Díaz has a track record of accomplishing big, progressive goals in our Commonwealth. She led on education funding reform and criminal justice reform by highlighting the stories of real stakeholders, and was able to bring reluctant legislators around on these crucial issues.”

“Sonia has a proven record of progressive leadership and getting impossible things done on Beacon Hill. She’s the reformer we need with the vision and principles to make our Commonwealth more equitable and just.”

“Sonia is the only candidate who supports single-payer healthcare. She’s got an extensive track record of progressive stances AND of work done to promote them. The Student Opportunity Act alone was the achievement of a legislator’s lifetime and she was the driving force behind it.”

“Sonia leads with equity in everything she does, and she has demonstrated her commitment to bold progressive change by building large collaborative coalitions to get that change passed.”

Learn more about Sonia’s campaign at https://www.soniachangdiaz.com/.  

Why Tami Gouveia for Lt. Governor

Tami Gouveia brings a powerful combination of deeply progressive values and policy expertise, rooted in an understanding that a focus on public health is essential if we want a Commonwealth in which all can thrive. She fought for this goal in her decades as a social worker, leading efforts to protect children from exposure to environmental toxins and to develop a holistic regional approach to the opioid crisis. And she’s done so as a state representative, fighting for both critical community investments and bold, equitable policy solutions. The Lt. Governor can have a powerful role as an advocate and convener, and we are convinced that she will excel in such a role.

Here is what some of our members had to say about why they support Tami Gouveia for Lt. Governor.

“As a public health and social work professional along with being a current elected Rep., she will bring focus to ‘soft infrastructure’ needs like quality and affordable daycare, increasing pay and benefits for caregivers, health and mental health needs, and so much more.”

“Dr. Gouveia has a very consistent track record of fighting for what’s right and what’s good for her constituents without regard to how those votes may affect her ‘career.’ She is a true public servant who can be trusted to always vote her values and not her pocketbook.”

“I have seen the things that Dr. Gouveia has done for her district and what she advocates for in the State House. She listens. She is not afraid to speak up for progressive policies. She pushed early for a strong response to COVID-19 and is in it for the long game – to make things better for all of us. She also advocates for those of us that don’t always get invited to the table. When my district was without a rep, she made herself available to us.”

“Tami Gouveia is a progressive fighter and has not shied away from standing up for her beliefs while a state Senator. I have been impressed with her focus on public health and equity during the pandemic.”

“This moment calls out for a leader with Tami’s unique expertise and experience in public health, social work and building progressive coalitions on Beacon Hill. No one will work harder on behalf of every resident of the Commonwealth.”

“We’ve seen what happens during a pandemic when politicians listen to public health experts and then do whatever they wanted anyway. As a public health expert herself, Tami can help us navigate the end of this pandemic and prepare as best we can for the next one.”

Learn more about Tami’s campaign at https://www.tamigouveia.com/.

What about the Other Statewide Races?

Earlier this week, we sent office-specific, comprehensive policy questionnaires to the candidates for Attorney General, Auditor, and Secretary of the Commonwealth. Stay tuned.

But if you want to mark your calendars now, do so and sign up for our public candidate interviews on Saturday, March 26, from 1 pm to 4 pm.

2022 PM Candidate Questionnaires: Governor & LG

Sunlight - Beacon Hill

2022 will be a busy year in Massachusetts, with four of our statewide constitutional offices having open races (Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Auditor) and one contested primary (Secretary of the Commonwealth).

The Governor and Lt. Governor’s races offer Massachusetts an opportunity to shift course from the complacency and conservatism of the Baker-Polito administration. We must make sure that our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic puts our commonwealth on a more equitable foundation, one that does right by workers, local businesses, and historically disenfranchised communities; one that provides our teachers and students the resources they need to thrive; and one that is rooted in an understanding of the importance of investing in our future, from child care to public education to public transit and beyond. Massachusetts also must address long-standing crises of medical debt, student loan debt, housing instability, runaway climate change, and systemic racism. We have a lot to do, and we need proactive leaders, backed by an engaged public, to do it. 

Progressive Massachusetts reached out to all announced and likely-to-announce candidates in December 2021, inviting them to fill out our comprehensive questionnaire about their policies, priorities, and leadership style. We view these questionnaires as a vital opportunity to educate candidates about issues that matter to progressive voters, get candidates on record, and create a more informed and engaged electorate.

If a candidate declined to fill out the questionnaire or submitted a questionnaire after others were publicly posted, they are not included below.

Quick Dates

Primary: Tuesday, September 6 (pending final approval)

General: Tuesday, November 8

Our Endorsement Process

As a membership organization, we put major decisions like endorsements before our members. All candidates who submitted a questionnaire are eligible for consideration for endorsement, although candidates must pass a 60% threshold in our member ballot to be endorsed by Progressive Mass. 

Anyone who has donated at least $5 to Progressive Mass over the past year counts as a dues-paying member, and we will be sending out our member ballot on Friday, February 11

Not sure if you are a member? You can check your membership status, renew your membership, or join for the first time here!

Gubernatorial Questionnaires Submitted

Danielle Allen​ (2/15 update: No longer running)

Sonia Chang-Díaz (6/23 update: No longer running)

Lt. Governor Questionnaires Submitted

Bret Bero (6/4 update: Did not make it past the convention)

Kim Driscoll

Tami Gouveia

Adam Hinds (6/4 update: Did not make it past the convention)

Redistricting 2021

Curious what your new districts will look like when you go to the polls next year? Here’s an overview of how MA’s legislative districts changed. If you don’t see your district on here, that means it didn’t change.

NOTE: All precinct numbering in the below spreadsheets refer to the precincts as they existed 2012-2021. Go here for the new numbering.


RSVP Now! Progressive Mass’s 2022 Annual Member Meeting

PM 2022 Member Meeting

2022 is going to be an eventful year. We’re kicking it off with our annual member meeting on Saturday, January 22, from 1 pm to 4 pm. We’ll have an update on our work from the past year as well as what’s in store for 2022. We’ll also be featuring interviews with 2022 Gubernatorial and Lt. Gubernatorial candidates.

Progressive Mass 2022 Annual Member Meeting

Saturday, January 22

1 pm to 4 pm

Zoom link upon RSVP

The first segment of the Annual Members Meeting will offer members updates on our organization, plans, and a chance to meet nominees for the Board (to be voted on after). The remainder, the bulk of the meeting, is open to all for the candidate interviews.

Not yet a member? Become one today!

Not sure if you’re a member? Check your status here.

Get to hear from major 2022 candidates!

Gubernatorial candidates confirmed so far:

  • Harvard professor Danielle Allen
  • State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz

AG Maura Healey has been invited — awaiting final confirmation.

LG candidates confirmed so far:

  • Businessman Bret Bero
  • Mayor Kim Driscoll
  • State Rep Dr. Tami Gouveia
  • State Sen. Adam Hinds
  • State Sen. Eric Lesser

These interviews are going to be key because we will be inviting our members to vote on an endorsement shortly thereafter.

News Roundup — December 15, 2021

Michelle Wu: Cities Must Lead for the Green New Deal,” The Nation

“Action at the city level is what will make national momentum possible on our most urgent issues, and this is the level of government where we are closest to people, where we can innovate and move quickly. Most importantly, this is the level of government where we uniquely are in the position to earn the trust of our communities.”


It’s like a slow war, like a slow burn. Like a slow, quiet form of torture,” The Appeal

“Solitary confinement is a punishment that correctional officers wield freely, and its harms are catastrophic. The practice — confinement in a cell for up to 24 hours a day — can lead to psychosis, self-mutilation, and suicide. A study of people incarcerated in North Carolina found that those subjected to solitary were almost 80 percent more likely to die by suicide within a year after their release than those not placed in solitary.”


Will the Legislature let pandemic mail-in and early voting reforms expire?,” WBUR

“Many municipalities benefited from these reforms, but still, they’re set to expire Wednesday….There was talk of extending them while the House and Senate hashed out a more permanent solution. But with the legislature not in formal session, it appears highly unlikely they will act to do so in time.”


Edwards beats D’Ambrosio in special election primary for state Senate,” CommonWealth

“While the race largely turned into a turf battle pitting D’Ambrosio’s solid base of support in Revere against Edwards’s strength in Boston and Cambridge, it was also a referendum on whether the district would embrace the progressive wave has that sent Wu, Pressley, and other political change agents into office in recent years or stick to a more moderate Democratic lane.”


Primary win all but ensures progressive Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards a State Senate seat,” WGBH

“What I’ve been consistent about is talking about how as a senator, you can take a regional approach, which is necessary to deal with housing, to deal with transportation, to deal with environmental justice, to deal with education … dealing with the opioid crisis, there is no one city or town that can do it alone.”


Earmark process in ARPA bill undermines racial equity goals,” CommonWealth

“But those diversity and equity goals collided with lawmakers’ penchant for using budget negotiations to fund pet projects in their districts. The result: The bulk of arts funding in the huge spending bill is tied up in local earmarks, only a small percentage of which are geared toward organizations led by or primarily serving people of color.”


Mass. falling behind on marijuana equity mandate,” CommonWealth

“Let’s be real about this: communities all over this state still experience the painful impacts of the War on Drugs today. The families that have been torn apart by over-policing and over-enforcement should be the first to benefit now that marijuana is legal. Massachusetts knows what it takes to make sure equity materializes, and now is the time to carry out its promise by investing in those who deserve to participate in this industry.”


California Plans To Be Abortion Sanctuary If Roe Overturned,” HuffPost

“The report recommends funding — including public spending — to support patients seeking abortion for travel expenses such as gas, lodging, transportation and child care. It asks lawmakers to reimburse abortion providers for services to those who can’t afford to pay — including those who travel to California from other states whose income is low enough that they would qualify for state-funded abortions under Medicaid if they lived there.”

Our Endorsement: Lydia Edwards for the First Suffolk & Middlesex Special

Lydia Edwards

With the resignation of Sen. Joe Boncore (D-Winthrop), the First Suffolk & Middlesex State Senate district will be having a special election next month. The district consists of parts of Boston (East Boston, the North End, Beacon Hill, Downtown Boston, Chinatown, Bay Village, a few blocks of the South End), parts of Cambridge (MIT, Cambridgeport, Riverside), Revere, and Winthrop.

The primary will be Tuesday, December 14, and the general will be January 11.

Two candidates are running in the Democratic primary: Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards and Revere School Committeeman Anthony D’Ambrosio. (Read their questionnaires here.)

Our members voted, and the results were overwhelmingly clear. We are proud to endorse Lydia Edwards for State Senate.

As a public interest attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, Edwards was a leader in the effort to pass a Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights, the first of such kind in the nation. As a city councilor, she has been a leader on housing issues, from strengthening the regulations of Airbnb and corporate short-term rentals to fighting for equitable zoning and a transfer fee on high-end real-estate transactions. She has worked in coalition with groups and electeds across the state on affordable housing policy and authored key eviction sealing legislation, and she was the lead Councilor in the successful effort to reform Boston’s city charter to allow for a more democratic and inclusive budgeting process. The Senate could benefit from such advocacy for workers’ rights and housing justice, and if elected, Edwards would become the only Black woman in the State Senate, bringing a much needed diversity of perspective.

Learn more about Lydia’s campaign at https://www.lydiaedwards.org/.

Boston Globe: Weighing in on Sonia Chang-Díaz’s Run for Governor

Emma Platoff, “State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, veteran progressive lawmaker, launches bid for Massachusetts governor,” Boston Globe, June 23, 2021.

Chang-Díaz had a leading role in “every major progressive accomplishment the state has had” during her tenure, said Jonathan Cohn, elections committee chair for the group Progressive Massachusetts, which has yet to make an endorsement in the race.

“She’s the candidate who excites progressive activists,” he said. “The universe of people who volunteer on campaigns know who she is.”

Bay State Banner: Mayoral candidates face an electorate that’s moving to the left

Yawu Miller, “Mayoral candidates face an electorate that’s moving to the left,” Bay State Banner, June 9, 2021.

Recent polling has painted a picture of a Boston electorate ready to embrace progressive change, showing that 76% of voters support rent control, 60% want an elected school committee and 48% support reducing spending on police and investing the savings in anti-violence and social service programs, versus 36% who oppose such a move.

Yet among the six candidates running for mayor, support for those three positions is lacking. Only Wu supports rent control, none supports a fully elected school committee and Essaibi George, Barros and Santiago have voiced varying degrees of opposition to police reforms backed by Progressive Massachusetts chapters.

Boston 2021 Municipal Candidate Questionnaires

Preliminary Election: Tuesday, September 14

General Election: Tuesday, November 2


Mayor

John Barros

Andrea Campbell

Annissa Essaibi George

Kim Janey

Jon Santiago

Michelle Wu


City Council At-Large

Voters can choose up to four.

Submitted Questionnaires:

Said Abdikarim

Kelly Bates

James “Reggie” Colimon

Domingos DaRosa

Michael Flaherty

Alex Gray

David Halbert

Ruthzee Louijeune

Julia Mejia

Carla Monteiro

Erin Murphy

Nick Vance


City Council District 4

Where The District Is: Dorchester, Mattapan, and small parts of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale

Submitted Questionnaires:

Evandro Carvalho

Deeqo Jibril

Leonard Lee

Joel Richards

Josette Williams

Brian Worrell


City Council District 5

Where the District Is: Hyde Park, Mattapan, Roslindale

Submitted Questionnaires:

Ricardo Arroyo


City Council District 6

Where The District Is: Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and a small part of Roslindale

Submitted Questionnaires:

Winnie Eke

Kendra Hicks

Kelly Ransom

Mary Tamer

Boston Globe: Special election for former speaker DeLeo’s seat will test appetite for progressive politics

Emma Platfoff, “Special election for former speaker DeLeo’s seat will test appetite for progressive politics,” Boston Globe (2/28/21)

Progressive Massachusetts, along with Pressley, Sanders, and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, have backed 27-year-old Juan Jaramillo.

“Replacing Bob DeLeo with someone who’s a progressive Latino labor organizer is a powerful statement about moving forward — both for how people understand that district, and valuable for the politics of the building,” said Jonathan Cohn, elections committee chair for the group. “This is a major opportunity for an upgrade.”