A Guide to Massachusetts Politics and Voting: Understanding the State’s Political Landscape

By Better Today On Sep 7, 2023

Massachusetts Politics: Understanding the Structure and Players

If we asked an AI-powered bot to conjure up images that reflect Massachusetts politics, it might spit back a sepia-toned scene of smiling Kennedys helming a sailboat. Or maybe it would pull an archive photo of a fiery James Curley or amiable Tip O’Neill. But that’s the past.

The biggest stars of Massachusetts politics today (search #mapoli, you’ll thank us later) do preserve some of the state’s reputation as a small place with big political influence. But there’s more to politics and policy around here than the greater and lesser Kennedys, pithy one-liners (“All politics is local,” “He did it for a friend”) and a penchant for press coverage. (And, admittedly, not always for good behavior.)

If you’re prudent — or if you’re new in town — you’ll likely want some political SparkNotes in a state where people like love to mouth off about positioning and policy.

We’ll help parse what’s mythical and what’s real around the state’s progressive reputation, explain why some mayors wield big power while others don’t, and even let you in on how New England town meetings are both democracy at its simplest and protocol at its most opaque. Plus, as practical people ourselves, we’ll tell you how to register to vote and figure out how to follow the money that lands in politicians’ war chests.

How towns and cities govern

There are 351 cities and towns in the Bay State, and there are several ways that each structure their local governments.

For now, let’s focus on how Boston is governed.

A Boston built on compromise: How its mayor and council serve constituents

Chief of the city, the mayor is basically the CEO of Boston. The mayor appoints the police commissioner, members of the development authority, signs roughly 20,000 municipal paychecks and — unlike all other Massachusetts cities — even decides who sits on the school committee.

Take our quiz: Test your knowledge of Boston mayors here.

But Boston mayors aren’t all-powerful; they can’t make laws without approval from the city council (and certain powers, like taxation and rent control, are reined in by the State House). Still, mayors often set much of the city’s direction.

Boston’s longest-serving mayor, the late Tom Menino, is remembered for ushering in a massive development boom across the city. His successor, Marty Walsh, took on climate resiliency and housing construction efforts. Michelle Wu’s administration so far has prioritized housing and environmental policies.

The last three mayors of Boston: Thomas Menino, Marty Walsh and Michelle Wu. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Keeping tabs on the Boston City Council’s agenda is a solid way to understand the big debates shaping the future of the city. (Local politics superfans can follow the council on YouTube and turn on notifications to never miss a meeting.)

Boston has 13 councilors: four at-large members who represent the whole city and nine district councilors, each repping about 75,000 Bostonians. The council approves the mayor’s budget, and in 2021, voters decided to give the body the power to amend the budget and reallocate funds.

The city council also has the power to hold hearings on hot-button issues and can send city ordinances (i.e. local laws) to the mayor’s desk. They can override a mayor’s veto if nine councilors band together.

All 13 seats are up for grabs every two years.

As is the case for many major cities, the council also can be a stepping stone to higher office. If you look at who sat on the council back in 2021, you’ll see a who’s-who of progressive Massachusetts politics: U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, state Sen. Lydia Edwards and Mayor Michelle Wu.

The way Boston political consultant Doug Chavez sees it, a councilor is a resident’s liaison to city government.

“I always tell people: call your local city councilors, and call one of your at-large — all four if necessary — so they can help guide you through this,” Chavez said. Councilors often take up a range of issues, from broken street lights and potholes to fielding complaints about city investments.

You can figure out who your councilor is here.

For non-emergency needs, you also can call Boston 311, a 24-hour hotline that promises to connect you with a constituent service representative for requests like graffiti removal, pothole fixes and needle cleanups. There’s an app where you can file reports, too, if you’re not a big phone talker.

Governments outside Boston

Boston’s mayor-council system isn’t the only way cities and towns in Massachusetts set up their municipal governments.

Cambridge has a “council/manager” system, in which the council appoints one of their own to serve as a mayor to handle ceremonial duties and head both the city council and school committee. The city manager, meanwhile, is hired by the council to serve as CEO. Worcester uses a similar system.

(Fun fact: Cantabrigians, as well as residents of Amherst and Easthampton, use a form of ranked-choice voting, which is an arguably more democratic but somewhat complicated process. Massachusetts voters in 2020 rejected a ballot effort to adopt ranked-choice voting in statewide elections.)

Most towns in the state use the “town meeting” form of government — a vestige of old Yankee direct democracy — where voters are empowered to make the big decisions on budgets and bylaws.

Town meetings usually take place indoors. But, in this June 2020 photo, North Andover residents hold up pink cards to vote at an annual town meeting that navigated COVID-19 concerns. It was the first outdoor town meeting since North Andover was established in 1646. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Here are some fast facts about town meeting governments: There are two types of town meeting communities: under “open town meetings,” every registered voter can participate; under “representative town meetings,” voters select representatives. (Brookline, for example, elects 255 town meeting members.) Across the state, more than 260 communities hold “open town meetings,” while about 50 use the representative variety. (Thanks to the Mass. Municipal Association for this breakdown of how these meetings work.) Alexis de Tocqueville, the French chronicler of 19th century U.S., thought New England democracy was the bee’s knees: “The native of New England is attached to his township because it is independent and free: his cooperation in its affairs ensures his attachment to its interest; the wellbeing it affords him secures his affection; and its welfare is the aim of his ambition and of his future exertions.”

Massachusetts politicos

The executive branch

The state is run by a governor and a lieutenant governor who are elected on the same ticket. There are four other statewide elected positions: treasurer, secretary of the commonwealth, auditor and attorney general.

As of 2023, all but one of the six positions are held by women, including Gov. Maura Healey, the first openly gay woman elected as an American governor. The lone man in statewide office is Bill Galvin, who with his election to an eighth term in 2022, is Massachusetts’ longest-serving secretary of state.

There’s also an eight-member Governor’s Council, elected in districts across the state, which presides over matters like pardons, governmental appointments or judicial picks put forth by the governor.

The Legislature

Let’s now talk about the glowing hearth of statewide politicking: Beacon Hill.

Beacon Hill, the name for the area where the State House sits, is hard to miss. It’s a landmark in the state capital with the giant golden dome that overlooks Boston Common. There’s no governor’s mansion in Massachusetts, so the governor works at the State House alongside the bicameral Legislature’s 200 members: 40 senators and 160 representatives.

In the corridors of the Massachusetts State House in 2019. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Lawmakers meet from January through the end of July, which you can consider crunch time at the capitol.

“The Legislature historically saves most of the substantial bills until the very end of formal sessions,” said Steve Brown, a veteran political reporter at WBUR. “That leaves very little time to publicly debate the merits of those bills.”

In a single year, Brown also said lawmakers typically take up just one or two omnibus bills, which are legislation that knits together various smaller policy measures.

“They’ll say we want to do health care bills this year, then education next year,” he said. “That tends to be the way they do things.”

The state has a greater share of Democratic-leaning voters than any other state —… [Continue Reading](https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/10/16/understanding-massachusetts-politics)