Did anti-MBTA Communities ballot initiative get the signatures?

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A handful of municipalities are opposing the MBTA Communities Act, which calls for zoning that backs multifamily housing in areas close to public transit. But aside from notching the occasional win – opponents won a slate in Winthrop last month – the rebellion has yet to spread.

The ballot question initiative process provides ample opportunity to test a groundswell in repealing or replacing the law, and it’s not looking good for the MBTA Communities Act’s haters, who attempted to put forth four ballot questions. Their pages of voter signatures, required to advance as part of the process for getting on the 2026 ballot, do not fill up one box, according to the office of state elections chief Bill Galvin. Typically, other initiatives have seen 10 to 15 boxes of petitions, which must be certified.

And while successful ballot campaigns typically crow when clearing the first signature-gathering hurdle, John Kolackovsky, one of the organizers behind the effort calling itself “End the MBTA 3A Mandate,” said he couldn’t talk when reached via phone last week. Reached again on Monday and asked about the status of the signatures, he said, “I don’t know exactly. I have to check.”

Calls to people on the ballot campaign committee yielded similar responses. They also lost a legal bid in September to force Galvin to allow them to gather the signatures electronically. (A Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled that Kolackovsky is not guaranteed unlimited and frictionless access to the ballot.)

Contrast that with the Legalize Starter Homes campaign, which turned in 84,000 signatures, roughly 10,000 more than necessary. Launched by Andrew Mikula, whose day job is as a senior housing fellow at the Pioneer Institute, the ballot question would allow the construction of single-family homes on smaller lots than often allowed in most suburbs.

The reform would help the state build some of the 220,000 homes the Healey administration says Massachusetts needs between 2025 and 2035 to remain competitive on an economic basis, according to Mikula.

“When I was putting this campaign together, I thought about going in a bunch of different directions,” he said. “The reason I chose to focus on single family homes and small lots was because there was alignment of polling data and precedence of other states making these reforms legislatively, most recently Maine. Pretty close to home.”

Advocates starting a ballot campaign have to ask themselves several questions, including who is supporting it, through polling and dollars. Mikula has pursued fundraising from charitable foundations, housing advocates and wealthy individuals, but ultimately most of the funding is expected to be listed, when it’s made public in campaign finance filings, will be from the real estate community. “They understand what’s at stake and they know what it takes to solve the housing crisis,” he said, pointing to more supply to address demand. “Going forward, we certainly want to broaden our base and I’ve been working on that day and night.”

By early 2026 he expects to have $1.5 million, but that’s for startup costs. Consultants and contractors have helped with signature-gathering and drawing media attention to a ballot question that has until recently flown under the radar. Gathering more signatures next year and taking out TV ads, which will be competing with other campaigns, will cost millions of dollars. 

“It’s daunting,” Mikula acknowledged. “Part of me suspects when the [anti-MBTA Communities Act] folks got their campaign started, they didn’t have a good grasp of what it would take.”

Thanks to all who responded to last Friday’s trivia question on who succeeded Rep. Charley Murphy as House Ways and Means chair. If you said Brian Dempsey, you’re right. A related trivia question from a reader. A Massachusetts high school produced two future House speakers and an acting mayor of Boston. Who were the public figures and what was the class year? Send along your answers to: [email protected].

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8:30 | After networking that starts at 7:30 a.m., Interim MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng offers opening remarks at an SHNS/MASSterList "Transit Next" event, followed by a panel featuring Transportation Committee Co-chairs Sen. Brendan Crighton and Rep. Jim Arciero moderated by MASSterList Editor Gintautas Dumcius.  A second panel will feature Stephanie Pollack, former Federal Highway Deputy Administrator and MassDOT Secretary; Michael Lambert, Administrator, Brockton Area Transit Authority; Pete Wilson, Senior Policy Director, Transportation for Massachusetts; Kate Dineen, President & CEO, A Better City; and SHNS President George Donnelly as moderator. | MCLE Conference Center, Boston | More

9:45 | Treasurer Deb Goldberg is the featured speaker at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce government affairs forum. She'll deliver a keynote speech and sit down for a Q&A with the Chamber's President & CEO Jim Rooney. | Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, 265 Franklin Street, Boston

10:00 | Gov. Maura Healey holds a press conference with Health Connector CEO Audrey Morse Gasteier to urge Congressional Republicans to vote to extend enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act and highlight a new online portal to help resident navigate these federal changes. | Room 157, State House, Boston

11:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu holds a press conference offering an end-of-year review on improvements to basic city services. Wu is slated to "highlight the work to repave streets, restripe crosswalks, repair sidewalks, improve trash collection, address rats through the Boston Rodent Action Plan, and engage directly with constituents in multiple languages through Boston 311," according to her office. | City Hall, Eagle Room, Boston

4:00 | Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly Budd presents annual address on the state of the judiciary. After her remarks, Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger and Trial Court Administrator Thomas Ambrosino respond to questions as part of a discussion moderated by Mass. Bar Association president Michael Hayden. | John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Boston | Livestream

Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker, has endorsed U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who is running for reelection next year.

“He is our firewall in the Senate, standing up for social and economic justice, scientific progress, protecting civil rights and delivering real change that improves real lives,” Burns said in a statement, which was accompanied by a video. “With so much at stake right now, there is no one better to lead our country through dark times, lighting a pathway forward toward a brighter, healthier, fairer, more peaceful and hope-filled future.”

Markey, who is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, said he was “deeply honored” by the endorsement. “His warning about the stakes we face is a call to action for all of us,” Markey said.

Over the course of his career, the 72-year-old Burns has made documentaries on the Civil War, baseball, and the Vietnam War. He recently released a documentary on the American Revolution.

A New Hampshire resident and longtime Democratic Party donor, Burns has ties to Massachusetts: He attended Hampshire College in western Massachusetts.

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CAMPBELL SETTLEMENT: Eversource must return $45 million to customers as parts of a settlement with Attorney General Andrea Campbell and the state Department of Public Utilities, covering dockets going back to 2011 and charges linked to the 2020 acquisition of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts. – State House News Service

FERRANTE SEAT: Two candidates are already in for the as-yet-unscheduled special election for the late Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante’s Gloucester-based seat. Dru Tarr, a Ferrante aide, and Sarah Wilkinson, who served on the Rockport Select Board, both indicated they plan to run. – State House News Service

JOSH KRAFT NUMBERS: Michael Minogue, the former biotech exec, is pouring another $2 million into his campaign, on top of the $1.5 million he threw in earlier this year. – WBUR

ORLEANS ARREST: The chair of Orlean’s board of assessors was arrested on charges of drug possession and trafficking last week. Julia Lee, 57, has pleaded not guilty. – Cape Cod Chronicle

TOMPKINS DEFENSE FUND: Suffolk Sheriff Steve Tompkins, accused of extorting a cannabis company, has set up a legal defense fund with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance for money to fight the federal case against him. – WBUR

DEPT. OF MIX-UPS: Justin Hurst, the returning city councilor in Springfield, has dinged the city’s elections department, saying they gave him a list of returns that didn’t have three precincts. Elections officials say he was given an unofficial version by accident. – MassLive

COLLEGE CUTS: More cuts at colleges are on the way, with Northeastern University quietly laying people off and other institutions signaling similar moves. – GBH News

BOSTON BUILDING: Synergy, the real estate investor and manager, is continuing to buy up buildings and taking advantage of lower prices post-pandemic. Its latest acquisition is 101 Merrimac in Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle, bought at a third of its assessed value. – Boston Business Journal

UMASS UNION FIGHT: State labor officials told UMass Amherst and its professional staff union to keep bargaining after the union voted no confidence in the chancellor. – MassLive

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