Ballot questions can sometimes turn on pocketbook issues. This year, there’s one potentially headed toward the November ballot that takes direct aim at lawmakers’ wallets.
The push is coming partly from former colleagues who say Beacon Hill leaders have concentrated power through the use of stipends, padding paychecks in return for loyalty.
They’re looking to overhaul the system they say forces lawmakers to weigh the costs and benefits of serving their constituents versus the leaders who control their pay, which starts with a base salary of $82,046. Stipends can add tens of thousands of dollars on top of that, depending on the leadership position.
The former colleagues, who collectively spent three decades in the House, made their pitch in front of a legislative committee that is weighing all of the possible ballot questions. If lawmakers do not act on the measures, proponents will have to go out and gather another round of voter signatures.
Denise Provost, a former Somerville Democrat who served between 2006 and 2021, said the power became more concentrated during her time on Beacon Hill, with each new legislative session bringing new positions and new committees, followed by stipends, and a decrease in dissent and debate. “The House became more hierarchical and less collegial,” she said.
“The committee chairs were going to do whatever the speaker would tell them to do, and it was because of the stipends,” said Lenny Mirra, a Georgetown Republican who served between 2013 and 2024.
Provost and Mirra were joined by former Rep. Jonathan Hecht of Watertown; Jeanne Kempthorne, a retired lawyer and former Ethics Commission member; and the Pioneer Institute’s Mary Connaughton.
But lawmakers questioned the ballot measure’s attempt to tie stipends to committee activity, which they say crosses the line into unconstitutional meddling in how the House and Senate conduct their business.
They also took some umbrage with large swaths of the public believing they’re not doing their jobs. “I take it with a grain of salt because I have constituents and those constituents, they vote for me,” said Arlington Sen. Cindy Friedman, who is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. She added: “I don’t get told when I have to vote for something.”
Stoneham Rep. Michael Day sought to take Hecht down a peg by bringing up the ballot campaign’s $303,000 paid for signature gathering, as some ballot campaigns opt to do. Pressed by Day, who is viewed by insiders as a future House Ways and Means chair, on how many voter signatures were gathered organically by volunteers, Hecht said roughly 15,000 out of 95,000.
Day then turned the ballot campaign’s finances, noting that Hecht donated $110,000. “I’m happy you have the resources to do that,” he said.
“You’re looking at the records, representative,” Hecht said. “That’s accurate.”
After sparring with their former colleagues, lawmakers brought in a friendly face: Sean Kealy, a Boston University law professor and former assistant attorney general who worked for Newton Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem decades ago.
He agreed with his former bosses that the ballot question is unconstitutional. “The problem here is that we don’t really know that something is truly constitutional until it is passed,” he said, because courts generally don’t step in until the law is enacted. The exception is when the Legislature asks for an advisory opinion, as the Senate has done for this one, he added.
He acknowledged that there is room for reform, though reforms often come slowly.
He pointed to one such reform as evidence: The elimination years ago of a “hack holiday” that was once celebrated the same day as Tuesday’s hearing. Government workers in Boston and elsewhere in Suffolk County used to be able to take a paid day off, citing Evacuation Day (the day George Washington drove the British out of the city) which also happens to fall on St. Patrick’s Day.
“The idea of having a hearing on Evacuation Day was absolutely unheard of,” Kealy said. “It’s proof the Legislature can change.”
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HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security holds a public hearing on five bills, including the "PROTECT Act" (H 5158) sponsored by Rep. Andy Vargas. The proposal bans civil immigration arrests in and around courthouses. The legislation would also block the creation or renewal of 287(g) agreements that allow local officers to carry out the duties of federal immigration agents. | Room A-2, State House, Boston | Agenda and Livestream
10:30 | Gov. Maura Healey speaks at Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition's annual Immigrants' Day. Other speakers include Senate President Karen Spilka and Sen. Cindy Friedman. Doors open at 9 a.m., with choir performance at 10 a.m. The speaking program is slated to start at 10:30. | Gardner Auditorium, State House, Boston
11:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends nonprofit Ethos’ annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon. | Boston Elks Lodge #10, 1 Morrell Street, West Roxbury
12:00 | The MassDOT Board of Directors meets. | 10 Park Plaza, Boston | More Info
1:00 | Gov. Maura Healey and Senate President Karen Spilka attend the swearing-in of Sen.-elect Vanna Howard. | Senate Chamber, State House, Boston
MARKEY CLEANS UP AT CAUCUS IN MOULTON’S SALEM
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey dealt Rep. Seth Moulton a tough loss in the congressman’s own city of Salem, sweeping up delegates at Monday night’s Democratic caucus.
The caucus met at the Levesque Community Life Center to choose delegates to send to the state party’s annual convention in Worcester. The Boston Globe reported last week that Moulton is “trying to get a wave of voters who aren’t registered as Democrats to become convention delegates” and help him get 15% at the May convention and make the September primary ballot.
But efforts didn’t go well in the city that Moulton has called home. (He and his family are planning to move to the place he grew up, Marblehead, after buying a $3.1 million home there in February, MASSterList reported earlier this week.)
Moulton won just one out of Salem’s seven wards, according to one attendee. Overall, Markey picked up 22 delegates to Moulton’s six.
Dominick Pangallo, Salem’s mayor, spoke on Markey’s behalf at the caucus, as did Rep. Manny Cruz. (Mayors tend to have a lot of sway in caucuses and at the convention. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Markey supporter, is expected to deliver a big bloc of delegates at the convention for the incumbent senator.)
A Moulton campaign spokesperson said that they’ve won elsewhere, including all 21 delegates in Swampscott and Ipswich, and majority of delegates in Dartmouth, Gloucester, Beverly, Gloucester, and Lawrence.
“Senator Markey has been in Washington for 48 years, but the status quo isn't delivering for Massachusetts,” said the spokesperson, Taylor Hebble. “While insiders underestimate this campaign, Seth is winning caucuses across the Commonwealth and bringing new energy into the caucus process - proof that voters are ready for a new generation of leadership. If our party wants to win, defeat Donald Trump, and defend Massachusetts, we need the energy Seth is building right now—not more of the same.”
Join Senate President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, Senate Majority Leader Creem, Event Hosts Senator Payano, and Representatives Consalvo, Garballey, and Williams, other leaders of legislature, advocacy,and medicine for Virtual 17th Annual Prostate Cancer Awareness Day, held on March 24th, 10 am to 2 pm. You will take part in expanding a Massachusetts model of national leadership in prostate cancer awareness, medical education, research and reducing health disparities. You will learn about the cutting-edge advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment – and Prostate Cancer Resource Project, bringing the best available quality care to Massachusetts men and supporting them every step of their medical journey. This event is organized by AdMeTech Foundation, in cooperation with the Prostate Cancer Action Council.
FROM BEACON HILL
AFFORDABILITY ELECTION: Gov. Maura Healey and her GOP rivals are scrambling to make the case to voters that they can cut energy costs. Recent polling shows concern about energy costs has passed ones about groceries and health care. – MassLive
DATA CENTER POLITICS: A 2024 economic development law included sales and use tax exemptions for data centers. But 16 months later, it remains unavailable amid a growing backlash to data centers. – CommonWealth Beacon
At Mass General Brigham, our leaders bring together the brightest minds to solve the toughest challenges in healthcare. From academic medical centers to community hospitals, mobile health centers and more we deliver compassionate, patient-centered care. The high quality care we provide is built on innovative research and visionary leadership throughout the system.
NEWS NEXT DOOR
WORLD CUP SCORE: Town officials in Foxborough signed off on an event license allowing seven World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium, putting an official end to a battle with organizers. The sign-off came after organizers agreed to provide security funding demanded by Foxborough. – Boston Business Journal
TOURISM CHIEF: John Borders IV, Mayor Michelle Wu’s tourism chief, has taken a job as senior vice president of partnerships at Boston Legacy FC, the new women’s professional soccer team. – Boston Globe
TOWN BACKS LEGISLATIVE AUDIT: Members of the Reading select board voted to send a letter to House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka to allow Auditor Diana DiZoglio to conduct the legislative audit approved by voters in 2024. – Boston Herald
SOUTHIE FORECLOSURE AUCTION: A foreclosure auction of a South Boston development site, bought for $75 million, appeared to bring an end to a legal mess over the site and cut out developer Andrew Collins, the twin brother of Sen. Nick Collins. – Boston Globe
BANK EXPANSION: JP Morgan Chase’s Boston expansion, with 300 new jobs, will lead to 1,000 people coming into the South Station tower. – Boston Business Journal
TSA WORKERS QUIT: As a partial government shutdown heads into its second month, thirty Transportation Security Administration employees in New England have quit. A union official said most of the walk-offs happened at Boston’s Logan International Airport. – GBH News
STATE POLICE SCANDAL LATEST: The ripple effects of a State Police scandal on a Lowell murder case have reached the state’s high court. Jury selection and the trial has been delayed since revelations that a state trooper, one of the investigators, was involved in a fatal crash and had an allegedly high blood alcohol level. – MassLive
BIDEN IN BOSTON: In a surprise appearance, former president Joe Biden dropped in on the Irish American Partnership’s St. Patrick’s Day breakfast at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston.Biden took the stage with Claire Cronin, a former state lawmaker and U.S. ambassador to Ireland. – Dorchester Reporter
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