Alex Morse, the 30 year old Mayor of Holyoke, will challenge Congressman Richie Neal in a Democratic primary next year. Observers are asking the same question about this race as they did about the 2018 challenges to Congressman Neal and Congressman Capuano. Is it about progressive insurgency or generational change in the Bay State’s establishment-friendly…
Author: Jerold Duquette
Professor of Political Science
Director, Public Policy and Management Program
Central Connecticut State University
Globe Editors Phone It In on OML Proposal
The recent Boston Globe editorial endorsing the repeal of the state legislature’s statutory exemption from the requirements of the Open Meeting Law is, to put it mildly, neither well-argued nor persuasive. It was interesting to me that the least reasonable claims in the editorial were offered via quotes from Mary Connaughton, the “director of government…
Mass Politics After the 2018 Elections: Still “Safe Harbor for Old School Pols & Politics”
Last spring I wrote a piece called “MASSPOLI#: Safe Harbor for Old School Pols & Politics” that began as follows: “American politics in 2018 is a hot mess. The Age of Trump will almost certainly be understood as a chaotic and terribly destructive time in American politics when our institutions were strained to the limit…
The Plight of Progressives in the Bernie Sanders Era
Being a politically progressive college professor who isn’t a passenger on the Bernie Sanders Express can be uncomfortable at times. Lucky for me, I’m a political science professor, which means that I have plenty of scholarly company, particularly among my fellow political scientists who study American politics. The reason for the disparity is, in my…
Misinfo-tainment: The Sarno “Snub” that Wasn’t
I have known Mayor Sarno for more than 30 years. I voted for him when he ran for City Council and were I a Springfield resident at the time I would have voted for him for Mayor. I don’t always agree with him, but I do think he is a good politician and a good…
Why the Longmeadow Superintendent’s Supporters should OPPOSE the Recall Petition at Tonight’s STM
While I have focused in my previous analysis on the systemic downsides of creating recall elections in Longmeadow, including the unpredictable downsides of making long term changes for short term political advantage, the case against the recall can also be made in purely political strategic terms that should be compelling to the present supporters of…
Longmeadow’s STM Showdown: When You Fight Fire with Fire in Politics Everyone Gets Burned
This is the fifth recent post related to the controversy over the Longmeadow School Superintendent’s contract. To read the previous four, go here, here, here, and here. Longmeadow residents will meet in a Special Town Meeting (STM) this Thursday to decide the fate of a citizen petition calling for an amendment to the Town Charter…
Hard Lessons: Longmeadow’s Education Pros Confront the School Committee
Last night the Longmeadow School Committee held a public discussion with the School Department’s entire 10-member administrative team that proved to me that the political firestorm ignited by the School Committee’s 4-3 vote not to renew the Superintendent’s contract has exacerbated a serious problem that is far bigger than the Superintendent. For my analysis of…
Emailgate Longmeadow Style: The Battle Over the Superintendent’s Fate Gets Uglier
The anger and frustration sparked by the Longmeadow School Committee’s controversial 4-3 vote against renewing the contract of the current Superintendent of Schools (which I previously wrote about HERE and HERE) flared up again this week with the public release of an email sent to the Chair of the School Committee from a town resident…
Compromise in Longmeadow is the smart play
Did unfair treatment of the vanquished after World War I help produce World War II? Sorry, this question is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I can tell you that if the Longmeadow School Committee doesn’t acknowledge and deal forthrightly with its present fracture, the future with or without the present superintendent will be…