Hi Maria,

Can you believe 2023 is coming to a close? I don’t know about you, but for the Maria’s List team, this year went by in the blink of an eye! 

This was a year of important firsts in Massachusetts! Governor Healey’s ascension to be the first woman and openly-gay Governor of our Commonwealth was paired with the first term of almost all-women constitutional officers. This is big! On the other hand, the bad news is the moderate playbook persists on Beacon Hill. 

The Healey-Driscoll administration approved record tax cuts, which essentially undoes the Fair Share Amendment. The legislature passed the state budget a month late, and largely within closed door discussions, after a prolonged negotiation on dollars for migrant family shelters. Unsurprisingly, leaders on Beacon Hill also continue to resist any kind of transparency or audit on their work. While diverse representation has continued to grow in our Commonwealth, that may not be enough. Systems of entrenched power are just that for a reason: regardless of identity, the system limits new people's contributions.

Look west for some hopeful movement! Outside Beacon Hill, and down Route 90 West, candidates and organizations are preparing for multiple ballot fights in 2024. The seeds of momentum were planted long ago, and 2023 continued growth towards the sun. Here is a report back on our Worcester and Springfield candidates! 

The 2023 Gateway Cities Analysis: Springfield and Worcester

Worcester:

This central Massachusetts city added 8,000 voters since the last municipal election, and in 2023 voter turnout increased by 4%. Maria’s List endorsed candidates At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen and District 5 Councilor Etel Haxiaj were safely re-elected. Councilor Khrystian King’s bid for Mayor against long-time incumbent Joe Petty was unsuccessful. However, King was able to cut into Petty’s margin of victory. In 2021, Mayor Petty won with 60% of the vote, and in 2023 it was down to 49%. This is good news for the long-term strategy: when a strong candidate like King challenges well-resourced incumbents such as Petty, it builds momentum for elections to come. We see progress.

Springfield: 

Unfortunately, Councilor Justin Hurst was unable to unseat entrenched incumbent Mayor Dominic Sarno. However, the robust September primary should be celebrated, and the contentious general election did lead to an increase of 10,000 voters from the previous non-mayoral municipal election. Still, there is work to be done in this battleground Gateway City. Did you know that statewide organizing operations are often Boston-centric, and use non-residents for their canvassing and advocacy efforts? We need to nurture and grow local (organic, haha) grassroots organizing. We’ll say it as many times as it takes: we must invest in the organizations and people doing the work on the ground! 

As a Maria’s List reader, you know our deep trust and belief in membership-based organizations like Neighbor to Neighbor, committed to organizing people around economic empowerment and leveraging political power for municipal and state electoral victories. With a new Executive Director in 2024, N2N will prioritize voter mobilization efforts and a power-building approach to invest in Massachusetts elections in Springfield. Stay tuned for more on their strategy and the state-wide picture!  

What’s Next? 

If you’ve read this far, you’re likely savvy on how arduous is the task of fracturing moderate power on Beacon Hill. We see ballot initiatives taking center stage in 2024. From raising the minimum wage for tipped workers to authorizing the auditor to audit the legislature, these ballot questions are an opportunity to challenge the moderate playbook on Beacon Hill. Victories will not come without challenge, and those victories can only be delivered through a coalition of those most impacted by the supremacy of our self-perpetuating systems. Let Maria’s List be an important source of information for you, on the organizations and candidates who are building long-term movements to challenge the racial and economic injustice in Massachusetts! 

We are still dreaming about how Maria’s List can be a resource for readers like you. Humour us when we send you a short survey at the beginning of the year to learn more about the types of communications and engagements you’re craving! In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you. What is on your mind for Massachusetts for 2024? What curiosities do you have about the current state of our Commonwealth? Don’t be shy! Reply to this email with anything top of your mind - seriously! Here’s to building with you in 2024!

In Service, 

Maria Jobin-Leeds