Read the current report from Beacon Hill to learn how our rep Stephen Boksanki is working on MLP's behalf.
By Stephen A. Boksanski
MLP's Legislative Agent
The second year of the biennial legislative session began on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 and it promises to be unusually political as these are unique times that feature a special election for the U.S. Senate, a possible legislative appointment to fill-in a vacant Attorney General seat, a three-way race for Governor, and a handful of other seats that will open up and create opportunities down the line.
These rare openings attract candidates that already hold public office and a cascading effect takes place where everyone tries to move up and new entrants vie to take their place. Change is expected and most of the turnover is likely to occur in the House of Representatives.
Whichever candidate wins on January 19th, a seat will be vacated – that of the Attorney General or a State Senator. The more interest- ing scenario includes a win for Martha Coakley and an appointment of the Legislature to serve out the remainder of the term. House members outnumber Senators four-to-one and essentially control the appointment and so the internal jockeying has begun in earnest. This will continue to be a distraction for legislators and could lead to more internal turmoil, mostly within the House of Representatives. The eventual appointment will face a difficult challenge: having to learn on the job and begin campaigning almost immediately, as there will be an election held eight months down the road.
The Governor’s race will feature a Republican primary between Christy Mihos and Charlie Baker and then a general election between Governor Patrick, the Republican primary winner, and Tim Cahill. The backdrop of a gloomy economy, a difficult budget situation, and no less than three ongoing court cases featuring former legislators will continue to foster an unhappy electorate. However, whether that pie of discontent is real enough to knock out a sitting Governor remains to be seen. With three viable candi- dates in the race, that block of dissatisfied voters could be split and provide Governor Patrick a second term by capturing a little more than half the amount of votes he earned in 2006.
Two other statewide offices opening up are the State Treasurer’s and the State Auditor as Tim Cahill is running for Governor as an unenrolled candidate. Joseph DeNucci has announced he will not run for re-election after a 30-plus year career of public service. These are considered plum positions for those in the world of state government and several candidates have emerged already for each.
Another example of the snowball effect is in the Sate Senate, where Minority Leader Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) has announced his plans to run for Lt. Governor with Charlie Baker, a Republican candidate for Governor. This has the local State Representative gearing up for a run at the Senate seat while some municipal office holders and newcomers have indicated their interest in the House seat.
Campaigns always have a way of effecting lawmaking and with all this activity, 2010 will be no exception. Already there are major priorities poised for action, including the budget for the next fiscal year. Education reform is on the front burner and a bill needs to be signed into law by mid-January for the Commonwealth to be eligible to receive up to $250 Million in “Race to the Top” funding from the federal government. Sentencing and criminal offender record information bills are also matters that the Governor will press for and that have been approved by the Senate. How and if casinos should be legalized will also be a major topic for debate before the close of business on July 31, 2010.
With these items poised to dominate the policy discussion and the political winds swirling...2010 ought to be interesting, very challenging and fun to watch for the political junkies.