Auditor
Incumbent Joe DeNucci is one of the few in state government (along with Inspector General Gregory Sullivan) who has actually tried to do something about the Big Dig fiasco at a time when it might have mattered. It’s not DeNucci’s fault that few on Beacon Hill paid attention to the reports and warnings he issued. DeNucci deserves to be re-elected. There is, however, reason to consider voting for Rand Wilson, who is running on the ticket of the Working Families Party. If Wilson can capture three percent of the vote — as seems possible, due to the backing of some progressive unions — the Working Families ticket will get ballot status in the 2008 elections.
Ballot questions
Question One, the so-called wine-at-food-stores initiative, may not be perfect, but neither is it as evil as its opponents would have voters believe. It will increase convenience for consumers while maintaining local control over licenses and caps on the number of permits any chain can hold. We urge a yes vote.
Question Two would allow a small party, such as the Green and Working Families Parties, to cross list the candidate of another party. This is a creative measure that would increase the leverage and influence of smaller parties inside the existing political structure. It’s a creative reform that aims at inclusion and political cross-pollination. Vote yes on Question Two.
Question Three would allow unions to organize workers at small, almost mom-and-pop daycare centers. Sounds good, but it isn’t. It’s the brainchild of a single union that is trying to increase its bargaining power with the state, and there is no credible evidence that it will do anything to improve either standards or the quality of care itself. Vote no on Question Three.
Related:
Power hungry?, Martha’s quick start, Giant shadow, More 
- Power hungry?
It’s remarkable how dramatically the state’s political leadership has changed since the most recent Constitutional Convention.
- Martha’s quick start
Martha Coakley told opponents of same-sex marriage this past week she would use the full force of her new office to fight their efforts.
- Giant shadow
One striking aspect of the Kennedy tributes was the focus on the help he and his office provided for ordinary individuals in Massachusetts — all those things that fall under the category of "constituent services."
- Deval and the lawmen
For the past few weeks, Kerry Healey has pounded the Bay State with the message that Deval Patrick is dangerously weak on crime. Soft on crime? Arrest rates for violent crimes have plummeted under the Romney-Healey administration. By David S. Bernstein
- Chaos Theory
In less than two weeks, when Massachusetts voters elect Martha Coakley to the US Senate — let's not pretend that Republican state senator Scott Brown has any chance of pulling off the monumental upset — they will trigger a massive domino effect that has the state's political class buzzing with anticipation.
- Patrick’s to-do list
Deval Patrick has plenty to do in the first few months, what with choosing staff and building relationships. But even as that happens, there are issues that simply can’t wait for action.
- Financial fallout
The current US financial disaster will roil Massachusetts residents in myriad ways. Â
- Menino’s hit list
At a recent political event, Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino asked Robert Crane, the former long-time state treasurer, how many years he had held that office.
- Cash carousel
Even though the dollar has taken an international whupping of late, there remains at least one place where the love of the greenback remains strong: Beacon Hill.
- How Brown won
As the Massachusetts US Senate election unfolded yesterday, all that the pols and pundits wanted to talk about was how Martha Coakley managed to lose the race. And there is plenty there to dissect. But there is another part of the story, and that is how Scott Brown managed to win it.
- State of flux
A few weeks ago, the state legislature headed into its winter break with what might be called a flurry of inactivity.
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The Editorial Page
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