Nichole Mossalam

With Roe v. Wade now officially overturned by the Supreme Court, we discuss women's rights with Nichole Mossalam, who is running against an anti-choice opponent. We also discuss how incumbents can be pushed on issues during a campaign, and whether that leads to lasting change. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 49.   You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

With Roe v. Wade now officially overturned by the Supreme Court, we discuss women's rights with Nichole Mossalam, who is running against an anti-choice opponent. We also discuss how incumbents can be pushed on issues during a campaign, and whether that leads to lasting change. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 49.   You can watch the video version <a href="https://youtu.be/xy5wVkmbQOU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

49. Nichole Mossalam, state rep candidate for the 35th Middlesex

Raul Fernandez

Raul Fernandez, Select Board Member in Brookline and dad, grew up in public housing in a union family. We talk about his style of co-governance and how he engages marginalized voices in the political process. We also cover the big news of the day -- the mega-million dollar anti-worker ballot question that Uber and Lyft were behind is dead! Woot! Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 48.   You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

Raul Fernandez, Select Board Member in Brookline and dad, grew up in public housing in a union family. We talk about his style of co-governance and how he engages marginalized voices in the political process. We also cover the big news of the day -- the mega-million dollar anti-worker ballot question that Uber and Lyft were behind is dead! Woot! Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 48.   You can watch the video version <a href="https://youtu.be/JUmPSvhuDJQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

48 Raul Fernandez, state rep candidate for the 15th Norfolk...and Uber ballot measure is dead!

It's election season, and we're spending today talking about how we can all do better. People often expect their elected officials to take care of things once they get into office, despite all our experience to the contrary. Today we talk not about our electeds, but about ourselves, and how we can build on the outside to ensure our policies get passed. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 47.   You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

It's election season, and we're spending today talking about how we can all do better. People often expect their elected officials to take care of things once they get into office, despite all our experience to the contrary. Today we talk not about our electeds, but about ourselves, and how we can build on the outside to ensure our policies get passed. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 47.   You can watch the video version <a href="https://youtu.be/g0SXhMJw4Ns" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

47. Campaign promises, expectations, and movement building.

Heather May

Heather May, educator, mom, and union organizer, is running against an incumbent in Waltham. We talk about how her successful five-year battle to organize her union is great preparation for doing the deep work necessary to get bills passed in Massachusetts. We also talk about housing, climate, and other issues she will fight for. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 46.   You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

Heather May, educator, mom, and union organizer, is running against an incumbent in Waltham. We talk about how her successful five-year battle to organize her union is great preparation for doing the deep work necessary to get bills passed in Massachusetts. We also talk about housing, climate, and other issues she will fight for. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 46.   You can watch the video version <a href="https://youtu.be/xw6Dv21TcMA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

46 Heather May, state rep candidate for the 9th Middlesex

Hi, this is Anna from Incorruptible Mass with a special announcement. We know you understand state politics, you know why it is so broken, you know what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, so I want to let you know how you can get involved.  This Thursday, tomorrow, at 7:30pm we are having our second Incorruptible Mass candidate forum, where you’ll hear from some amazing candidates for state rep who are dedicated to working as a team to flip the balance of power at the State House. Our aim is to put a coalition of BIPOC and progressive communities in the driver’s seat in our state so we can pass the policies that the people of Massachusetts want, need, and deserve. Learn more about how we’re doing that on Thursday at 7:30pm.  Register here

Hi, this is Anna from Incorruptible Mass with a special announcement. We know you understand state politics, you know why it is so broken, you know what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, so I want to let you know how you can get involved.  This Thursday, tomorrow, at 7:30pm we are having our second Incorruptible Mass candidate forum, where you’ll hear from some amazing candidates for state rep who are dedicated to working as a team to flip the balance of power at the State House. Our aim is to put a coalition of BIPOC and progressive communities in the driver’s seat in our state so we can pass the policies that the people of Massachusetts want, need, and deserve. Learn more about how we’re doing that on Thursday at 7:30pm.  <a href="https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/events" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Register here</a>

45.5 Candidate Forum Thursday at 7:30pm!

Teresa English, teacher, mom, and veteran, is running against a Republican incumbent in Billerica. She is deeply committed to supporting working people in Billerica and across the Commonwealth, and her experience as a teacher gives her insight into education policy and beyond. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 44.   You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

Teresa English, teacher, mom, and veteran, is running against a Republican incumbent in Billerica. She is deeply committed to supporting working people in Billerica and across the Commonwealth, and her experience as a teacher gives her insight into education policy and beyond. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 44.   You can watch the video version <a href="https://youtu.be/q1SmrgLe5Us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

45. Teresa English, state rep candidate for the 22nd Middlesex

Our state legislature could have funded unemployment insurance properly, but instead we're now deep in debt. Small businesses pay a higher rate than large corporations, we punish seasonal businesses, and the payments to unemployed people don't even cover food &amp; rent. We talk to Molly Kivi about how we can fix it. Jordan Berg Powers, Jonathan Cohn (absent), and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 29.  The video version is available here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to this podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

Our state legislature could have funded unemployment insurance properly, but instead we're now deep in debt. Small businesses pay a higher rate than large corporations, we punish seasonal businesses, and the payments to unemployed people don't even cover food &amp; rent. We talk to Molly Kivi about how we can fix it. Jordan Berg Powers, Jonathan Cohn (absent), and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 29.  The video version is <a href="https://youtu.be/hJwIyG6u3wQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">available here.</a> You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to this podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqa044dC1kNGdCWWtobGFqXzdWWDhsVVhRNHYyZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsTXNPd0s1d1VUUVR1QlJadTVfTlB3aDRYT05kNHlBXzItT25NQTZlXzFWbmU3cVlTcHQyWWR4YmVXSXY3cE9qb1hURXhENUlpSTZtenVkeDI0TnE0Q1ctcjJfTHUxNHRkeE9KZk9INTZObk5pTzQ4Zw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmszLTFORHZCUmtmQmVtbjg3d2x4SktYRUZEd3xBQ3Jtc0trLThwSU4zcFJuUFR6M3NSWVdBMzVFamVEWXVGWS1hZVYyTzZFcjJYZkJENVBRem5kNHYzVGo4ZnRoZGZtT2FrZmpfNkdaY3RvRHp3VzU0U2lxZFpLaG5mWXZqVndXRzg5SkZvZnFRZEJDc1NURFh0MA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

44. Unemployment and how Massachusetts is messing it up

Vivian Birchall

Meet Incorruptible Mass candidate Vivian Birchall! With her years of experience doing anti-corruption and transparency work, she is perfect for the MA State House. We talk about her background, issues, and her skill at facilitating listening sessions to bring marginalized people into the political process. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 43.  You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

Meet Incorruptible Mass candidate Vivian Birchall! With her years of experience doing anti-corruption and transparency work, she is perfect for the MA State House. We talk about her background, issues, and her skill at facilitating listening sessions to bring marginalized people into the political process. Jordan Berg Powers and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 43.  You can <a href="https://youtu.be/UUoBm_2Jl1o" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">watch the video version here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

43. Vivian Birchall, state rep candidate for the 14th Middlesex

The State House just released its draft budget, which includes a few surprising good things (like fully funding what they already voted to support) but as usual leaves out many important items. We talk about the timeline for the budget and what we should be asking our reps to include. Jordan Berg Powers, Jonathan Cohn, and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 42.  You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

The State House just released its draft budget, which includes a few surprising good things (like fully funding what they already voted to support) but as usual leaves out many important items. We talk about the timeline for the budget and what we should be asking our reps to include. Jordan Berg Powers, Jonathan Cohn, and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 42.  You can <a href="https://youtu.be/tgadUfgMTsg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">watch the video version here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

42. State Budget: What's in it versus what should be in it

The State Senate staffers just voted to unionize! And the State House staffers have been working on this as well. We talk about the unionization movement and what it means for people who work in the state legislature. Jordan Berg Powers, Jonathan Cohn, and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 41.   You can watch the video version here.You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed:* Subscribe to our YouTube channel* Subscribe to the podcast (https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...)* Sign up to get updates at https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/

The State Senate staffers just voted to unionize! And the State House staffers have been working on this as well. We talk about the unionization movement and what it means for people who work in the state legislature. Jordan Berg Powers, Jonathan Cohn, and Anna Callahan chat about Massachusetts politics. This is the audio version of the Incorruptible Mass podcast, season 4 episode 41.   You can <a href="https://youtu.be/x3UVa0UMh9o" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">watch the video version here</a>. You’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts. Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we investigate why it’s so broken, imagine what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and report on how you can get involved. To stay informed: * Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjGsVaxs5dUWiKC_epxsDw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> * Subscribe to the podcast (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmo5dG16OUFuRm12MXI4LUtfU0hqYTV4VlFxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tteUdERjQ0SEcyMnF4UlVJeWluZUVIeF9jb1ZlVVFHUjE3MklLeWVvbkJ0ckczVUJ2Z29QM0tya1cxY0I5bThNNnNoVU5yVHZnLTR2ci02d2NuSFF0ckRfTl8tVzJlMU40NGxldDJ2eHRqMU5BUXUtUQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fincorruptible-mass.buzzsprout.com%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://incorruptible-mass.buzzsprout...</a>) * Sign up to get updates at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFlONVVzanA1b1E0ZzlORy1PcjBIYUU1Z2hTUXxBQ3Jtc0trZ09OY195QW9Ud2dEb21IU242M2lWRERMNTlfZFVObWNZZ05TYmFtQjlqb1F2U3A5NUZnUkt6dTU3aTdJeklMMzNMN0JEUnJLeFVab1RUWndUcmZpdEhWdEJrOUpMS1Vhc19zNlA1clJWcEF5RTE3OA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.incorruptiblemass.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.incorruptiblemass.org/</a>

41. Unionizing State Senate and State House Staff: More democracy in the workplace and in government

Our goal is to help people understand state politics: investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in Massachusetts if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved.

The 9 minute preview is excellent . Everything conservatives and honest democrats  admit exists in our state house  . A do nothing Mass legislature that does not govern but rather takes care of themselves . Absolute power corrupts .. I would say the same of an all republican state ! Remember 85% of mass legislature are democrats same in California probably . The second podcast the Mass Alliance guy is using a cynical view of the state house to push his far left view of utopia . Will give this podcast a few more listens , but out of the gate this is a progressive Trojan horse .

Back door way to push Bernie politics

Incorruptible Massachusetts

Anna Callahan

Why run for State Rep? Anna Callahan

Lindsay Sabadosa

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved.  Today I’m interviewing Representative Lindsay Sabadosa.   Lindsay Sabadosa is the State Representative from the 1st Hampshire district (Northampton, Southampton, Westhampton, Hatfield, and Montgomery). She was elected for the first time in 2018 and is the first woman to ever hold her seat. She is most active in health care policy and is the lead sponsor of the Medicare for All legislation in the MA House. She is passionate about equity, government transparency, health care as a right, affordable housing, reproductive justice, criminal justice reform, and truly addressing the climate emergency. She is proud to have co-founded the very first Medicare for All caucus in the MA State House. My talk with Lindsay was one of the last interviews I did, but I decided to rearrange the interviews because as I spoke to more people, each interview became more focused on the structural issues facing the State House.  By the time I interviewed Rep Sabadosa, I was better able to hone in on those systemic issues facing the house.  It was definitely not because behind the scenes, one of the people I talked to said that Lindsay was perhaps the most bad-ass of them all. Rep Sabadosa also brings up a topic that is very near and dear to my heart, and that I’ve developed entire candidate training programs around: that is the idea that every politician should spend time and energy reaching out to those people that might never come to a town hall, to people who don’t vote, to listen to them, to educate them, and to mobilize them.  I was thrilled to talk to a sitting state rep who embraces this practice. Rep Sabadosa says we need numbers — by that she means more progressives winning seats in the state house. I hope you’ll find this convincing enough that you will consider challenging the incumbent in your district. Without further delay, here is our interview. 

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved.  Today I’m interviewing Representative Lindsay Sabadosa.   Lindsay Sabadosa is the State Representative from the 1st Hampshire district (Northampton, Southampton, Westhampton, Hatfield, and Montgomery). She was elected for the first time in 2018 and is the first woman to ever hold her seat. She is most active in health care policy and is the lead sponsor of the Medicare for All legislation in the MA House. She is passionate about equity, government transparency, health care as a right, affordable housing, reproductive justice, criminal justice reform, and truly addressing the climate emergency. She is proud to have co-founded the very first Medicare for All caucus in the MA State House. My talk with Lindsay was one of the last interviews I did, but I decided to rearrange the interviews because as I spoke to more people, each interview became more focused on the structural issues facing the State House.  By the time I interviewed Rep Sabadosa, I was better able to hone in on those systemic issues facing the house.  It was definitely not because behind the scenes, one of the people I talked to said that Lindsay was perhaps the most bad-ass of them all. Rep Sabadosa also brings up a topic that is very near and dear to my heart, and that I’ve developed entire candidate training programs around: that is the idea that every politician should spend time and energy reaching out to those people that might never come to a town hall, to people who don’t vote, to listen to them, to educate them, and to mobilize them.  I was thrilled to talk to a sitting state rep who embraces this practice. Rep Sabadosa says we need numbers — by that she means more progressives winning seats in the state house. I hope you’ll find this convincing enough that you will consider challenging the incumbent in your district. Without further delay, here is our interview.

Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, co-founder of Medicare for All caucus

Jonathan Cohn

You can see a full transcript here.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Jonathan Cohn from Progressive Massachusetts.Jonathan Cohn is a Boston-based progressive activist and the chair of the Elections Committee and Issues Committee at Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group. He is an editor by profession and is an active campaign volunteer in his free time. Among his claims to fame are having played a major role in defeating Boston's 2024 Summer Olympics bid.Jonathan says something in this episode that was really clarifying for me.  After talking to Act On Mass, I’ve seen how important transparency is.  The fact that we can’t know how our state reps are voting is at the crux of the speaker’s power; it lets state reps do his bidding with no consequences at the ballot box.  But Jonathan reminds us that “Transparency is not a cure-all. Transparency can't do the work of organizing. It can't do the work of fielding candidates. It can't do the work of education, but it's something that can facilitate that work.” I love this quote.  Many people don’t know that our members of congress spend 4 hours a day calling wealthy donors.  This is time they spend listening to, educating, and mobilizing the 1%. We should expect our progressive politicians to spend their time listening to, educating, and mobilizing the rest of us, but especially those who are not involved in the political process.  It’s the only way to build the movement we need for real, transformative change.Without further ado, here is my interview with Jonathan Cohn.

You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ktcrreaJDRkinlAHgkyavyAvusyfwwMSYPoq3q1hUsw/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see a full transcript here</a>.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Jonathan Cohn from Progressive Massachusetts.Jonathan Cohn is a Boston-based progressive activist and the chair of the Elections Committee and Issues Committee at Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group. He is an editor by profession and is an active campaign volunteer in his free time. Among his claims to fame are having played a major role in defeating Boston's 2024 Summer Olympics bid.Jonathan says something in this episode that was really clarifying for me.  After talking to Act On Mass, I’ve seen how important transparency is.  The fact that we can’t know how our state reps are voting is at the crux of the speaker’s power; it lets state reps do his bidding with no consequences at the ballot box.  But Jonathan reminds us that “Transparency is not a cure-all. Transparency can't do the work of organizing. It can't do the work of fielding candidates. It can't do the work of education, but it's something that can facilitate that work.” I love this quote.  Many people don’t know that our members of congress spend 4 hours a day calling wealthy donors.  This is time they spend listening to, educating, and mobilizing the 1%. We should expect our progressive politicians to spend their time listening to, educating, and mobilizing the rest of us, but especially those who are not involved in the political process.  It’s the only way to build the movement we need for real, transformative change.Without further ado, here is my interview with Jonathan Cohn.

Jonathan Cohn, Progressive Mass: Incremental change vs Tranformative change

Tami Gouveia

You can read the full transcript here.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Tami Gouveia.Tami Gouveia is the State Representative of Acton, Concord, Carlisle and Chelmsford and was first elected in November of 2018.  She is most active in addressing the opioid epidemic, our failing transit system, and our  climate crisis. Rep. Gouveia filed five pieces of legislative this session to ensure access to treatment and humane, evidence-based support for individuals suffering from substance use disorder. A public health social worker, Tami is committed to enacting policies that support the health and well-being of all Massachusetts residents and our future generations.Tami Gouveia recognizes the need to increase state revenue if we’re going to improve people’s lives in areas like housing, transportation, and climate change.  You’ll hear her talk about how inequality is not just a moral question about making sure people have the basic necessities of life, but that it’s also a question of the long-term sustainability of our economy.Rep Gouveia also has some great examples of finding constituents where they are — including waiting on a train platform to talk to people about the commuter rail. To jump on my soapbox about this issue again, we should demand of every politician that they spend time and energy talking to their constituents who don’t show up at activist meetings, and who may not even be voting.  Listening to, educating, and mobilizing the 99%.Without further ado, here is my interview with Rep Tami Gouveia.Anna Callahan: So I have the great pleasure of being here with representative Tammy Gouveia, from the Acton, Concord area of Massachusetts. Thank you so much for being on.Tami Gouveia: It's great to be here. I appreciate it.Anna Callahan: Absolutely. So we're here to talk about state politics and my first question is like, why, why state politics? Everybody's working on national politics and then a lot of people I know are going to local politics. What, what is interesting about state politics?Tami Gouveia: That's a really great and fair question. Some of your listeners may know this, but most probably don't -- I grew up in Lowell and I saw a lot of need and a lot of human suffering around me while growing up. And I also saw the role that government could play in making people's lives better and addressing the problems that families face.So I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be involved in some way professionally contributing to making people's lives better and always in the back of my mind was the thinking that I would run for office, particularly at the state level. So I'm 45 now. It's been going on for, this thinking has been going on for a very long time. And so that's why state politics for me. I do pay attention to what's happening both locally and at the federal level. But I think there's a lot of hope for a lot of people about what's happening at the state level that they see opportunities to try to pass innovative policies and create some change at the state level that then can eventually bubble up to the federal level. So I think that's the why of state politics...

You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aJ95rxhfFcLSXnNsw3lCL5Se4vTHSS_pid3Jw25CunA/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read the full transcript here</a>. Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Tami Gouveia.Tami Gouveia is the State Representative of Acton, Concord, Carlisle and Chelmsford and was first elected in November of 2018.  She is most active in addressing the opioid epidemic, our failing transit system, and our  climate crisis. Rep. Gouveia filed five pieces of legislative this session to ensure access to treatment and humane, evidence-based support for individuals suffering from substance use disorder. A public health social worker, Tami is committed to enacting policies that support the health and well-being of all Massachusetts residents and our future generations.Tami Gouveia recognizes the need to increase state revenue if we’re going to improve people’s lives in areas like housing, transportation, and climate change.  You’ll hear her talk about how inequality is not just a moral question about making sure people have the basic necessities of life, but that it’s also a question of the long-term sustainability of our economy.Rep Gouveia also has some great examples of finding constituents where they are — including waiting on a train platform to talk to people about the commuter rail. To jump on my soapbox about this issue again, we should demand of every politician that they spend time and energy talking to their constituents who don’t show up at activist meetings, and who may not even be voting.  Listening to, educating, and mobilizing the 99%.Without further ado, here is my interview with Rep Tami Gouveia.Anna Callahan: So I have the great pleasure of being here with representative Tammy Gouveia, from the Acton, Concord area of Massachusetts. Thank you so much for being on.Tami Gouveia: It's great to be here. I appreciate it.Anna Callahan: Absolutely. So we're here to talk about state politics and my first question is like, why, why state politics? Everybody's working on national politics and then a lot of people I know are going to local politics. What, what is interesting about state politics?Tami Gouveia: That's a really great and fair question. Some of your listeners may know this, but most probably don't -- I grew up in Lowell and I saw a lot of need and a lot of human suffering around me while growing up. And I also saw the role that government could play in making people's lives better and addressing the problems that families face.So I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be involved in some way professionally contributing to making people's lives better and always in the back of my mind was the thinking that I would run for office, particularly at the state level. So I'm 45 now. It's been going on for, this thinking has been going on for a very long time. And so that's why state politics for me. I do pay attention to what's happening both locally and at the federal level. But I think there's a lot of hope for a lot of people about what's happening at the state level that they see opportunities to try to pass innovative policies and create some change at the state level that then can eventually bubble up to the federal level. So I think that's the why of state politics...

Representative Tami Gouveia: Knock on doors, knock on doors, knock on doors

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Elena Latona from Neighbor to Neighbor, and Aaron Tanaka from the Center for Economic Democracy.As I talked with Elena and Aaron, I felt so at home with the whole approach of their work.  In the opening of every episode I say we are imaging what we could have here in MA — and that is what  their organizations are all about.  They talk about how much of what we do in this political and economic climate is reactionary — we fight against what we don’t want.  Neighbor to Neighbor and the Center for Economic Democracy are about helping people go beyond that and envision what is possible.  I’m going to quote Guy Alperovitz, who often opens his talks this way.  If you don’t want capitalism, and you don’t want state socialism, what do you want? And why should we listen to you if you don’t know?  Aaron and Elena’s organizations exist to create the space for us to dream bigger.  To create a compelling vision of a world where our economy works for all of us, and is based on the idea that we are well only when you are also are well.This feels so comfortable to me in part because that was one of the driving tenets of The Incorruptibles. In the wake of the 2016 election, when other groups were focusing on fighting back against Trump.  The Incorruptibles was created to study times when progressives have won big, when we've taken over entire political bodies and passed great people-centered laws, and how did we do it?  And, of course, to train people across the country to create their own strategies to take back their own cities.If all we do is resist the constant erosion of our rights, we will never live in a just world.  Thank you Elena and Aaron for this vital work of giving people space to imagine a better future, one that we can create together.Elena is the Executive Director of Neighbor to Neighbor. Before that, she served as Executive Director of Centro Presente, a Boston-based immigrant rights organization. Elena holds a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts.Aaron Tanaka is the Director and co-founder of the Center of Economic Democracy.  Before that he co-founded the Boston Ujima Project, which organizes neighbors, workers, business owners and investors to create a People's Economy in Boston.Without further ado, here is my interview with Elena and Aaron.

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Elena Latona from Neighbor to Neighbor, and Aaron Tanaka from the Center for Economic Democracy.As I talked with Elena and Aaron, I felt so at home with the whole approach of their work.  In the opening of every episode I say we are imaging what we could have here in MA — and that is what  their organizations are all about.  They talk about how much of what we do in this political and economic climate is reactionary — we fight against what we don’t want.  Neighbor to Neighbor and the Center for Economic Democracy are about helping people go beyond that and envision what is possible.  I’m going to quote Guy Alperovitz, who often opens his talks this way.  If you don’t want capitalism, and you don’t want state socialism, what do you want? And why should we listen to you if you don’t know?  Aaron and Elena’s organizations exist to create the space for us to dream bigger.  To create a compelling vision of a world where our economy works for all of us, and is based on the idea that we are well only when you are also are well.This feels so comfortable to me in part because that was one of the driving tenets of The Incorruptibles. In the wake of the 2016 election, when other groups were focusing on fighting back against Trump.  The Incorruptibles was created to study times when progressives have won big, when we've taken over entire political bodies and passed great people-centered laws, and how did we do it?  And, of course, to train people across the country to create their own strategies to take back their own cities.If all we do is resist the constant erosion of our rights, we will never live in a just world.  Thank you Elena and Aaron for this vital work of giving people space to imagine a better future, one that we can create together.Elena is the Executive Director of Neighbor to Neighbor. Before that, she served as Executive Director of Centro Presente, a Boston-based immigrant rights organization. Elena holds a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts.Aaron Tanaka is the Director and co-founder of the Center of Economic Democracy.  Before that he co-founded the Boston Ujima Project, which organizes neighbors, workers, business owners and investors to create a People's Economy in Boston.Without further ado, here is my interview with Elena and Aaron.

Solidarity Economy: Envisioning an economy that works for all of us

Jonathan Hecht

You can read a transcript of the entire podcast here.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved.  Today I’m interviewing Representative Jonathan Hecht. Jon Hecht has been State Representative from Watertown and Cambridge since 2009.  His current legislative priorities include climate change, transportation, and public health.  He has been a leader in efforts to promote transparency in the legislative process and sponsored independent citizen review of major ballot questions in 2016 and 2018.Rep Hecht has been a representative for ten years, so he has a very clear, insightful view on what is wrong in our State House and how that has changed over time.  You’ll hear him compare our current State House to what it was like 20 years ago (and that’s somewhat horrifying!), and he also compares it to legislatures in other states.  Spoiler alert — the concentration of power in the MA State House is, in his words, “beyond parallel.”  Rep Hecht is not only willing to disagree with the speaker, he’s willing to talk about why it’s so important for representatives to disagree with the speaker, and all of the mechanisms in use to prevent that healthy debate.  It’s a fascinating take from someone who has been leading the fight on these issues as well as on climate change for many years.  Without further ado, here is my interview with Rep Jonathan Hecht. 

You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VCV4k-xoSX10Eg-I85Y1HA2uPew7EziUOOlfEp-Az9I/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read a transcript of the entire podcast here</a>. Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved.  Today I’m interviewing Representative Jonathan Hecht. Jon Hecht has been State Representative from Watertown and Cambridge since 2009.  His current legislative priorities include climate change, transportation, and public health.  He has been a leader in efforts to promote transparency in the legislative process and sponsored independent citizen review of major ballot questions in 2016 and 2018.Rep Hecht has been a representative for ten years, so he has a very clear, insightful view on what is wrong in our State House and how that has changed over time.  You’ll hear him compare our current State House to what it was like 20 years ago (and that’s somewhat horrifying!), and he also compares it to legislatures in other states.  Spoiler alert — the concentration of power in the MA State House is, in his words, “beyond parallel.”  Rep Hecht is not only willing to disagree with the speaker, he’s willing to talk about why it’s so important for representatives to disagree with the speaker, and all of the mechanisms in use to prevent that healthy debate.  It’s a fascinating take from someone who has been leading the fight on these issues as well as on climate change for many years.  Without further ado, here is my interview with Rep Jonathan Hecht.

Representative Jonathan Hecht: Concentration of power in the State House.

You can read the full transcript of this episode here.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Erika Uyterhoeven and Matt Miller from Act on Mass.Act on Mass enables grassroots groups and activists to effectively advocate for progressive legislation at the state level and to hold State Representatives publicly accountable. We do this through a combination of political education, reporting, and campaign-style organizing and voter mobilization. Check out their amazing Transparency pledge at www.ActOnMass.org/pledge.Erika Uyterhoeven was a National Organizing Director for Bernie 2016 and was Head of Digital and Data for Momentum, supporting the 2017 UK snap election for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn. Most recently, she worked with Marshall Ganz on narrative and organizing trainings.Prior to his work at Act on Mass, Matt Miller has held positions as Field Director and Campaign manager on local electoral races (City Council &amp; State Rep) in the Boston area.  Act on Mass is a relatively new organization, and they’re tackling something that I think is really smart strategy.  For comparison, Mass Alliance builds the coalition that we need to work together for all the issues we care about.  Progressive Mass (we’ll hear from them in a future episode) has an amazing scorecard that allows anyone in the state to see if their rep is really as progressive as they say they are.  Act on Mass has honed in on one of the main ways that our state house is broken, and they’re providing all of us a way around it.  There are a lot of ways the establishment maintains power.  Lack of transparency is a huge one, and another is to keep those few times that bills do become public as short as possible.  This makes it almost impossible for us residents of Massachusetts to push our State Reps to do anything — by the time we find out that a bill is going to be voted on, they’ve already voted.  Often there is less than 24 hours between when a bill comes out of committee and when the vote will be held, which can be barely enough time to read the bill.Act on Mass tackles this issue in some really brilliant ways, and it was exciting to hear about their work and how they see change happening at the state level.Without further ado, here is my interview with Act on Mass.

You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/11HSlvbrIWs2w6-cil397qukER6io2ZtHspSVP57fScA/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read the full transcript of this episode here</a>. Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Erika Uyterhoeven and Matt Miller from Act on Mass.Act on Mass enables grassroots groups and activists to effectively advocate for progressive legislation at the state level and to hold State Representatives publicly accountable. We do this through a combination of political education, reporting, and campaign-style organizing and voter mobilization. Check out their amazing Transparency pledge at <a href="http://www.actonmass.org/pledge" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ActOnMass.org/pledge</a>.Erika Uyterhoeven was a National Organizing Director for Bernie 2016 and was Head of Digital and Data for Momentum, supporting the 2017 UK snap election for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn. Most recently, she worked with Marshall Ganz on narrative and organizing trainings.Prior to his work at Act on Mass, Matt Miller has held positions as Field Director and Campaign manager on local electoral races (City Council &amp; State Rep) in the Boston area.  Act on Mass is a relatively new organization, and they’re tackling something that I think is really smart strategy.  For comparison, Mass Alliance builds the coalition that we need to work together for all the issues we care about.  Progressive Mass (we’ll hear from them in a future episode) has an amazing scorecard that allows anyone in the state to see if their rep is really as progressive as they say they are.  Act on Mass has honed in on one of the main ways that our state house is broken, and they’re providing all of us a way around it.  There are a lot of ways the establishment maintains power.  Lack of transparency is a huge one, and another is to keep those few times that bills do become public as short as possible.  This makes it almost impossible for us residents of Massachusetts to push our State Reps to do anything — by the time we find out that a bill is going to be voted on, they’ve already voted.  Often there is less than 24 hours between when a bill comes out of committee and when the vote will be held, which can be barely enough time to read the bill.Act on Mass tackles this issue in some really brilliant ways, and it was exciting to hear about their work and how they see change happening at the state level.Without further ado, here is my interview with Act on Mass.

Act on Mass: How to hack Massachusetts state politics

Maria Robinson

You can read the whole transcript here.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Maria Robinson.Maria Robinson is the State Rep from the 6th Middlesex District and has been a State Rep since 2019.  She is most active in climate change policy and has written a buildings energy efficiency bill. She is also passionate about transparency in governance and has pushed for significant changes in the House to increase public awareness of legislation being passed.It’s from this discussion with Maria Robinson that I first learned that Massachusetts has the lowest rate of challenging incumbents of any state legislature.  Part of the problem with the State House is the culture — a culture where everyone has to do what the speaker says, and where things are done because “they’ve always been done that way” even if it’s clearly non-transparent and anti-democratic.  So the fact that people are not challenging incumbents is a big part of the problem.The other thing I learned from Maria, and this comes up late in the episode, is that many good bills have more than 100 cosponsors, but get killed in committee, where we can’t see how legislators vote.  She has really great advice for how you can make sure your legislator is actually supporting a bill, not just putting their name on it publicly while working to kill it in private.  And without further ado, here is our conversation.

You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sUQR8_GkO1yLdOKswvG4Oj1qb4_ZUwGKgIJ20Qmh5aM/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read the whole transcript here</a>. Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Maria Robinson.Maria Robinson is the State Rep from the 6th Middlesex District and has been a State Rep since 2019.  She is most active in climate change policy and has written a buildings energy efficiency bill. She is also passionate about transparency in governance and has pushed for significant changes in the House to increase public awareness of legislation being passed.It’s from this discussion with Maria Robinson that I first learned that Massachusetts has the lowest rate of challenging incumbents of any state legislature.  Part of the problem with the State House is the culture — a culture where everyone has to do what the speaker says, and where things are done because “they’ve always been done that way” even if it’s clearly non-transparent and anti-democratic.  So the fact that people are not challenging incumbents is a big part of the problem.The other thing I learned from Maria, and this comes up late in the episode, is that many good bills have more than 100 cosponsors, but get killed in committee, where we can’t see how legislators vote.  She has really great advice for how you can make sure your legislator is actually supporting a bill, not just putting their name on it publicly while working to kill it in private.  And without further ado, here is our conversation.

Representative Maria Robinson: Why cosponsoring is not enough.

Denise Provost

You can read a full transcript here.Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Denise Provost.Denise Provost is the State Representative from the 27th Middlesex District in Somerville, and has been a State Rep since 2006, after serving in local government.  They're most active in promoting human rights and equality, recognizing that these fruits of civilization will cease to exist should our planet become uninhabitable. Provost has written and signed into law bills and amendments to assure the legal equality of transgender people, to improve human and environmental health and safety; and continues to pursue the unfinished work of climate justice, and of making our commonwealth fair and kind to all people, including immigrants whose legal status is precarious.I love how Rep Provost talks about what it’s like to be a representative in the state house.  She says it’s like a cross between a university and a royal court. As a state rep you’re asked to learn about many different issues very quickly.  As she says, the university is one “where people can call you up and add courses at random to your load.”  The royalty is the speaker and his leadership, of course, so in addition to learning things quickly you have to navigate this odd culture.I also appreciate how much she values science and data.  In a state like Massachusetts, with, I believe, more universities and colleges per capita than any other state, including some of the best in the country, you would think that the legislature would turn to peer-reviewed research when coming up with some policy -- but that’s apparently not the culture.  As Pepe Le Pew would say, Le sigh.And without further ado (or maybe, adieu), here is my interview with Rep Denise Provost.

You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/143pp5x2jy_u42JLo1yl-nT3tWr0qt_GudZRkrgg_rbk/edit?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read a full transcript here.</a> Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Denise Provost.Denise Provost is the State Representative from the 27th Middlesex District in Somerville, and has been a State Rep since 2006, after serving in local government.  They're most active in promoting human rights and equality, recognizing that these fruits of civilization will cease to exist should our planet become uninhabitable. Provost has written and signed into law bills and amendments to assure the legal equality of transgender people, to improve human and environmental health and safety; and continues to pursue the unfinished work of climate justice, and of making our commonwealth fair and kind to all people, including immigrants whose legal status is precarious.I love how Rep Provost talks about what it’s like to be a representative in the state house.  She says it’s like a cross between a university and a royal court. As a state rep you’re asked to learn about many different issues very quickly.  As she says, the university is one “where people can call you up and add courses at random to your load.”  The royalty is the speaker and his leadership, of course, so in addition to learning things quickly you have to navigate this odd culture.I also appreciate how much she values science and data.  In a state like Massachusetts, with, I believe, more universities and colleges per capita than any other state, including some of the best in the country, you would think that the legislature would turn to peer-reviewed research when coming up with some policy -- but that’s apparently not the culture.  As Pepe Le Pew would say, Le sigh.And without further ado (or maybe, adieu), here is my interview with Rep Denise Provost.

Rep Denise Provost: What's a cross between a university and a royal court?

Nika Elugardo

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Nika Elugardo.Nika Elugardo is the state representative for the 15th Suffolk district which covers parts of Brookline and Boston including neighborhoods in Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, and Roslindale. Rep Elugardo was the founding director of MassSaves, an economic justice collaborative, and she founded the research and consulting departments at the Emmanuel Gospel Center.  As a state rep, Nika has championed bills in housing, education, and environment. Rep Elugardo is clearly a systems thinker, something we need more of in the state house.  In this interview, she talks about how we need to have states that are willing to lead on justice issues — environmental, economic, racial, lgbtq, that all justice issues are under attack and we need to have our state legislators become the leaders on a vision of justice and opportunity for all.  This voice is sorely needed in Massachusetts, where we have one person, the speaker of the house, who dictates what can and can’t pass, and who is beholden to corporate and billionaire donors.   She also talks about how there are more people in office now and running for office who aren’t there just for a career in politics, who are there to fight for the rights of people.  In state house culture, where there is intense pressure to conform and do what the speaker says, it’s imperative that we elect people who don’t need to have the approval of their peers — or perhaps who see their constituents as their peers, not other politicians. Without further ado, here is my interview with Nike Elugardo. 

Hi, this is Anna Callahan and you’re listening to Incorruptible Massachusetts.  Our goal is to help people understand state politics: we’re investigating why it’s so broken, imagining what we could have here in MA if we fixed it, and reporting on how you can get involved. Today I’m interviewing Representative Nika Elugardo.Nika Elugardo is the state representative for the 15th Suffolk district which covers parts of Brookline and Boston including neighborhoods in Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, and Roslindale. Rep Elugardo was the founding director of MassSaves, an economic justice collaborative, and she founded the research and consulting departments at the <a href="https://www.egc.org/arc/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Emmanuel Gospel Center</a>.  As a state rep, Nika has championed bills in housing, education, and environment. Rep Elugardo is clearly a systems thinker, something we need more of in the state house.  In this interview, she talks about how we need to have states that are willing to lead on justice issues — environmental, economic, racial, lgbtq, that all justice issues are under attack and we need to have our state legislators become the leaders on a vision of justice and opportunity for all.  This voice is sorely needed in Massachusetts, where we have one person, the speaker of the house, who dictates what can and can’t pass, and who is beholden to corporate and billionaire donors.   She also talks about how there are more people in office now and running for office who aren’t there just for a career in politics, who are there to fight for the rights of people.  In state house culture, where there is intense pressure to conform and do what the speaker says, it’s imperative that we elect people who don’t need to have the approval of their peers — or perhaps who see their constituents as their peers, not other politicians. Without further ado, here is my interview with Nike Elugardo.

Representative Nika Elugardo: How to enact systemic change

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