Competitive Elections
March 12, 2009

Tonight, I will participate on a panel sponsored by CommonWealth Magazine about the lack of competitive elections in Massachusetts. The event will look at our low rate of political competition – 17 percent in the legislature – and what effect it has on our government. Other panelists will include longtime Republican leader Charles Baker and newly elected State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz.

I firmly believe that real change starts in the voting booth. However, on the municipal level, our current system ensures that those in power have an enormous advantage when it comes to staying in power. Last week, I also proposed a hearing order so we in Boston can start looking at meaningful campaign finance reform. But we have a lot of work to do.

There are over 300,000 registered voters in the city of Boston, but only 49,000 participated in the last municipal election. This lack of civic engagement benefits incumbents and discourages challengers. I look forward to sharing more thoughts at tonight’s panel discusion, and I want to hear from you about how we can increase turnout on the local level. Click here to share your thoughts.