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New from CommonWealth Beacon UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY: In recent years, historic mills and old industrial buildings in Gateway Cities across the state have been renovated and converted into much-needed housing. But Western Massachusetts cities with weaker housing markets have struggled to get developers to restore their vacant properties. Hallie Claflin has more.    OPINION: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 marks a low point for America, but it also presents an opportunity for Massachusetts to lead through crisis, much as we did 250 years ago in leading our fledgling country’s fight for independence, writes Amie Shei of the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.

Illustration by Nick Galifianakis Flashback Friday: Taking the laws into their own hands August 8, 2025 By CommonWealth Beacon Staff

With nearly 50 initiative petitions filed by Wednesday’s deadline by groups hoping to put questions on the 2026 ballot, we’re revisiting John McDonough’s November 2002 article on the history and mechanics of ballot initiatives in Massachusetts for this Flashback Friday.

Since 1919, Massachusetts voters have had more than 170 questions put before them, on topics ranging from legalizing the possession of marijuana to taxpayer funding for political campaigns to allocating highway taxes to fund mass transit. But the use of ballot initiatives begs the question: Is this the best way to make public policy?

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In a state where the Legislature is often slow to take up important issues, ballot questions can be a way around that, giving citizens a voice on important issues.

Still, McDonough, a former state representative, notes that there need to be guardrails.

“If it becomes primarily an instrument for corporate interests and rich guys to win new laws on the cheap,” he wrote, “and if the Legislature becomes increasingly brazen in undermining or manipulating the process, we may see something unprecedented since 1917: serious discussion of reforming a vehicle that, if treated with proper respect, is in no need of reform,” McDonough writes. “It’s hard to see how we could make the Massachusetts ballot-initiative process better. But it’s easy to see how we could make it worse.”

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More Context A push for more transparency on ballot question spending, fundraising (June 2025)  Remove restrictions that limit more housing? Rein in rents? Voters may face dueling ballot questions advancing competing ideas. (August 2025)  Voters end MCAS graduation test requirement (November 2024)

More from CommonWealth Beacon CHILD CARE DESERTS: State data released by the research arm of the Department of Early Education and Care paint a picture of a system struggling to meet potential demand, with significant geographic gaps in access, and that is most available to those at the highest income brackets. Jennifer Smith has more.  BALLOT WIND-UP: Two ballot measures, which advance competing ideas for easing the strain of the costly Massachusetts housing markets, may come before voters in 2026. Michael Jonas reports on a proposal that would reduce the minimum lot size that communities can maintain for single-family homes, plus a ballot question that would allow cities and towns to adopt rent control.

What We're Reading HEALTH: Because of worsening climate change, the Northeast will likely experience more days with poor air quality because of wildfires. Experts are particularly concerned about fine particulate matter, which can burrow deep in the lungs. (WBUR)  HOUSING: Worcester officials have announced they are making $1.25 million available for affordable housing projects through the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Applications for shovel-ready projects are due September 17. (The Worcester Guardian)  COURTS: Dozens of Massachusetts children – 44 in Suffolk County alone – who have been charged with a crime do not have legal representation. In Middlesex County, there are 14 children under the age of 18 that haven’t been appointed a lawyer and seven in Norfolk. (MassLive)  BIOTECH: Strand Therapeutics has raised more than $250 million to develop mRNA medicines that could be effective against cancer and autoimmune diseases. The news comes just days after the federal government announced it was pulling $500 million from mRNA vaccine research programs. (Boston Business Journal -- paywall)  TRANSPORTATION: The stretch of Rt. 6 between Westport and Wareham has seen more than four dozen fatal crashes over the last 20 years, prompting residents to form a working group to advocate for changes to the road and prevent further deaths. (The New Bedford Light)

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