ORGANIZING NOTES
September 15, 2026
|
Bernie would like to remind you that some email programs may not display our entire newsletter! You may see a link to “View entire message” or you can click here to view this email in your browser!
|
ORMA-endorsed candidates Senator Markey won, of course. Incumbent members of Congress McGovern and Pressley won; challengers Poullos, Paz, Roath, and Swallow lost. Tara Jacobs was reelected to the Governors Council. Senators Eldridge and Miranda were unopposed. Uyterhoeven and Yu won. Lander is in a recount but is trailing. For State Rep, Hendrickson won unopposed. Wondolowski, Betts, and Connolly won while Leary and MacKay lost. Click here to read more about the Ed Markey victory, Congressional District 1, an important establishment incumbent won, Mass Care results, Boston and Mayor Wu The Ed Markey victory An 80 year old progressive senator defeated a much younger conservative challenger. It is tempting to conclude that progressivism won. Perhaps. Moulton’s anti-transgender remarks offended many; his voting record was dismal, and his opportunism was on display. However, Richard Neal and Stephen Lynch, two old conservative congressmen, beat back more progressive younger challengers. In all three instances, the incumbent emphasized his working class roots. Richie Neal and CD1 (Thanks to Jonathan Cohn)Congressional District 1 Congressman Ritchie Neal, who has been in office since 1989, defeated teacher candidate Jeromie Whalen 54 to 46%. Whalen proved to be Neal’s strongest competitor ever. He outperformed Neal’s past challengers despite being an unknown a year ago. Neal outspent Whalen 10 to 1 (~$3 million to ~$300,000). Neal’s margin of about 7,500 votes came largely from Springfield, Neal’s hometown (+3,781 votes). Whalen won Becket, Belchertown, Charlemont, Chester, Cummington, Easthampton, Granby, Granville, Hancock, Hawley, Holyoke, Huntington, Middlefield, Monroe, Monson, Montgomery, New Ashford, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Otis, Rowe, Savoy, Southampton, South Hadley, Tolland, Washington, West Brookfield, Windsor, and Worthington. About half of Neal’s lead came from his margin in Springfield. Whelan lost three communities that challenger Alex Morse, the former mayor of Holyoke, had won: Great Barrington, Sandisfield, and Sheffield. Several communities that Alex Morse won against Neal in 2020 were redistricted out of MA-01: Ashfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Chesterfield, Colrain, Conway, Goshen, Heath, Leyden, Shelburne, and Williamsburg. Funny how that works…. An important establishment incumbent won State Rep Marjorie Decker defeated DSA member and former union president Evan MacKay. In 2024, Decker barely beat MacKay. That year, Decker barely campaigned. This year, she pulled out all her forces, relying on her hometown, working-class roots, and her ability to deliver local funding and support for immigrants, women, and civil liberties. She buried her key support for Speaker Ron Mariano and his stranglehold on the House. This was an unfortunate loss for progressives. Mass Care results (Thanks to Jon Weissman) 64 Cosponsors and additional Pledged Candidates have no opposition in November. 49 in the House, 15 in the Senate. - 71 out of 72 current Cosponsors running for election won their Primary.
- 57 Cosponsors move on to the General Election with no opposition: 43 in the House, 14 in the Senate.
- Another 7 Pledged Candidates move on to the General Election, with no opposition: 6 in the House, 1 in the Senate.
20 Cosponsors and additional Pledged Candidates have opposition in November. 16 in the House, 4 in the Senate. - 14 Cosponsors have opposition in the General. 10 in the House, 4 in the Senate.
- Another 6 Pledged Candidates have opposition in the General, all in the House.
- The 10th Suffolk House race has a candidate in each category, but is only counted once. Cosponsor William MacGregor, Democratic incumbent, is running against Devin Kreinbring, Workers Party of Massachusetts, who pledged.
Pledged Democrat Connor Murray, 18th Essex House District, is unopposed in the General. If these races all result in Cosponsors next session, single-payer will start with 66 supporters in the House (7 more than in the current session) and 19 in the Senate (same as current session). If Lander wins after the recount, that adds another senator.Boston and Mayor Wu Progressive Boston Mayor Michelle Wu extended her effort to shift property taxes from residential to commercial properties by supporting select State Senate incumbents and challengers. She backed challenger Daniel Lander against winning conservative Will Brownsberger. She backed a relative conservative, Michael Rush, who was defeated by progressive consumer advocate Persis Yu. Wu backed challenger Latoya Gale against Michael Collins. Despite carrying the predominantly Black districts, Gayle lost.
|
Nine Statewide Ballot Questions Are Coming This November Massachusetts voters will decide nine statewide ballot questions this November covering government transparency, workers’ rights, elections, taxes, conservation, housing, cannabis policy, and firearms regulation. ORMA members will also have the opportunity to vote on what positions the organization should take on each question. Here is a quick overview of what will appear on the ballot: 1. Expanding the Public Records Law Would expand the Massachusetts Public Records Law to cover records of the Governor’s Office and Legislature, subject to specified exemptions. 2. Collective Bargaining for State Public Defense Employees Would give employees of the state agency that provides legal representation to people who cannot afford an attorney, including staff public defenders and other employees, collective-bargaining rights. 3. Single All-Candidate Primary Would replace separate party primaries with a single primary containing candidates from all parties, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election regardless of party. 4. Election Day Registration Would allow eligible Massachusetts residents to register or update their voter registration and vote on Election Day. 5. State Revenue Limit and Fair Share Revenue Would change Massachusetts’ existing tax-revenue limit and automatic refund calculation, including how revenue from the Fair Share surtax on income over $1 million is treated. 6. Natural Resource Conservation Fund Would dedicate a portion of certain existing sales-tax revenue associated with sporting goods, recreational vehicles, golf, and related activities to conservation and outdoor recreation. 7. Single-Family Homes and Minimum Lot Sizes Would generally require municipalities to allow a single-family home on qualifying residential lots of at least 5,000 square feet with required frontage and public water and sewer access. 8. Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Cannabis Would end licensed retail sales of adult-use recreational cannabis and make other changes to the recreational cannabis system while leaving medical cannabis in place. 9. Firearms Regulation A referendum on the Massachusetts firearms law enacted in 2024. A YES vote keeps the law. A NO vote repeals it. Members will receive additional information and a ballot to vote Support / Yes, Oppose / No, or Take No Position on each question. The membership vote will determine ORMA’s position.
Alex Crowley for the ORMA RC Unaffiliated Rep CD 8
|
Hanscom Field is owned and operated by Massport. The coalition is asking Massport to install a publicly viewable webcam system so that lawyers can identify their clients and families can locate their loved ones. We urge you to write postcards to Governor Healey and the Massport board demanding webcams for ICE flights at Hanscom.Learn More HERE
|
Saturday, September 19, 11am – noon, Museum of Science, 1 Science Pk, Boston | Join the De-ICE Action Network–which is evolving from the De-ICE Citizens Bank campaign– to send a message to Boston Dynamics to not trust ICE with their Spot Robot Dogs. Organizers will have flyers to hand out;… Learn More
|
Environmental Justice Beginning Thursday, September 24, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm JALSA is joining Dayenu and T’ruah to encourage environmentalists to make their voices heard in support of our climate, our democracy, and a livable future! This phone bank will occur four times this autumn. In addition to the September 24th date, these phone banks will also take place on: Thursday, October 8; Wednesday, October 14; and, Tuesday, October 27. Register for any of these four phone banks at this link.
|
Local Visibilities Schedule
Watch for weather and wind chill cancellations here! But another good way to keep up with day to day and weekly changes is to join a Signal Group
|
Folks can sign up for De-ICE Hanscom’s contact list at this link.
|
For more than a year, hosts like you have organized millions of people to come together to take action and say one thing: in America, we have no kings. Now, we are taking the next step, turning people power into voter power with No Kings: Vote Early, scheduled for October 17. Vote Early is not purely a protest. It is a day of nonpartisan voter participation. We know voting is a local action, so we need to activate our own communities to participate where we live. That’s why we’re prioritizing hyperlocal engagement over mass gatherings and focusing on voter participation over volume. Because no one person gets to decide our leaders before voters do. We decide who represents us. We decide what comes next.
|
Firm Buys Texas Coal Plant to Leverage its Grid Connections for New Massive Solar Project
|
Coal power has a huge role still to play in the American energy mix—by turning over its substantial grid infrastructure to renewable energy projects. Energy investment firm Panamint is putting up $1.7 billion to build Big Rooter Power, an enormous solar-storage power complex in Robertson, Texas that will add 1.2 gigawatts of solar power to the local grid. It’s strategic placement next to the Twin Oaks coal-fired plant will allow it to leverage tens of million of dollars worth of existing infrastructure to deliver electricity from the Sun to millions of Texans. “We believe deploying new capacity at existing energy sites is the clearest way to benefit communities, ratepayers, and the environment alike,” said Apolka Totth, CEO of Panamint. It replicates a growing movement across the nation to build solar and wind energy resources on brownfields sites like mines that are no longer in operation. Brownfields refers to land that’s already been converted for extractive, industrial, or productive uses, and is much cheaper than developing “greenfields” or undeveloped land. Read Full Article Here
|
If you would like to work with ORMA Members on
- Climate Change
- Housing Justice
- Medicare for All
- Communications/InformationTechnology
|
ORMA depends on your support to continue Bernie’s Political Revolution to create a society, a politics, and an economy that works for everyone, not just billionaires, corporations and the political elite.
If you value Organizing Notes and its twice a month distribution schedule, please make a donation to ensure its continued existence.
Invest in Change Now!
|
Please send requests for action items, articles or upcoming events
for the next Organizing Notes to
beccobrien.orma@gmail.com by Saturday, Sept 26th.
We’d love to have you send us your favorite pictures of Bernie here in MA!
|
Campaigns End, Movements Endure
|
|
