Martha Mary Coakley is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former Attorney General of Massachusetts. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from 1999 to 2007.
Scott Philip Brown is an American diplomat, attorney, and politician who served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. He is a former United States Senator for Massachusetts (2010–2013), and also was the 2014 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. Prior to his Senate tenure, Brown served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court, first in the State House of Representatives (1998–2004) and then in the State Senate (2004–2010).
Gloria Cordes Larson is a prominent lawyer, public policy expert, and business leader. Larson was named president of Bentley University in 2007 and served in that role until June 2018. She was the seventh president of Bentley and the first woman to hold the post. Prior to joining Bentley, Larson served as secretary of consumer affairs and business regulation from 1991 to 1993, under former Massachusetts Governor William Weld and led a business advisory council for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.
Karen Eileen Spilka is an American politician and attorney serving as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate. She represents the 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk district, which includes the towns of Ashland, Framingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway and Natick in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. She has served as the 95th President of the Massachusetts Senate since July 2018. Previously she served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2001 to 2005.
The history of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and its predecessors spans two centuries, starting with one of the oldest railroads in the United States. Development of mass transportation both followed existing economic and population patterns, and helped shape those patterns.
Foley Hoag LLP is a law firm headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in New York City, Paris, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents public and private clients in a wide range of disputes and transactions worldwide. It offers regional, national, and international legal services. Represented industries include life sciences, healthcare, technology, energy & cleantech, investment advisers & private funds, professional services and education. Foley Hoag also specializes in international litigation & arbitration, business counseling, privacy & data security, intellectual property, labor & employment, real estate & development, federal and state government strategies and corporate social responsibility services.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is governed by a set of political tenets laid down in its state constitution. Legislative power is held by the bicameral General Court, which is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The governor exercises executive power with other independently elected officers: the Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Auditor. The state's judicial power rests in the Supreme Judicial Court, which manages its court system. Cities and towns act through local governmental bodies to the extent that they are authorized by the Commonwealth on local issues, including limited home-rule authority. Although most county governments were abolished during the 1990s and 2000s, a handful remain.
Charles Duane Baker Jr. is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since January 8, 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massachusetts and served ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
Ayanna Soyini Pressley is an American politician who has been serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. Her district includes the northern three-quarters of Boston, most of Cambridge, and parts of Milton, as well as all of Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and Somerville.
Roderick L. Ireland is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and the first African American to serve that position. He was nominated for Chief Justice by Governor Deval Patrick on November 4, 2010, and sworn in on December 20. He retired from service on the court on July 25, 2014.
The 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Massachusetts, concurrently with the election of Massachusetts' Class II U.S. Senate seat, and other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Ralph D. Gants was an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He was sworn in on July 28, 2014. Gants had previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney.
The Massachusetts "Death with Dignity" Initiative, also known as Question 2, appeared on the November 6, 2012 general election ballot in the state of Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute to allow physician-assisted suicide. The measure was filed with the Massachusetts Attorney General and would establish, according to those who filed the measure, an "Act Relative to Death with Dignity". The petition number for the initiative was 11-12, and was filed by Michael Clarke as "An Initiative Petition for an Act Relative to Death with Dignity".
The Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative, appeared as the third question on the state's 2012 ballot as an indirect initiated state statute. The measure allows cannabis to be used for medical purposes in the state. The initiative—backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, and the Committee for Compassionate Medicine—was filed with proponents turning in the required signatures to the Massachusetts Attorney General's office by the August 3, 2011 deadline. Those signatures were needed for the required ten qualified voters who submitted the original petition to put forward the full text of the law they want enacted. The initiative passed with support from 63% of state voters.
Annie Dookhan is an American convicted felon who formerly worked as a chemist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Drug Abuse lab and admitted to falsifying evidence affecting up to 34,000 cases.
Maura Tracy Healey is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Massachusetts Attorney General. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
The Boston 2024 Partnership was a privately backed, controversial bid to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The official proposal was submitted on September 12, 2014. On January 8, 2015, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) chose Boston to compete with candidates around the world, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would select the host city in 2017.
The 2018 Massachusetts gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Republican Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito sought reelection to a second term in office, facing Democratic challengers Jay Gonzalez and Quentin Palfrey, respectively. Candidates were selected in the primary election held on September 4, 2018.
Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Reforms can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens’ lives, including lawmaking, policing, sentencing and incarceration. Criminal justice reform can also address the collateral consequences of conviction, including disenfranchisement or lack of access to housing or employment, that may restrict the rights of individuals with criminal records.
The Suffolk University Political Research Center (SUPRC) is an opinion polling center at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.
