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In a 30-second commercial set to start airing today, Nicole Freedman walks along a wooded trail with a child playing alongside her, contrasting the open spaces against big developments like warehouses and data centers.
The ad encourages voters to back Question 6, which seeks to steer a portion of the existing sales tax on sporting goods to a new nature conservation fund.
"This year's ballot's a lot. But Question 6 is simple," Freedman, an Arlington resident and executive director of the New England Mountain Bike Association, says in the ad.
Also a lot: the stream of ballot-question messaging now making its way before voters, less than two weeks until Election Day. Another new spot this week talks up all-party primaries, while the campaign seeking to repeal retail marijuana sales had a crashed car on display in downtown Boston to suggest risks of impaired driving.
The committees for and against this year's nine ballot questions have now spent a combined $22.1 million, out of the $24.3 million they've raised. That's approaching the $25.3 million spent on five questions two years ago and small change compared to the whopping $67.1 million that ballot campaigns shelled out in 2022 — but of course, there's still time.
The three costliest ballot battles (so far) are ones where fresh polls illustrate a range of dynamics — one voters say they’d reject, one with a close race, and one ahead in the polls with no formal opposition.
More than a quarter of the ballot question spending so far this cycle has been in the fight over whether to eliminate or keep Massachusetts' retail marijuana ecosystem. The Yes on 8 campaign seeking to end recreational cannabis sales, funded almost entirely by the national group Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action, has spent more than $3.6 million dollars, including recent outlays for TV and digital ads, consulting and yard signs. The opposition committee, backed by cannabis businesses, logged $1.5 million in media buys in its most recent campaign finance report, plus another $16,750 in radio ad buys.
Office of Campaign and Political Finance data show $5.77 million spent in support of the top-two primary measure, with about $50,000 in opposition. The most recent reports, covering the window from Oct. 2-15, show the opposition committee, Voter Rights Massachusetts, only spending about $24 on processing fees. The backers, under the banner of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy, reported spending more than $500,000 on Question 3 over that time period, primarily on ads, marketing and media buys.
There’s no campaign formally opposing the nature-funding ballot question (which doesn't mean the idea is universally well-liked — the Massachusetts Republican Party opposes it, and GOP gubernatorial nominee Mike Minogue suggested he voted against it when he cast his ballot Thursday, telling reporters he doesn't "trust the government anymore with any tax dollars”). But supporters are still doling out the cash, putting up almost $3.5 million to date to make their case to voters. Their latest spending report includes nearly $1.3 million on advertising and media buys.
If you're worried about being overwhelmed in a ballot question ad blitz, you can probably rest easy when it comes to Question 4. The committee behind the same-day voter registration question, also polling with a comfortable lead, has less than $12,000 in the bank and hasn't reported spending any money since August.
Ads? Billboards? Yard signs? What ballot question messaging are you seeing out in the wild? Send it my way at [email protected]
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HAPPENING TODAY
10:00 | Gov. Healey, Massachusetts Health Connector and Boston Public Health Commission hold a press conference to kick off open enrollment at the state's health insurance marketplace | Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, 2300 Washington St., Roxbury
10:00 | Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn chairs a hearing about the Boston Rodent Action Plan | Boston City Hall, Iannella Chamber, 5th floor, 1 City Hall Square, Boston | More Info and Livestream
11:00 | Education Secretary Zrike tours Harmonic Drive, a manufacturer of precision motion control products. Photography and video recording are prohibited, per the Executive Office of Education | Harmonic Drive, 42 Dunham Ridge, Beverly
11:00 | Massachusetts Commission for the Blind hosts an event to raise awareness of the state's White Cane Law, which requires drivers to yield to pedestrians using a white cane or guide dogs at street crossings. White Cane Day is celebrated nationally on Oct. 15, and October is White Cane Awareness Month. Commissioner John Oliveira holds a meet and greet with students at 10 a.m., followed by a speaking program at 11 a.m | Great Hall
11:00 | Sen. Jake Oliveira and Rep. Brian Ashe present a $75,000 check to the Longmeadow Public Schools for security upgrades, representing Fair Share surtax funding the lawmakers secured for the district | 535 Bliss Rd., Longmeadow
12:30 | Rural Policy Advisory Commission rolls out its 2026 Massachusetts Rural Policy Plan, a set of policy, funding, programming and legislative recommendations, pointing to continuing needs in population change, municipal capacity, infrastructure, housing, transportation, workforce development, and state funding formulas | Room 428
1:00 | Republican nominee for U.S. Senate John Deaton joins nonprofits and residents in recovery at a gathering to encourage the improvement of conditions near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston | Ramsay Park, 1917 Washington St., Boston
4:00 | Congressman Lynch and about 30 Boston ironworkers rally in Ohio with the Dropkick Murphys, kicking off a four-day trip to knock doors for fellow union member Brian Poindexter, the Democratic nominee in Ohio's 7th Congressional district | Local UAW 1250, 17250 Hummel Rd., Brook Park, Ohio
4:00 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll joins a statewide Latino Political Convention organized by Unidos in Power, a group committed to strengthening civic engagement and expanding Latino representation. Organizers say more than 100 Latino elected officials from across Massachusetts and 400 of their constituents are expected to participate | Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St., Boston
5:00 | Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health hosts "Celebrating the Movement" as the nonprofit marks its 50th anniversary. MassCOSH will honor past executive directors, as well as organizations for their work in the labor and safety movement | Edward M. Kennedy Institute, 210 Morrissey Blvd., Boston | Register
JOB BOARD
District-Based Communications Professional — NEW, US House of Representatives
Senior Government Relations Specialist — NEW, ACLU of Massachusetts
Director of Sustainable Materials Management, City of Newton
Attorney, Prisoners’ Legal Services of MA
Engineering Project Manager, City of Newton
Legal Advocate, Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
Advocacy Director, Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
Director of Workforce Development, St. Francis House
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ON BEACON HILL
HOLDING THEIR LIQUOR: In the wake of a state audit recommending an overhaul of the liquor-license system and a Senate vote to give communities more local control over licensing decisions, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz says the "checks and balances" model that requires sign-off from lawmakers is working. | State House News Service (gift link)
MINOGUE CHECKS IN: Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue, now planning to serve without a lieutenant governor if elected, says he’s comfortable with a line of succession that would have the attorney general and secretary of state — both currently Democrats — up next. In a live interview, Minogue also said he’d seek to put more pressure on the state Legislature. | Boston 25
WHAT ELSE THE HOUSE DID THIS WEEK: The same day they passed a $2.35 billion supplemental budget, House lawmakers passed a bill, which had idled for months, to provide benefits to a Chelmsford firefighter injured when he fell 40 feet to concrete while working his second job at the Massachusetts Fire Academy. Firefighters union representatives are advocating for the Senate to approve the measure, too. | The Sun
NEWS NEXT DOOR
TOLL ROAD TRIP: A delegation of Boston and state officials, business leaders and advocates plans a trip to New York in a couple weeks to learn more about the impacts of congestion pricing there, Mayor Michelle Wu said in a radio appearance.| Boston Herald
SENATE SUIT: Independent U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai is suing his hometown newspaper, The Belmont Voice, for not covering his campaign, in what he calls a pattern of "bad-faith minimization." The outlet's board of directors called the lawsuit frivolous and a "costly distraction." | Boston Globe
KEEPING HIS COUNCIL: Former lieutenant governor candidate Shawn Oliver, who ended his campaign after his OUI arrest last weekend, continues to serve as a New Bedford city councilor. The city has no legal process to remove a sitting councilor, but a measure the council passed over the summer to create a recall process could eventually become law with approval from Beacon Hill. | New Bedford Light
ENCORE NUMBERS: As 1,300 casino workers continue their strike, the monthly tax revenue from gaming at Encore Boston Harbor hit a five-year low. The casino has also closed all of its company-operated restaurants, with two bars and the complimentary alcohol service operating on reduced schedules. | GBH News
LUNCH MONEY: A lawsuit filed this week in federal court alleges that officials in the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District tried to put dedicated school nutrition funds toward the superintendent's salary, allegations superintendent Jennifer Willard vehemently denies. | MassLive
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MORE HEADLINES
THE SUNDAY SHOWS
KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller hosts a mini-debate on Question 8 to end recreational marijuana sales with Ryan Dominguez of the No on 8 Campaign and Harvard professor Bertha Madras, director of the Laboratory of Addiction Neurobiology at McLean Hospital.
@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard sits down with Gov. Maura Healey.
ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5’s Sharman Sacchetti and Ed Harding host a show featuring segments with Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale and UMass Amherst political science professor Jesse Rhodes.
JOB BOARD
Evaluation and Monitoring Associate, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation
Administrative and Program Associate, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Account Director/Senior Account Director, Issues Management Group, Inc.
Director of Resource Development, The Neighborhood Developers
Director of Human Resources, SEIU Local 509
Deputy Sewer Director, Town of Nantucket
Communications & Community Engagement Manager, City of Chelsea
Chief Financial Officer, Cooperative for Human Services Inc
Justice Geraldine S. Hines Legal Fellowship, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General
Senior Transportation Engineer, City of Newton
Financial Investigator III, Mass Gaming Commission
Vice President of Administration and Finance, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Government Relations Officer, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
