Ballot question would change how lieutenant governors get elected in Massachusetts

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Near the end of the only debate between the two lieutenant governor candidates, Republican Shawn Oliver fielded a question about the awkward dynamics of what’s essentially an arranged marriage.

“The first time I ever heard Mike talk about you, he described your behavior as shameful when you challenged the signatures of another candidate for lieutenant governor,” moderator Jim Braude said to Oliver, Mike Minogue’s running mate.

Minogue and Oliver make up something of an odd couple — Oliver, a New Bedford city councilor, had originally formed a ticket with Brian Shortsleeve, Minogue’s primary opponent.

But Oliver ended up paired with Minogue as the last Republican LG candidate standing. The candidate whose nomination signatures he challenged, Anne Manning Martin, was knocked off the ballot, and another contender, Anne Brensley, also came up short on signatures and is now the GOP nominee for secretary of state after a successful write-in campaign.

Before their days of matching sneakers and basketball references, Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll became teammates in 2022 through a process that, if not quite an arranged marriage, was maybe more akin to an electoral version of The Bachelorette, with Driscoll vying against other Democrats for a chance to run with likely nominee Healey. In a parallel political universe where that race turned out differently, Oliver could be debating Lt. Gov. Eric Lesser or Tami Gouveia.

Whether it’s Healey-Driscoll or Minogue-Oliver, whichever duo wins the corner office (and a smaller, corner-adjacent one for the LG) in November could be the last Massachusetts governor and lieutenant governor matched up by the voters.

Question 3 on the ballot would overhaul how Massachusetts picks its general-election candidates, replacing party primaries with a system where all candidates run on the same primary ballot and the top two vote-getters of any party advance to the general.

A lower-profile piece of that initiative would also change when and how governors and their running mates come together.

Currently, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run independently in their party primaries, then unite as a ticket in the general. Massachusetts is one of six states that takes this approach, according to the National Lieutenant Governors Association, and one of 27 where gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates are elected as a ticket.

Under Question 3, lieutenant governor hopefuls would start out running in tandem with governor candidates, on a ticket in the primary and onward. Supporters of the ballot measure say the change would let voters pick a team that’s already decided to work together.

This year’s ticket notwithstanding, that’s how Republicans in Massachusetts have approached elections for years, typically launching unofficial pairings during primary season.

Despite their comparatively late merger, Oliver said he and Minogue are a united front.

“The current governor and lieutenant governor have had the opportunity to be running together for the last few years,” he said during the GBH News debate. “Mike and I, it is a new friendship.”

How would you like to see the lieutenant governor elected — independently, as part of a ticket, or some combination of the two? Or how’s this for a parallel political universe: what if Massachusetts was among the states where there’s no LG and it’s the secretary of state or Senate president who’s next in line for the governorship? Weigh in at [email protected]

Massachusetts leaders are working to make electricity more affordable. But proposed fixed charges in S.3166 and H.5175 would undermine reforms designed to lower costs and instead raise bills for households and businesses. Lawmakers and Gov. Healey should say “NO” to fixed charges. Learn more here.

HAPPENING TODAY

9:00 | Public Health Council holds a virtual meeting. Agenda includes updates from Commissioner Goldstein and a vote on a determination of need for a request by Beth Israel Lahey Health. The Council is also expected to consider regulations to implement a two-year-old law that directed the state to consider out-of-state issues when weighing a nursing home license, which the Healey administration announced on the heels of a media report that faulted the state's oversight of nursing home transactions | Agenda and Access

9:15 | Gov. Healey joins Education Secretary Zrike and American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts President Jessica Tang for a roundtable discussion and to announce grants for schools to promote safe social media use and support student mental health. A media availability follows at 9:50 a.m. RSVP to [email protected] | Peabody Memorial Veterans High School, 485 Lowell St, Peabody

10:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias and Rep. Rob Consalvo announce $16 million in city, state and federal funding to modernize the Fairmount public housing community in Hyde Park | Fairmount Basketball Court, 2 Bow St., Hyde Park

10:30 | Congressman Neal and Worcester Community Action Council Head Start Director Kathleen Dour tour the East Brookfield Head Start program | 410 E. Main St., East Brookfield

11:00 | Executive Office of Public Safety and Security hosts the Trooper George L. Hanna Memorial Awards for Bravery ceremony, honoring officers from the Boston, Burlington, Everett, Fall River and Holyoke police departments. | House Chamber

11:00 | Massachusetts Water Resources Authority meets. The board will announce finalists for the executive director job. Interim Executive Director Stephen Estes-Smargiassi has helmed the quasi-public agency since longtime director Fred Laskey retired in May | Virtual

11:00 | GBH News’ Boston Public Radio hosts a debate about Question 5, the ballot measure that would change the state tax revenue limit and potentially fuel more frequent taxpayer rebates. Supporter Chris Keohan from Taxpayers for an Affordable Massachusetts and opponent Phineas Baxandall from the Mass Budget & Policy Research Center debate | GBH Boston Public Library Studio, 700 Boylston St., Boston | GBH 89.7 FM | Livestream

12:00 | Utility Contractors Association of New England has a briefing on the "practical and policy challenges facing Massachusetts water infrastructure." Jay Ash, president of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, moderates a panel with Lowell City Manager Tom Golden, Springfield Water and Sewer Commission Executive Director Josh Schimmel and CREDA Massachusetts President Tamara Small | Room 428

1:00 | Senate Committee on the Census holds a public hearing on the U.S. Census Bureau's recent proposals to update questions for the 2030 census, including eliminating questions about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, as well as excluding most non-citizens from apportionment counts. The bureau also wants to modify the definition of a person's "usual residence," which could affect how college students and snowbirds are counted. | Room A-1 | Agenda and Livestream

1:00 | Board of Early Education and Care meets. The board plans to vote on fiscal year 2028 budget recommendations, and offer an update on the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Care and Early Education | Cape Cod Community College, 2240 Iyannough Road, Lorusso Technology Building, West Barnstable | Livestream

1:45 | Congressman Neal joins Brookfield Town Manager Ryan Egan, Brookfield Select Board members and town officials to highlight the impact of federal dollars on local projects | Brookfield Town hall, 6 Central St., Brookfield

2:00 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Secretary Matias tour an accessory dwelling unit and announce new initiatives to make it easier and cheaper for people to build ADUs in Massachusetts | 26 Douglas Rd., Lexington

2:00 | Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux speaks during a virtual press conference about the "Sheriff Pledge for Free and Fair Elections." He's joined by Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler in Pennsylvania and Albany County Sheriff Aaron Appelhans in Wyoming | Register

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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

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Institutions don’t change when asked nicely. They change when failing a child costs them something. For decades, child sexual abuse survivors were told to stay silent, then told they were too late. They aren’t asking for sympathy. They’re asking for their day in court. Inaction may or may not be politically safe. Your support will save many children — Learn more.

ON BEACON HILL

COLD CASH: As both winter and Election Day inch closer, Gov. Healey wants utilities to fast-track refunds that, under a federal ruling, are due to Bay Staters by May 2027. The utility companies say they're working through a complex process and suggest they'll match the federal deadline rather than Healey's timeline. | State House News Service (gift link)

PRIMARY FIGHT: The arguments for and against Question 3, laid out in a debate Tuesday night, hinge on whether adopting an all-party primary model would drive more competitive elections, like proponents say, or make problems with the existing system worse, as opponents argue. | CommonWealth Beacon

POUR ONE OUT: Auditor Diana DiZoglio is calling for an overhaul of the state’s liquor-licensing system, with a new report from her office finding the current quota system creates shortages and making the case for more local control. | WWLP

NEWS NEXT DOOR

ANOTHER NO FROM WU: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who last week came out against the all-party primary ballot question, is endorsing another opposition campaign today. Wu's lined up with No on 8, the campaign against the initiative that would roll back the legal cannabis market in Massachusetts. The mayor said she was “proud to be among the few elected officials” who backed marijuana legalization in 2016.” “Since then, legalization has created new businesses and jobs and generated state and local revenue to support substance use recovery and public health programs. I am voting No on 8 to protect that progress, not turn back the clock,” Wu said in a statement.

ON THE SENATE STAGE: In their sole debate, incumbent Democrat Sen. Ed Markey and Republican opponent John Deaton clashed over who's better equipped to address issues of affordability, energy and healthcare. Markey brought up Trump early and often, while Deaton called for Markey to debate him rather than the president. | MassLive

LAWRENCE UPDATE: The state-level wiretapping indictment against Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña accuses him of sending illegally obtained recordings to political allies and local radio personalities. Meanwhile, 160 volunteers backing a recall of DePeña are ready to gather the more than 7,000 signatures needed to advance their effort. | Eagle-Tribune

HASBRO HAS NEWS: Nearly 600 Hasbro workers based in Pawtucket, R.I. have the choice to either move to the toy company's new Boston headquarters or lose their jobs as of Dec. 24. Operations at the new Seaport location are set to start in January. | Rhode Island Current

LOCAL PHISHING TRIP: A nationwide phishing scam targeting people with applications pending before their local planning and zoning boards has landed in Marblehead, where an email claiming to be from the Planning Board chair asked a resident to settle an invoice. Marblehead police say scammers scrape public meeting agendas and minutes to make their fraudulent messages convincing. | Marblehead Current

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