Dan Koh is running for Congress on the strength of other people's résumés — and it might actually work.

In the crowded six-way Democratic primary for the Sixth Congressional District, Dan Koh is making an unusual bet: that voters exhausted with Washington actually want someone who already knows how it works. While his rivals — including state Rep. Tram Nguyen — lean into outsider energy, Koh is leaning on Marty Walsh, his old boss from Boston City Hall and the Biden Labor Department, who's now stumping for him in Andover parks and door-to-door canvasses. This week Koh went a step further, dropping a TV ad with cameos from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris themselves.

It's a gamble, but not a crazy one. Name-brand Democratic surrogates still carry weight in a primary where turnout will be low and name recognition is everything. The risk is obvious too: Biden's approval ratings never really recovered, and tying yourself to the last administration in a "time for change" primary cycle is a bet that nostalgia beats momentum. Watch whether Nguyen and the other candidates start contrasting themselves more explicitly against Koh's insider credentials as the primary date nears — this race is shaping up to be a genuine test of what Massachusetts Democrats think they need right now: experience or a clean break.

Full story at Boston Globe →

The MBTA's hair-pulling saga finally has a price tag: $500,000. Gabrielle Mondestin, the T's chief communications officer whose hair General Manager Phil Eng admitted pulling at a 2024 team dinner, will resign September 18 with a nearly half-million-dollar settlement covering wages, damages, and legal fees. Eng says he's learned from it; no wrongdoing was admitted — but taxpayers are footing the bill for what the agency once called an "insensitive interaction." Boston.com →

A Superior Court judge just ruled Plymouth County can't hide how it treats ICE detainees. Sheriff Joseph McDonald tried to block an ACLU records request about medical care at his South Shore lockup, the only facility in Massachusetts holding civil immigration detainees — currently more than 500 men. Judge James Budreau wasn't having it, ruling the records "must be produced" despite McDonald's argument that his federal contract overrides state disclosure law. Boston Globe →

East Bridgewater residents packed Town Hall to fight back against license plate cameras. A nearly three-hour public forum turned into a referendum on four Flock Safety ALPR cameras the police department quietly installed using $38,000 in federal drug forfeiture money. Police Chief Michael Jenkins says the cameras have already helped solve an armed robbery; residents are worried about Fourth Amendment rights and third-party data sharing, and they want installation paused. Expect this fight to spread — plenty of South Shore towns are eyeing the same technology. South Shore News →

A baby born deaf just became the first patient at Boston Children's to get a groundbreaking gene therapy. Sixteen-month-old Everett Tynes has a rare genetic mutation that blocks sound signals from reaching his brain. In early August, doctors delivered a working copy of his defective gene straight to his inner ear using Otarmeni, the first FDA-approved gene therapy for hearing loss in the country. It's a genuinely remarkable moment for Massachusetts medicine, and a reminder of why this state remains a global hub for exactly this kind of research — even as federal funding cuts threaten to choke it off. Boston Globe →

Sen. Ed Markey wants to defund ICE, push Medicare for All, and make public transit free — if you'll have him back. In a sit-down with several Massachusetts local papers, the 80-year-old senator, seeking reelection after 13 years in the Senate and 37 in the House before that, laid out an ambitious wish list. Central to his pitch: protecting Harvard, MIT, and the broader Cambridge-Somerville innovation economy from Trump-era research cuts and endowment taxes. Cambridge Day →

A 21-year-old man died after falling into a Westford quarry overnight — and neighbors say this keeps happening. Merrill's Quarry, private property posted with "No Trespassing" signs, has apparently become a magnet for swimmers despite being, in the words of one longtime neighbor, "not a safe place... we have been saying it for years and years and years." Police say the site has steep drops and deep water; this is at least the latest in a string of injuries there. WCVB →

East Bridgewater's ALPR fight isn't over — expect a follow-up Select Board discussion soon on whether to pause camera installation pending more public input. South Shore News →

Easthampton is accepting nominations for its new "Keys to the City" program honoring people and groups with lasting community impact — a nice one if you know someone deserving. WWLP →

The Sixth District primary race keeps heating up as Labor Day approaches — watch for more surrogate visits and ad spending from Koh, Nguyen, and the rest of the field in the coming weeks. Boston Globe →

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Recent filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance:

Candidates

• Cari-Ann Knight — House, 3rd Worcester — Filed: 8/10/2026

PACs

• Protect Massachusetts Taxpayers Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee — N/A, No office — Filed: 8/11/2026

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