The Mass Brief: Healey won a second term. Now comes the hard part.

        November 6, 2026

    The Mass Brief: Healey won a second term. Now comes the hard part.

        Mass Brief

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THE MASS BRIEF
Friday, November 6, 2026

      Good morning. The votes are mostly counted, the confetti is swept up, and Beacon Hill's attention is turning from campaigning to governing. Let's get into it.

The Lead

Healey won a second term. Now comes the hard part.

      Governor Maura Healey cruised past Republican Mike Minogue on Tuesday, but her victory speech was notably short on victory-lap energy and long on homework. The Globe's Power Play newsletter canvassed business leaders about what should top her second-term to-do list, and the answers rhyme: jobs, homes, and bridges (the literal kind and the metaphorical kind). Job growth has been lackluster, with employment barely back to 2019 levels, a point Minogue hammered all fall. Healey signed a sweeping economic development bill in 2024 and is now pushing lawmakers to finish another one.

      The political backdrop is a mixed message. Voters rejected Question 5, the business-backed plan to change how the state returns excess tax revenue, with about 52 percent opposed. The campaign conceded early Wednesday, saying the "affordability and competitiveness" problems that motivated it remain unsolved. Translation: the business community still wants action, and it just lost its ballot-box shortcut, which means the pressure now lands squarely on the governor and the Legislature.

      What happens next is a lame-duck stretch of formal sessions, then a January inauguration, then a budget that has to pay for all of it. Watch whether Healey leads with housing production, energy costs, or the economic development bill. Her answer will tell you what her second term is really about.

Full story at Boston Globe →

What Else You Should Know

A razor-thin race over lot sizes is still unresolved. Question 7, which would shrink minimum lot sizes for single-family homes statewide, remained uncalled as of Friday, with "no" holding a sliver of a lead (50.7 to 49.3 percent) at last check. Boston.com readers named it, along with the defeat of the all-party primary measure, as the biggest surprise of election night. The all-party primary went down with roughly 61 percent voting no, despite polling that had it narrowly ahead. Boston.com →

A 19-year-old just unseated a 16-year-old incumbency. Democrat Daniel Darris-O'Connor of Billerica beat Republican state Rep. Marc Lombardo, who has held the 22nd Middlesex District for 16 years. Darris-O'Connor won a Select Board seat at 18 while still in high school and is now among the youngest state lawmakers in Massachusetts history. WBZ / CBS Boston →

New England just got a lot bluer. Susan Collins lost her Senate seat to Democrat Troy Jackson, meaning the region will have no Republican senators come January. The lone GOP member of the New England congressional delegation will be Paul LePage, who appears to have won Maine's 2nd District; his Democratic opponent conceded Thursday. WBUR →

Massachusetts's Katherine Clark is helping write the House Democratic playbook. With Hakeem Jeffries favored to become speaker, Clark said the caucus will focus on affordability: extending expired ACA premium tax credits, reversing Medicaid cuts, and opposing tariffs. CommonWealth Beacon →

Wall Street had a rough Thursday. An AI stock sell-off dragged the Nasdaq down more than 5.5 percent and the S&P 500 to its worst day since April 2025. One financial advisor told Boston 25 the moves aren't logical and urged investors not to panic, while also noting that voters backed limits on data center construction in many communities, which may be adding to the jitters. Boston 25 →

Encore workers are back on the job. The strike at the Everett casino ended Thursday night after union workers ratified a new contract. WBZ / CBS Boston →

Worth Your Attention

•

Boston's street safety reckoning: The City Council held a hearing on cyclist and pedestrian safety, a day after the family of transportation planner Louisa Gag, killed while biking in Mission Hill in July, urged councilors to hold the Wu administration accountable for concrete improvements. Boston.com →

•

Global Arts Live opens The Platform in Kendall Square this Saturday with a free public opening day at the new 45,000-square-foot, 404-seat performing arts center. WBUR →

•

Playoff drama: The Boston School Committee is seeking a restraining order to let a combined English High and New Mission team into the MIAA football tournament, which started today. Universal Hub →

End-of-Session Tracker

⏳ Formal sessions ended July 31. Conferees were appointed in time, so talks run until the term ends Jan 5 — 60 days
Energy Affordability & Clean Power (H5175)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Economic Development (H5576)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Massachusetts Data Privacy Act (S2619)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Climate Resilience for Communities (S3064)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Student Learning & Mental Health (phone ban) (S2581)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention (H4767)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Ballot Question Campaign Finance Reporting (S2916)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Public Records & Government Transparency (H5469)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Primary Care (S3141)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Higher-Ed Infrastructure (BRIGHT Act) (H4769)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned
Pet Equity, Treatment & Safety (S3028)
House ✓Senate ✓ConferenceGov's DeskSigned

Track all bills →

💰 Money Watch

Yesterday's Biggest Contributions

$1,000.00 Charles Benevnto (Benevento Companies), Beverly, MA → Patrick Keefe [Individual]
$1,000.00 Carol Gant Leventhal (Not employed), Chestnut Hill, MA → Sharon Durkan [Individual]
$1,000.00 Judith Dilday (Not Employed), Boston, MA → Elizabeth Miranda [Individual]
$1,000.00 Adam Gaval (Monroe Management), Worcester, MA → Jose Rivera [Individual]

Big Spending This Week

$250,000.00 Commonwealth for Tomorrow Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee paid Versus Media Group — Digital Media Buy [Independent Expenditure]
$221,730.43 Michael Minogue paid AxMedia — WIRE  [Bank Reported Expenditure]
$100,000.00 Michael Minogue paid AMEX — AMEX [Bank Reported Expenditure]
$90,000.00 North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters PAC paid Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee Political Action — Domestic Wire Withdrawal [Bank Reported Expenditure]
$90,000.00 Michael Minogue paid Data and Community Affairs LLC — WIRE  [Bank Reported Expenditure]
$46,388.89 Michael Minogue paid BOSTON MARRIOTT BURLINGTON — FACILITY RENTAL/CATERING SERVICES [Credit Card Charge]
$35,000.00 The Civil Rights Coalition paid A-SyncManagement LLC [General Expenditure]
$33,485.68 Republican State Committee paid HIGH SAIL STRATEGIES — COORDINATED MAIL [Bank Reported Expenditure]
$32,000.00 Inc. Massachusetts First Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee paid Red Eagle Media — Digital Media Placement [Independent Expenditure]
$30,000.00 Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Policy paid Resonance Media — Public Opnion Survey (internal) [General Expenditure]

      Data from the
      MA Office of Campaign & Political Finance

This Week on Beacon Hill

Monday, November 09, 9:00 AM
Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (12 bills)
Topic: Late-filed local matters
Location: Written Testimony Only, Boston
H5669: An Act pertaining to City Council procedures (Filed by Patricia A. Duffy)
H5670: An Act pertaining to the laying out of streets, ways, and highways in the city o (Filed by Patricia A. Duffy)
H5701: An Act authorizing the town of Scituate to dispose of a portion of the Cushing E (Filed by Patrick Joseph Kearney)
H5702: An Act changing the board of selectmen in the town of Oxford to select board (Filed by Joseph D. McKenna)
H5703: An Act amending CH. 980 of the acts of 2007 relative to property owned by the Bo (Filed by Rita A. Mendes)
... and 7 more bills
Monday, November 09, 1:00 PM
None
Topic: Special Commission on Correctional Consolidation and Collaboration Meeting
Location: 428                             , Boston
Tuesday, November 10, 9:30 AM
Senate Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult Justice
Topic: Informational Hearing on Vermont's Raise the Age Law implementation and impact on recidivism rates
Location: 222           , Boston

Full hearing schedule →

New on the Ballot

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

Candidates

Julie Bowditch (Democratic) — City Councilor, Worcester — Filed: 11/2/2026

OCPF →

One More Thing

            Boston Globe's blotter column brings us a fugitive with an active federal warrant who decided the best way to stay off the radar was to swipe used cooking oil from an Auburn restaurant dumpster at 5:30 a.m. Auburn police noted, with admirable restraint, that they're "not in the business of giving career advice to fugitives." Boston Globe →

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