Doug Howgate’s resume includes a rise through the ranks of the Market Basket in Fitchburg, a job at the pharmacy at Hanscom Air Force Base, and a stint at the Worcester art gallery at the college he was attending, Holy Cross. #MAPoli

NEXT WEEK: How will Boston navigate federal policy shifts, economic woes, and political uncertainty in 2026? Mayor Michelle Wu joins @kelleratlarge for an in-person fireside chat on Wednesday at the MCLE. Sign up: events.humanitix.com/keller-wu

Michlewitz: Rent control deal needs more of real estate industry on board

Moulton: Ed Markey is not a coward...

Deaton: F the Republican Party. F the Democrat Party. Moulton: If you feel so strongly about this, why aren't you running as an Independent?

NEW: Negotiators strike deal to spend $1.35 billion in income surtax funds and allocate more than $207 million in General Fund revenues, including on DTA caseworkers and home heating aid. #mapoli

How will Boston navigate federal policy challenges and economic woes in a time of political uncertainty? Kicking off a blockbuster summer, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will join MASSterList columnist Jon Keller for an in-person fireside chat on June 24 at the MCLE in Downtown Crossing.

NEW: Gov. Healey on Thursday plans to announce the "statewide guidance" she ordered in January relative to interactions with ICE agents at schools, childcare providers, higher education campuses, healthcare facilities and places of worship. #mapoli

June 24 🤠 #MaPoli (Details in your inbox tomorrow morning)

Anybody interested in tracking the rising temperature of the U.S. Senate primary featuring incumbent Ed Markey and Rep. Seth Moulton would do well to look at a government watchdog jumping into the fray with a critique of a “dark money” group.

NEW: Gov. Healey names former Revenue Commissioner Chris Harding as Cannabis Commission chair, names western Mass. economic development official Xiomara DeLobato and cannabis law advisor Anthony Wilson to round out reshaped CCC. #mapoli

For all the talk of a new and improved MBTA, Massachusetts voters appear to be less than sanguine about the state of the public transit system, according to a new poll that also has Gov. Maura Healey with an underwater approval rating.

Political conflict is often driven by time and money. The GOP primary for governor has all three things these days, with a former Reebok executive cutting a check to help fuel some of the fighting. #MAPoli

"20+ years ago, there was this cute little company started in Harvard called Facebook. We all thought it was nice, how these kids played Facebook with their friends at Harvard and other colleges, and we didn't understand how big this would be." Lawmakers have not passed legislation regulating AI.

If the Legislature had run the Boston Marathon this week, it would probably still be stuck in Hopkinton — with school vacation week grinding legislative activity nearly to a halt. #MAPoli

On Tuesday, April 22, 2008, @statehousenews.com debuted a new feature offering subscribers a compendium of headlines from across Massachusetts in their inboxes. A newsletter before newsletters were cool. Then, now, always — the original #MAPoli newsletter: @massterlist.com 🐐

18 🎉 #MAPoli

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is coming back to Boston to help Ayanna Pressley. Pressley’s reelection campaign is fundraising off a “fireside chat” with AOC, set for Friday. Access to the evening event costs $60 for general admission and $250 for a “meet and greet.” #MAPoli

NEW: Just before the Celtics' tip-off, Gov. Healey’s office announced she signed a cannabis reform bill shrinking the CCC from 5 to 3 members. The law gives the governor sole appointment power, stripping the treasurer and AG of the authority they’ve held since 2017. #MAPoli

For one day at least, the whole world really was beneath the golden dome of the State House.

NEW: Jonathan Zlotnik, a Worcester County state rep, decided against running for another two-year term in the House, opening up a seat that represents the city of Gardner and surrounding towns. He declined to discuss what his next job is, but said he was staying in the area. #MAPoli

When asked about Rachael Rollins, some Boston insiders wonder if this is all about promoting her new podcast with former Celtics captain Dana Barros. Called “Ball and Order,” just one episode exists and its discussion of topics was already out-of-date when it was posted on April 8.

As Massachusetts residents face a deadline to file their IRS returns, the campaign pushing a state income tax cut is launching a digital ad campaign and three websites to promote its proposed ballot question. #MAPoli

Will Nexstar, owner of Springfield’s WWLP-TV, “22 News,” fill an opening for their State House reporter? The station group is engaged in a regulatory and judicial battle to acquire rival Tegna. Restructuring efforts from the deal would be expected, leading to layoffs and cost cutting.

Time stops for no man, and the 16 years elapsed since Scott Brown’s big upset may have eroded some of his strengths. He was a fresh face in 2010 with a triumphant life story and an array of timely props. But recent polling has him lagging behind John Sununu with a favorability rating underwater.

Chris Oates has spent several years analyzing some of the information that flows out of Beacon Hill. Now he wants to take a look under the hood from inside. #MAPoli

Nice lead by @gintautasd.bsky.social: "Town officials in Foxborough have local World Cup organizers by the soccer balls." #mapoli massterlist.beehiiv.com/p/wu-weighs-...

It's a curious moment for Maura Healey. As the state is simultaneously scaling back state employee health coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs amid skyrocketing costs, she is publicly defending the freedom to sip a large sugary iced coffee. #MAPoli massterlist.beehiiv.com/p/controvers...

Totally true tales of the Governor’s Council. We like and respect one another. It’s a pleasure to work with all my colleagues. Thanks, @massterlist.com! #mapoli

From the audit to immigration to ballot questions and more: Jon Keller’s @massterlist.com interview with House Speaker Mariano and Sen. Pres. Spilka has been posted... www.youtube.com/watch?v=uceO... Today‘s Morning Email today explains why it’s a MUST-WATCH… massterlist.com/2026/03/02/t...

“The Auditor has made false claims in the press while not doing the work of answering the questions posed to her. This inflammatory language is a prime example of why the Senate believes she is incapable of an independent audit, even if such an audit was possible under our Constitution.” #MAPoli

I talked with @gintautasd.bsky.social of @massterlist.com about @massago.bsky.social's decision to leave Xitter: "“The days when everybody could gather around the social media campfire are pretty much over." #mapoli massterlist.beehiiv.com/p/ag-campbel...

Democrat Auditor Diana DiZoglio has not committed to supporting Democrat Governor Maura Healey’s reelection campaign, despite the absence of any bona fide Democrat primary challengers. According to DiZoglio, Healey has not returned her phone calls in over a year. #MAPoli

Join us for Keller @ Large LIVE in conversation with House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka on Wednesday (Feb 25) at the MCLE in Boston. More info/sign-up: events.humanitix.com/kellerlive #MAPoli

Donnelly: The challenges facing the Mass. economy are mounting, but please stay. If you like a challenge, Massachusetts is the place to be. #MAPoli

The MassGOP is holding a private screening of Amazon's Melania Trump film in Marlborough tonight. Although the party suggested tickets would 'sell out quickly,' a spokesperson has not confirmed how many were actually sold.

“The governor offered nothing.” There are available bills that could end the state’s formal and informal collaboration with ICE agents, said Jonathan Cohn of Progressive Massachusetts.

The three GOP candidates running to dislodge Maura Healey are caught in a crossfire inside a phone booth. The hostilities aren’t going well. One campaign issued a memo claiming the other two are “buying votes to rig” polls on Twitter. massterlist.beehiiv.com/p/gop-candid...

The case of Karen Read has stayed alive on social media thanks to upcoming “based on a true story” movies and a conspiracy-driven coterie of online cranks and kooks obsessed with her. The 2026 campaign trail appears primed to play its part, too.

Welcome back to MASSterList. We have a roundup of headlines you may have missed while on break. But first, a brief look at what’s on Beacon Hill’s mind as the new year gets underway. #MAPoli

Thanks to @gintautasd.bsky.social for including me in the @massterlist.com set of New Year’s resolutions. Though apparently I made a mistake by giving an actual resolution when it looks like the thing to do is recite a policy agenda?

Transportation chairs Sen. Brendan Crighton and Rep. Jim Arciero are leaning on a 20-year friendship to navigate "complicated" policy waters. Unlike the legendary "battle of the Toms" in 1999, this duo claims to prioritize shared history over political maneuvering. #MAPoli

The "liberalism that builds" blueprint from @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social and Derek Thompson is the talk of Beacon Hill—from Gov. Healey’s cabinet to local councils. We asked MA leaders for their 2025 reads (and their "Abundance" runners-up). 📚 #MAPoli

The MBTA's pre-pandemic business model has vanished because fewer people make enough round-trip journeys each week to regularly buy passes, argues former Federal Highway Deputy Administrator and MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack. #MAPoli

ALL ABOARD! Only a few tickets remain for tomorrow's @statehousenews.com / @massterlist.com TransitNEXT policy forum. Hear from Phil Eng, Stephanie Pollack, JCT chairs Sen. Crighton and Rep. Arciero, and others at the MCLE in Boston. #MAPoli events.humanitix.com/transitnext

KELLER: There's an understanding that dealing with Michelle Wu offers two options – her way or the highway. Her push to seize control of tax rates is a power grab. In a constitutional democracy, power is shared and limited. Boffo numbers on election night don’t change that. #MAPoli #BOSPoli

PHANTOM OF THE CHAMBER; A review of House video from Nov. 18 appears to show someone else pressing the voting button at Rep. Vanna Howard’s desk while she was allegedly away ahead of her Senate campaign kickoff in a race that includes another House member. #MAPoli

As the holiday shopping season starts up, here’s a list of several books on Massachusetts politics or Mass.-adjacent ones, for yourself or the political junkie in your life. #MAPoli

FIRST IN MASSterList: The MassGOP is looking to recruit Belmont select board member Elizabeth Dionne to run against Treasurer Deb Goldberg, a Democrat. Dionne didn’t respond to a request for comment.