Adam Friedman » Policy http://adamfriedman.org Let's Make Things Better, Together Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:01:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 Globe: Beacon Hill Fog http://adamfriedman.org/policy/transparency/globe-beacon-hill-fog/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/transparency/globe-beacon-hill-fog/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2015 16:01:30 +0000 Adam http://adamfriedman.org/?p=859 The Boston Globe just published a substantial feature on transparency — or lack thereof — in Massachusetts government. Click here for the original story. – By David Scharfenberg If you want to see your government in action, just take a seat in the gallery high above the Massachusetts House of Representatives. But don’t take a [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/transparency/globe-beacon-hill-fog/feed/ 0 Governing: 2014 Elections Where Third-Party Candidates Could Make a Big Difference http://adamfriedman.org/policy/governing-2014-elections-where-third-party-candidates-could-make-a-big-difference/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/governing-2014-elections-where-third-party-candidates-could-make-a-big-difference/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2014 22:52:29 +0000 Adam http://adamfriedman.org/?p=845 This is a reprint from Governing magazine. Click here to read the original article. I find such reports eery in their glib observations that the presence of third candidates could make “a big difference” or make for “interesting outcomes.” The elephant in the room — the dirty design flaw of our voting system that subverts [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/governing-2014-elections-where-third-party-candidates-could-make-a-big-difference/feed/ 0 Massachusetts State Senate passes an incredible election law upgrade http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/bring-massachusetts-voting-laws-into-the-21st-century/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/bring-massachusetts-voting-laws-into-the-21st-century/#comments Mon, 10 Feb 2014 18:55:51 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=500 Over 20 years have gone by without a significant update to our state’s voting laws. Meanwhile, dozens of other states are adopting online voter registration, early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, post-election security audits, and more.  A grand coalition of over 30 grassroots organizations and led by MassVOTE and Common Cause, have been pushing hard for an [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/bring-massachusetts-voting-laws-into-the-21st-century/feed/ 0 Wait, I just bought a sandwich. You won’t serve me water? http://adamfriedman.org/policy/wait-i-just-bought-a-sandwich-you-wont-serve-me-water/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/wait-i-just-bought-a-sandwich-you-wont-serve-me-water/#comments Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:01:20 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=385 You might be eating at an upscale steakhouse, a hip bistro, or McDonald’s.  No matter the venue, your frustration is the same.  You kindly order a meal.  The server says, “Would you like something to drink with that?”  You say, “Sure, I’d love a cup of water.” “Sorry.  We don’t have cups of water.  We [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/wait-i-just-bought-a-sandwich-you-wont-serve-me-water/feed/ 0 Don’t use my tax dollars to immortalize your name http://adamfriedman.org/local/dont-use-my-tax-dollars-to-immortalize-your-name/ http://adamfriedman.org/local/dont-use-my-tax-dollars-to-immortalize-your-name/#comments Tue, 14 Jan 2014 04:22:39 +0000 Adam http://adamfriedman.org/?p=733 The Boston Globe finally spoke out on an issue that has always bothered me: signs emblazoned with “Thomas M. Menino” on practically every bridge, neighborhood boundary, tourist attraction, park, and body of water in Boston. I pay enough for public works. I’d rather not fund free political advertising for incumbent politicians. If Mayor-elect Marty Walsh spends [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/local/dont-use-my-tax-dollars-to-immortalize-your-name/feed/ 0 Ranked-choice voting would protect us from crowded-field chaos http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/ranked-choice-voting-would-protect-us-from-crowded-field-chaos/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/ranked-choice-voting-would-protect-us-from-crowded-field-chaos/#comments Mon, 23 Sep 2013 17:17:04 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=691 [Note: This opinion piece was written during the 2013 Boston mayoral preliminary election.] In an age when powerful incumbents thwart new challengers, draping our civic life in drab monotony, the twelve-candidate potpourri vying to be Boston’s next mayor should be a breath of fresh air.  Instead, voters are gasping, choking with choices, cautiously checking the [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/ranked-choice-voting-would-protect-us-from-crowded-field-chaos/feed/ 0 Washington Post endorses ranked choice voting http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/washington-post-endorses-ranked-choice-voting/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/washington-post-endorses-ranked-choice-voting/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:07:50 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=467 It’s great to see major media outlets support game-changing reforms like ranked choice voting (aka, “instant runoff voting”): The next regular round of council and local elections is slated for next year. So it’s important to look beyond the personalities of the recent election to the processes that allowed a citywide representative to be elected [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/electoral-reform/washington-post-endorses-ranked-choice-voting/feed/ 0 Announcing PD43+: 40 years of Massachusetts election statistics http://adamfriedman.org/policy/transparency/announcing-pd43-30-years-of-massachusetts-election-statistics/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/transparency/announcing-pd43-30-years-of-massachusetts-election-statistics/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:03:08 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=438 I have an exciting announcement.  Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin and I have partnered to release PD43+: an elegant, searchable database of election, ballot question, and candidate data for the past 40 years of Massachusetts politics.  The information is based on several editions of Public Document 43, Massachusetts’ official report of voter registration, turnout, [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/transparency/announcing-pd43-30-years-of-massachusetts-election-statistics/feed/ 1 Decriminalize drugs and watch addiction rates plummet http://adamfriedman.org/policy/social/decriminalize-drugs-and-watch-addiction-rates-plummet/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/social/decriminalize-drugs-and-watch-addiction-rates-plummet/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:30:47 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=454 This incredible Business Insider piece cover’s the nation of Portugal’s move in 2001 to decriminalize every single illicit drug. Click here for the full article. Here’s an excerpt: On July 1st, 2001, Portugal decriminalized every imaginable drug, from marijuana, to cocaine, to heroin. Some thought Lisbon would become a drug tourist haven, others predicted usage rates among [...]

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]]> http://adamfriedman.org/policy/social/decriminalize-drugs-and-watch-addiction-rates-plummet/feed/ 0 WSJ Graphic: Ranked Choice Voting explained http://adamfriedman.org/policy/wsj-graphic-ranked-choice-voting-explained/ http://adamfriedman.org/policy/wsj-graphic-ranked-choice-voting-explained/#comments Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:47:56 +0000 Adam http://www.adamfriedman.org/?p=443 A great visual showing how ranked choice voting works, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

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