New year, big challenges: 5 storylines to watch in Massachusetts politics in 2025

We’re only a few days into the new year, but 2025 is already shaping up to be a big year for Massachusetts politics. From Beacon Hill to Boston City Hall and every point in between, elected officials and those who track them will have a lot on their plate over the next 365 days.

Without further ado, here are the five big stories in Massachusetts politics in 2025.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s re-election campaign

It’s been nearly 76 years since Boston voters issued a walking paper for a sitting mayor. And Mayor Michelle Wu is aiming to maintain that record in 2025 as she seeks a second term.

But first, she’ll have to welcome new people to City Hall. The Democratic Party is scheduled to give birth to their third child, a girl, this month.

“It may be a new experience for the city, but it’s not new for me. During my tenure, I had two children and it’s certainly been a chaotic and awkward juggling act at times, but the city… We see families trying their best to find balance,” Wu said on WCVB-TV in Boston in July.

It is widely known that business leaders in the city are searching for a challenger. Wu’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to force commercial property owners to collect a higher percentage of property taxes angered the city’s business community.

Wu also appears to be in constant conflict with business owners in the city’s North End over outdoor dining rules.

So far, two boldface names have emerged as potential challengers.

Josh Kraft, the son of deep-pocketed New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, has been mentioned as a possible 2025 candidate for months.

Boston City Councilman Ed Flynn is a Wu critic at City Hall and was known to be considering a run. But the former City Council president and son of former Mayor Ray Flynn has so far not been enthusiastic about making a bid, the Boston Herald reported.

Whether Flynn, Craft, or anyone else decides to step into the ring, they will face challenges of both history and tradition.

That’s because it’s nearly impossible to oust an incumbent lawmaker unless there’s an ironclad “reason” why it needs to happen. Mr. Wu’s significant campaign contributions (more than $1.6 million as of early December) make that challenge even more difficult.

Adding to the political drama, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey is also expected to speak out about her political future later this year.

The Arlington Democrat is up for re-election in 2026. And for now, she’s keeping her plans secret.

“I’ll answer that at the appropriate time. I love what I do. I love the opportunity to serve,” Healy told MassLive in a year-end interview. “There’s a lot of things we’re working on. There’s still a lot of work to do. But we’ll be announcing that later this year.”

Voters may get a glimpse of Healey’s agenda when he delivers his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the state House and Senate on Jan. 16. As Politico reports, Mr. Healy will likely repeat his accomplishments from the past two years. Set the table for the coming months.

Massachusetts Republicans will be emboldened by the gains they made in the Legislature in last November’s election and will be hoping to field a strong candidate. But who will come off the bench?

Mike Kenneally, a former aide to Gov. Charlie Baker, is said to be “seriously considering” running for the state’s top job, according to published reports.

trump factor

Blue state leaders, including Healey, are preparing for the second coming of President-elect Donald Trump, whose 2024 victory was certified by a joint session of Congress on Monday, with significantly less noise than four years ago. are.

With his pledge to tackle mass deportations and possibly abolish the U.S. Department of Education, the incoming Republican administration’s policies will affect states in big and small ways.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is rallying Democratic governors across the country to resist President Trump’s policies. And last year, Mr. Healey tried to be both conciliatory and defiant in the wake of Mr. Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Democratic governor said at a news conference that the Bay State “is and always will be a place where we care and have compassion for each other.” “So no matter who you are, no matter who you voted for, we’re going to continue to work together and move forward.”

but …

“People are going to expect us to show leadership, and that’s what I, the lieutenant governor, and the entire government are ready to do,” Healy continued.

“We’re going to do it with all of our residents, and we’re going to do it by staying true to the things that we value. And we’re doing it by staying true to the things that make Massachusetts great.” We’re going to do that by keeping things moving forward,” she said.

In an interview with MassLive last month, Healey declined to discuss a “hypothetical” scenario if the Massachusetts National Guard were federalized and required to participate in mass deportation operations in the Bay State.

MBTA finances

Japan’s oldest subway system will end in 2024, with no slow-motion sections for the first time in several years. As a result, trains are running visibly faster.

But months of extensive repairs, and those still underway, are a figurative speedup compared to the serious financial challenges facing the T at the dawn of 2025.

The agency is expected to face a deficit of more than $600 million next year, according to the Commonwealth Beacon. And the Transport Funding Task Force report that was supposed to address the funding gap is now delayed.

The state doubled its operational support to the T for the fiscal year that begins July 1. But it failed to address the agency’s larger structural funding problems.

According to an analysis by StreetsBlogMass, the projected deficit represents only about a quarter of T’s entire operating budget. The agency needs to fill funding gaps to avoid “major service cuts” this year.

If left unchecked, the shortfall could reach up to $1 billion by the end of 2010, according to the same analysis.

Healy praised the work of T general manager Philip Eng and his team. But she also said strong mass transit is key to addressing the state’s housing shortage.

The shelter crisis continues

The state will face new challenges in 2025, some of which will carry over from 2024, such as the state’s ongoing shelter crisis.

Last month, the Healey administration moved to finally phase out expensive hotel and motel stays for families staying in the state’s emergency shelter system as it seeks to contain costs amounting to about $1 billion a year. announced a new set of rules, including: , MassLive previously reported.

The government also increased rental subsidies for needy households, created a reserve fund account for shelter costs, and further shortened the length of stay in traditional shelters, while overflowing, the State House News Service reported. He plans to seek a law change to extend his stay in the location, the State House News Service reported.

“We have taken significant steps to rein in growth, with tangible results,” Mr Healey said in a statement last month.

Read more: Steward, Boston’s tax fight and the T fix: Top 5 Massachusetts political stories of 2024

Starting last month, families entering the shelter system will be assessed depending on their risk and needs and placed in either the Rapid Shelter Track or the Bridge Shelter Track.

The stay in the former will last about 30 days, while the stay in the latter will end in six months, pending approval by the state legislature.

Currently, about half of the families in the system are permanent residents of Massachusetts, and the rest are new arrivals who entered the state legally.

What’s next for housing?

Last year, the state Legislature approved and Healy signed a $5.1 billion bond measure aimed at curbing the state’s housing crisis.

The Democratic governor told MassLive in December that the bill would require dividend payments to begin in 2025. However, some fairly significant challenges remain in the short term.

In the face of the property shortage, the median sales price for single-family homes in Massachusetts rose 3.2% to $650,000 in August, according to an analysis by Norada Real Estate Investments.

The numbers are even higher in Boston, where the median listing price peaked in November at $1.04 million, according to Realtor.com. That’s more than double the national median price in November, which was $416,800.

Read more: Greater Boston single-family home sales increase as prices ‘soften’, real estate group says

And that’s true for renters, too, with prices expected to rise 3.75% to 6.75% in what is already the nation’s most expensive rental market, according to Boston.com.

“We’re already seeing the benefits in terms of actually completing the homes,” Healy told MassLive. “In fact, it started with my tax cut bill, because in my tax cut bill a year ago, I proposed giving tax credits to developers who build more affordable housing in Gateway Cities. . Did you know that in just one year since I signed that bill, the number of units under that program has increased sixfold? We went from building about 200 units a year to now. is 1,300 units, and that number will continue to grow.”

What is the rent? “As supply increases, it will decrease,” Healy said.

Drama under the Golden Dome

The Democratic Party, which controls both sides of the state legislature, maintained its supermajority even after last November’s general election.

And as the new parliament opened last week, senior parliamentary leaders, suffering from criticism of how they will operate in 2024, vowed to change their ways and take steps to make a notoriously opaque system a little more transparent. Ta.

Lawmakers will face their first big test when a new law approved by voters and put into effect last week gives state Auditor Diana DiZoglio the power to audit her former colleagues in the Legislature.

State legislative leaders have so far resisted, arguing that the state constitution’s separation of powers prevents the Methuen Democratic Party from taking such a step.

DiZoglio, a former state senator and former legislative aide, is increasing pressure on lawmakers to follow the will of voters.

Read more: Battle over congressional audits rages on Beacon Hill. Are voters listening? |John L. Mychek

“If you don’t want to accept an audit that’s done to identify areas for improvement, that’s a problem. What do you want to know?” DiZoglio told Spectrum News in Worcester. “Are there areas where we could do better to better serve our constituents? What don’t you want to know? If there are gaps in your institution’s system, what can you do to help close them?” What do you want to know? Employees are not properly trained.”

Political insiders said they believed Mr. DiZoglio was seeking a ruling from the state Supreme Judicial Court to resolve the matter once and for all.

By the end of 2024, such a legal battle seemed increasingly likely.