Massachusetts Democrats
by O. Sabino
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Massachusetts has made a great contribution to the nation even though it
is a small state located in the northeastern United States. The state,
with its rectangular shape, is the sixth smallest in area. Massachusetts
was explored in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and was first permanently
settled in Plymouth in 1620. One of the thirteen original states, it was
the sixth to ratify the Constitution and is legally known as the commonwealth.
Boston, the capital of Massachusetts has made many contributions to the
nation in its cultural, political, and social growth.
The constitution of Massachusetts was adopted in 1780. As amended , it provides for a governor and a lieutenant governor who serve 4-year terms. The governor appoints a cabinet of secretaries. Each secretary supervises a number of related departments. The legislature is known as the General Court and consists of the 40 member Senate and the 160 member House of Representatives. Legislatures are also elected to 2 year terms. The highest court in Massachusetts is the Supreme Judicial Court. There is a hierarchy of trial courts which operates within the county structure. The 14 county administrative bodies in Massachusetts are somewhat weak, with powers limited to managing the court system, operating various correctional institutions, and overseeing highway construction and health services. A stronghold of the Democratic party, the state has 11 legislatures in the U.S. House of Representatives-an overwhelming majority who are Democrats. The state legislature is also largely composed of members of that party. Since 1900, however, Republicans have served as governor more often than Democrats. Social Policy Education Skills Development. The Massachusetts Democratic Party believe that they must ensure that the public education system is one that will allow students to acquire valuable job skills. In order to achieve this goal, the party wants to develop effective vocational education, school-to-work opportunities and training for at-risk individuals. In addition to creating opportunities for their residents, the party recognizes that they must help out workers who lose their job through no fault of their own because of economic changes. To aid in these transitions, they support focused job training. Education Reform. The party believes that public education is essential to their economy, democracy, and society. The party strongly supports the Commonwealth’s ongoing effort to improve public education at all levels and calls for expansion of programs for early childhood education. Furthermore, the party believes that the current reforms should be evaluated in order to strengthen those that are working well and eliminate or revise those that are less effective. They support the expeditious development of curriculum standards and fair student evaluation mechanisms to assist with advanced decisions as students progress. They support efforts to stimulate innovations in public education that complement the existing improvements of the Education Reform Act of 1993. Charter schools offer one method of public sector innovation that must be evaluated carefully before program expansion occurs. Strong Standards. They support the Goals 2000: Education America Act, which calls upon all schools to adopt challenging academic standards in core subjects for all students and recognize the responsibility of state and local communities to provide support and assistance for students to achieve them. They believe that school systems, teachers, and administrators must be held to strong standards of accountability. Health Care The Massachusetts Democratic Party strongly believes that health care is a right, not a privilege; a necessity, not a luxury. Therefore, they support the creation of a single payer health care system both in Massachusetts and in the federal level. The Party believes that Massachusetts should continue its leadership in health care policy by being the first in the nation to institute a single payer health care system that will cover all of the residents of Massachusetts. It is their belief that as well as increasing the well being of our residents, the control of ever escalating health care costs will prove an attractive magnet to businesses. They support aggressive measures to bring health insurance to large numbers of adults and children who remain uninsured. They commend the Kennedy-Kassebaum law for its worker protection, insurance portability, and the preexisting condition reform as well as the efforts of Senators Kennedy and Kerry to expand health coverage for the millions of uninsured American children. Access. They support the 1996 Act to Improve Health Care Access which will provide coverage to the Commonwealth’s uninsured children, expand Medicaid program to poor and working families, and provide needy seniors with prescription drugs. The Party applauds the efforts of the Legislature to insure full implementation of this new law, funded by new tobacco taxes. They call upon our Congressional Delegation and Legislature to continue to advocate for a single payer health care program both on the state and federal level. They recognize that comprehensive health care reform is the only way we can assure that health care will become “a right, not a privilege.” Abortion Choice. The Democratic Party reaffirms their belief that a woman has a right to choose whether and when to have a child. They support the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v Wade decision as the law of the land and oppose any constitutional amendment, law or regulation to restrict or overturn that decision. They condemn acts of violence and intimidation which inhibit the rights of women seeking services. They pledge to work for comprehensive reproductive health care programs to improve the health and safety or pregnancy and childbirth, including adequate prenatal and pediatric care, affordable adoption programs and family planning counseling, with special focus on the needs of the poor, rural, and the young. Welfare. They are committed to the challenge of helping welfare recipients successfully find and keep jobs and believe that they must innovate in job training and education to ensure that support systems in child care, transportation, and health insurance are in place to afford people the opportunity to work. They are committed to providing a safety net to members of their families in times of need. They recognize that for some, that transition will take a lifetime. They support measures that reduce, not increase, the number of children living in poverty. Gun Control. They support a comprehensive ban on the sale, transfer, use or possession of assault weapons, strict enforcement of the Bartley-Fox gun law, and strong laws to require safety devices on guns. They support efforts to track illegal gun distributors and target them for swift prosecution. Youth Issues Prevention. They believe the best public safety strategy is early intervention and prevention. They support increased endeavors to work with troubled young people and support the development of secure substance abuse treatment facilities for adolescents and women. They call for increased efforts to provide parental training to young parents, especially those of at-risk families. They support increased efforts to provide teens with summer jobs, expanded employment opportunities, and safe community centers. They strongly endorse continued state support for the community policing efforts as referenced in the 1994 Law Enforcement Act. Juvenile Justice. They must continue to deal swiftly and firmly with violent juvenile offenders, holding violent juveniles accountable while providing immediate intervention for lesser offenders. They support the efforts of federal and state authorities to work together to target gang violence by dealing swiftly and firmly with gang members who commit violent crimes and by offering positive alternatives to young people willing to turn away from violence. Equal Rights and Opportunity Race/Gender. Discrimination. They believe in equal employment opportunities for all citizens and a fair chance to obtain a meaningful job. They endorse equal access to all trades and occupations without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability. They endorse equal pay and benefits for work of comparable worth. They endorse the requirement of adequate workplace notice and uniform grievance procedures. They call for the enforcement of civil protections for victims of discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Class. Worker’s Rights. They reaffirm our commitment to protect the well-being of workers, to defend their rights and to value their efforts. Wages. They support the state prevailing wage law and its enforcement. They endorse the Responsible Employer Ordinance and its requirements: pay the prevailing wage, provide health insurance for all employees, be affiliated with a state-certified apprenticeship program, classify workers as employees—not “independent contractors,” provide appropriate workers compensation insurance for all employees and comply with local residency requirements when insisted upon by the community. Disability Issues People with Disabilities. They reaffirm their strong support for the provisions of the American with Disabilities Act, which provides access to education, transportation, housing, work apprenticeship, professional training, public facilities and accommodations. Information taken from:
Massachusetts Democratic Party Platform:
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