This midterm election is fast approaching, and it has certainly stirred up a lot of interest for the voters of Massachusetts. One new movement spawned by this election is referred to as the “No Kings” protests and the best definition for this is based upon a resistance to a perceived overreach of the powers of the executive branch of our federal government, and in particular President Donald Trump. Even our governor, Maura Healey, attended a “No Kings” rally on March 28.
But if we take a look inside our own state borders, shining the spotlight on two key issues and reflecting on the reactions of the top leaders in Massachusetts will reveal who the real “kings and queens” are and, more importantly, how they pose a threat to our democracy.
The first attribute of our government under attack is one given to the citizens in the Massachusetts Constitution, and it is the right of us as citizens to “initiative petition” for a legislative ballot question to create or change laws. Only 23 other states have this cherished privilege. For reference, in 2026, citizens did the work and submitted 47 ballot questions to the Legislature and state Attorney General Andrea Campbell. Only nine of these reached all the thresholds necessary for the final cut for the statewide ballot. A large number of these suffered either inaction by the Legislature or lacked the required number of signatures.
But, more ominous is what happened to three questions that did meet all requirements at all steps of the process, including exceeding the required 74,000 signatures by providing approximately 100,000 signatures, but were subsequently disqualified by the state Supreme Judicial Court due to “errors” on the part of the attorney general. One question was regarding capping rent control at 5% yearly. The second question would have reduced the income tax from 5% down to 4%, and the third question was related to legislative stipends.
After the SJC punted the rent control question off the ballot, Campbell, with a salary of $223,000, stated that it was a “stupid” error on her part. The larger question then becomes: Should the right of the voters suffer because the AG herself wrote the language and then made the “stupid” mistake?
In regards to the tax reduction question, it is not a secret that both House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka held great disdain for this request of the citizens when they referred to it as a “gimmick.” And Healey has shown contempt for this when she stated that “People can’t afford this.” Polls reveal that 74% of citizens and 92% of businesses support trimming the income tax. These legislators have exposed a wide gap between the “will of the people” through the “initiative process” and their opposition to the will of the citizens of our commonwealth.
The second attribute under attack is Proposition 2½. Prop. 2½ became law in 1980 in response to uncontrolled property tax hikes by towns and cities. It reached a peak average of 100 overrides per year in the years 2001-2010. In 2026 there were 54 towns filing 74 tax override proposals with 38 of these proposals failing. This spike in requests has been attributed to declining local aid funds from Boston. Healey has proposed new legislation allowing towns and cities to raise certain local taxes to circumvent holding tax increases to 2.5%, this while raising the state budget by 5% in 2026 and by 4% in 2027. And, Healey ally Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston has openly stated she would favor repealing Prop. 2½.
Our commonwealth is fast approaching a tipping point between the state and local governments demanding more money and the citizens who are sending the message that the limit has been reached.
It is not the “kings” in Washington that we should be concerned about, but rather the “real kings and queens” right here in Massachusetts. And this all seems reminiscent of the effect “King George” had on the colonies at the time of the American Revolution. In less than 30 days we have an opportunity to “set the ship” on a more sensible course and change starts at the top.
Lawrence Tucker lives in South Hadley.