Emma Platoff
The Boston Globe
Austin, TX, United States
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Past articles by Emma:
Boston formally drops vaccine mandate for some first responders unions
More than a year after Mayor Michelle Wu’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate sparked outrage among some public safety workers, Wu’s administration has agreed to drop the policy for two first responders unions. → Read More
With a divided Boston City Council, Mayor Michelle Wu often gets her way
Whether due to councilors' internal divisions or the mayor's broad legal power and political savvy, Michelle Wu has prevailed in disagreements with the legislative body. → Read More
Boston City Council to vote on rent control, BPDA restructuring Wednesday
Should the council rally behind her, Mayor Michelle Wu will notch a pair of important victories. But both policy changes would require sign-off from the state Legislature and governor before going into effect. → Read More
Campaign finance regulators investigating whether MassGOP coordinated with superPAC, in violation of law
State campaign finance regulators are investigating whether the Massachusetts Republican Party coordinated with an outside super PAC, in a potential violation of state law, the party’s new leader confirmed this week. → Read More
As Wu battles opposition on rent control, City Council signals it’s open to compromise
This week, several councilors from across the body’s ideological spectrum either outright supported or sounded more open to Wu’s proposal, which would tie permissible rent increases to the health of the economy, with a cap of 10 percent in high inflation years. → Read More
Mayor Wu outlines plans to commemorate 10th anniversary of Boston Marathon bombings
Along with the full-on event returning, Boston will also have “a full day of commemoration to really mark the experiences that our city, and survivors, first responders, our healthcare community went through,” Mayor Michelle Wu said on WBUR’s “Radio Boston.” → Read More
As Wu policies alarm the real estate industry, business leaders turn to Healey
Some industry officials are betting that Maura Healey will serve as a check on the more progressive Michelle Wu — and hoping that if the Boston mayor’s farthest-reaching proposals land on the governor’s desk, they can count on a veto. → Read More
New super PAC launches, seeking to boost Black candidates in local Mass. races
Reynolds Graves, a lobbyist and alum of political campaigns in Boston and statewide, last week formed the 1866 Action Fund, named after the first Black lawmakers, Edward Garrison Walker and Charles Lewis Mitchell, elected to the Massachusetts Legislature. → Read More
When it comes to rent control, Wu’s plan aims for a delicate balance
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has to do the seemingly impossible: persuade decision-makers that her proposal goes far enough to rein in the worst of rent-gouging, but not so far that it will stop housing investment. → Read More
Mass. Republican Party elects new leader, rejecting chairman Jim Lyons’s bid for third term
The Republican State Committee voted 37-34 to make Amy Carnevale its new chair, turning to a longtime state committee member and Trump supporter from Marblehead who has worked in the White House and on Capitol Hill. → Read More
Troubled Massachusetts GOP to hold election for chair, with party’s future on the line
Contending with internal chaos, legal and financial challenges, and dwindling political influence, the Republican State Committee is set to convene in Marlborough on Tuesday to decide on its leadership. → Read More
In first State of the City address, Michelle Wu pledges to overhaul Boston’s planning process
Mayor Wu’s address, delivered Wednesday evening at the MGM Music Hall in Fenway to an audience of several thousand, signaled that her second year as mayor will be focused largely on housing, development, and climate goals. → Read More
What to watch for in Michelle Wu’s first State of the City speech Wednesday night
Expect to hear the mayor talk about her signature issues: transportation, the municipal Green New Deal, education, and housing and development in the city. → Read More
Struggling Mass. GOP had just $35,000 in its coffers, on net, treasurer says
The struggling Massachusetts Republican Party had just over $35,000 in its campaign accounts as of the end of December, far less than it reported to state campaign finance officials, according to a balance sheet circulated Tuesday by Party Treasurer Pat Crowley and obtained by the Globe. → Read More
Embattled Mass. GOP chairman spent $1,800 to investigate fellow Republicans, documents show
Jim Lyons spent $1,800 — including $800 in party funds — to investigate two political rivals who serve with him on the Republican State Committee, documents and invoices obtained by the Globe show. → Read More
Michelle Wu rolls out legislative package, gearing up to lobby Beacon Hill
Boston is pushing for approval to levy a new tax on high-value real estate transactions, as well as a seat on the board that oversees the MBTA, both policies that failed on Beacon Hill last year. → Read More
E-mails appear to show coordination between Mass. GOP chairman and outside PAC, in alleged violation of state law
Embattled Mass. Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons appears to have communicated directly with an outside political action committee about digging up dirt on Governor Maura Healey during last year’s election, according to e-mails obtained by the Globe. → Read More
Michelle Wu promised ‘significant reform’ to police union contracts. Now comes the hard part.
The city’s largest police union is already trying to push contract talks off the bargaining table and into the hands of outside arbitrators, a move that has historically favored the unions. → Read More
The latest challenge for the beleaguered Massachusetts state GOP: Tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills
The Massachusetts Republican Party now appears to have mounting financial and legal problems, including a pile of overdue bills. → Read More
‘Massachusetts can, and will, lead the world’: Maura Healey sworn in as Massachusetts’ 73rd governor
Maura Healey makes history as the first woman ever elected to the post here and one of the nation’s first openly lesbian governors. → Read More