About

The Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts is a group of concerned citizens organized to promote social justice, political reform, and progressive values throughout the Commonwealth focusing on local and state-level issues.

Electoral and Issue Advocacy

PDM members work together in our own communities and across the state to elect progressive candidates and to advance a progressive agenda at the state and local levels.

Networking and Training

We host local and statewide events, including trainings, forums, issues conferences, and receptions, to conect our members, help them develop their skills, and educate them about issues and candidates.

Work in Coalitions

PDM is an active member of key coalitions of progressive organizations, including MassAlliance (a coalition of more than two dozen leading progressive groups who work together to identify, support, and elect progressive candidates for office), Raise Up Massachusetts (a broad-based coalition of community, labor, and faith-based groups pursuing an agenda of key issues), and Mass Power Forward (a coalition advancing local, clean, renewable energy solutions). Together we strive to build progressive political power.

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People’s Hearing on Bills for Legislative Reform
People’s Hearing on Bills for Legislative Reform
Jun 11, 2025
The Coalition to Reform Our Legislature (CROL) will hold a people’s hearing on two bills, filed by its members and allies, which would improve the way that our legislature operates. The bill
A Landmark Victory for Vocational Education Admissions
A Landmark Victory for Vocational Education Admissions
Jun 11, 2025
A momentous step forward has been taken in the fight for equity in vocational education admissions.  On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in fav
Letter from Vocational Education Justice Coalition
Letter from Vocational Education Justice Coalition
Apr 1, 2025
March 26, 2025 Honorable Governor Maura Healey, Governor of the Commonwealth Kate Cook, Chief of Staff Patrick Tutwiler, Secretary of Education Russell Johnston, Acting Commissioner of...

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Our Events

  • PDM Virtual Forum | What's with Legislative Reform?

    Jun 12, 2026  10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    What's with Legislative Reform?

    Register here 
     
    Our Massachusetts House and Senate continue to be outliers among state legislatures: the least productive and least transparent. 

    In 2021, PDM issued a report titled The Massachusetts Legislature: Democracy in Decline, which detailed the state of dysfunction and explored the causes. This report was the genesis of the Coalition to Reform Our Legislature (CROL), a bipartisan group that includes PDM, committed to reforming the operation of the legislature. 

    Despite the hard work of many of you, CROL’s ballot initiative to clean up the corrupt system of legislative stipends, i.e. loyalty pay, will not make it to the November 2026 ballot.

    In December 2025, CROL published an update to the 2021 report, entitled Democracy in Decline: Denial and Delay. The update tracks the lack of real progress in making change, notwithstanding heightened media attention and public awareness of the dysfunction.  

    Our panel of experts:  Jeanne Kempthorne, who wrote the original report as well as Democracy in Decline: Denial and Delay, and Scotia Hille, Executive Director, Act On Mass, a group that leads the struggle to open up our legislature, and moderator Peter Enrichemeritus professor, Northeastern Univ. School of Law, will discuss the status of legislative reform efforts and next steps.

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