I decided to run for state representative because I wanted to push for change on housing, childcare and transit. But this race has shown me that our biggest problem actually is democracy – and our serious deficit of it.
I’m running in Somerville and Medford, in a seat that is open for the first time in 12 years. I assumed my biggest problem would be balancing my own childcare with all the events, forums and debates I’d have to go to, as well as the thousands of doors I planned to knock to talk to voters.
Instead, my biggest problem is getting anyone to pay attention to the race.
With mail-in ballots going out in a few weeks, my race has seen zero public forums. Only one debate has been promised, but not yet scheduled. The biggest scrutiny I may face is a Reddit AMA.
This isn’t a problem just for me.
Many incumbents coast to reelection unopposed, but Massachusetts has the least competitive Legislature in the country. In fact, this year there are three open seats – meaning there’s no incumbent running again – but in which only one person has qualified for the ballot, meaning voters there still have no choice.
Over time, that changes the culture of politics to favor insiders and risk aversion. One group told me explicitly that they made their endorsement decision based on fundraising numbers. When legislators may stay for decades, organizations are incentivized to get on their good side early.
I don’t want to complain about this, though. I want to fix it.
I’m proposing 10 items to reinvigorate our democracy so elections are contested, incumbents do not have a prohibitive advantage and voters have the chance to participate in the process:
Move the primary election to mid-June.
Make the general election the one that matters, through multimember proportional representation or open primaries (either the all-party primary approach on the ballot this year, or Alaska’s approach, called Top-Four Ranked Choice Voting).
Allow fusion voting so smaller parties can participate.
Remove legislative stipends and increase legislator base pay to encourage more people to run.
Provide state-funded booklets to voters with candidate information, as we do with ballot questions.
Move to voluntary public financing of elections.
Limit how much campaign funds can be carried through elections.
Create a legislative debate commission that will ensure voters hear from their candidates.
Encourage monthly office hours for legislators.
Set term limits of 12 years in each chamber and 24 total in the Legislature to force more competition.
Reasonable people can disagree with any individual item. I expect that. In fact, healthy disagreement is exactly what I’ve been hoping to see throughout this campaign.
But I hope we can agree that something is deeply wrong here with our democracy.
An open legislative seat should be a civic event. It should generate debate, curiosity and public engagement. Choosing the person who will represent 40,000 neighbors should never feel like an afterthought. It certainly shouldn’t happen Sept. 1 as renters move, parents get kids back to school and campaigns compete with the beach for attention.
Running for office has convinced me that Massachusetts doesn’t need just new laws to build more homes, fund better bus routes or fill the potholes on so many of my neighborhood’s streets.
It needs a democratic system in which voters are at the center and every two years they get to make the choices.
Chris Oates is running for state representative in the 34th Middlesex, which includes parts of Somerville and Medford. The seat is held by Christine Barber, in the office since 2015 but running for Pat Jehlen’s state Senate seat. Oates faces Somerville city councilor Will Mbah and Medford School Committee member Paul Ruseau.
Feature image by Undone via Flickr.
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