Hello! My name is Mike Connolly.
Thank you for taking a moment to visit my website — and thank you as well for allowing me the honor of serving as your State Representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
I was sworn into office in 2017, and I am pleased to report that my first terms on Beacon Hill have been fruitful and productive. Every day, I work to bring residents, colleagues, and advocates together to make progress for all who live in our Cambridge and Somerville community, and I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished together so far. Some highlights include:
Breaking Ground on the Green Line Extension Project
- When I ran for office in 2016, the Green Line Extension (GLX) project was in limbo, and Governor Baker had announced plans to scale back the design and eliminate the vital Community Path Extension component. But as a result of our consistent advocacy over the course of the past two years, I am pleased to report construction of the GLX is finally underway, and key elements of the project have been resurrected, including station platform canopies and the shared-use community path for bikes and pedestrians.
Passing Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
- For the past several years, Massachusetts has lagged behind some other states in our approach to the criminal justice system. In my first term, I co-sponsored legislation to end mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug-related offenses, and I worked to support efforts to reform bail, allow for compassionate release, and introduce restorative justice concepts and other alternatives to incarceration. I am proud to say that as a result of these and many other efforts, Massachusetts has adopted comprehensive criminal justice reform, and we are now moving in a more progressive direction.
Winning the Fight for $15 and Paid Family and Medical Leave
- For several years now, I have been standing with advocates who are fighting to win a $15 minimum wage, along with a robust Paid Family and Medical Leave program that will ensure that working people are able to take time off to deal with personal or family issues or medical concerns. Thanks in very large part to the grassroots activists who collected thousands of signatures to put these issues in front of the legislature, I am pleased to report we voted to pass both of these major economic justice initiatives into law this session.
Defending Reproductive Freedom
- With Donald Trump in the White House, and with the GOP looking to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, we know that now is the time to fight to defend reproductive freedom. In my first term, I was proud to co-sponsor several bills that became law, including the ACCESS Bill which guarantees copay-free birth control. For my efforts this session, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts described me as “the definition of a pro-choice champion.”
To find out more about these initiatives, along with information about work I have been doing to promote housing affordability, transportation infrastructure improvements, basic immigrant protections, renewable energy, a clean environment, additional gun control measures, automatic voter registration, and many other progressive concerns, I invite you to join our email list.
My Background and What Drives Me
I am a community organizer, a proud progressive Democrat and democratic socialist. I live in the Port neighborhood by Central Square with my cat Oona.
My commitment to social and economic justice stems from my own background. I was raised in public housing by a single mother who struggled with health issues. I spent time in foster care and benefited from a Head Start program and other social services as a young child.
With the help of these programs, caring community members, and an extended family, I had the support to overcome adversity and beat the odds. I went on to attend Duke University on a football scholarship. After that, I put myself through Boston College Law School, served as a managing editor for a progressive law journal, became a licensed attorney, and worked for a global technology company.
While I was fortunate to have these opportunities, however, so many of my childhood peers have ended up incarcerated, out of work, on the streets, or victims of the heroin and opioid epidemics. I know it doesn’t have to be that way, but not everyone is given the support I had, and the results are just not something that we should accept in Massachusetts.
I believe that if we continue building movements for justice and equality — and if we work together and stick to our principles — then we can do a better job addressing these challenges.
We can make broader investments in affordable housing, public transportation, early education, afterschool programs, and other critical services. These are investments that would help make my story less of an exception, and more of the rule. And I believe that this and future generations deserve that chance.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or want to help my re-election campaign or get involved in this work. Running for local office and service in office at its core is about service to the community, and I will always have an open door (and an open in-box), because I know the only way we can move our community forward is by doing it together.
Thank you, once again, for the honor of serving our community in the state legislature. Now that campaign season is upon us, I respectfully ask for your vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5th.
Yours in service,
Rep. Mike Connolly
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Election Day 2024 — voter info and a personal note
Election Day 2024 — voter info and a personal note
ShareDear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents, Friends, and Supporters:
With so much on the line in today's election, I want to take a moment to encourage you to make your voice heard — and, I also want to say Thank You for allowing me the opportunity to continue serving our community in the state legislature.
Many folks have already voted by mail or voted early. If you've yet to cast your ballot, you have until 8 pm. Please note, some of the details regarding timing and locations of drop boxes vary by city, and some polling locations have changed since the last presidential election. If you have any questions — please see the following official websites:
Elections & Voting via the Secretary of the Commonwealth
Presidential Election Voting Options via the City of Cambridge
Voting Information for the 2024 General Election via the City of Somerville
Voting has never been easier in Massachusetts, and record turnout is expected today! This is your chance to be a part of our nation's history and to help shape the future of our Commonwealth.
I am supporting three women with competitive races today — Kamala Harris for President of the United States, Elizabeth Warren for United States Senate, and Maria Curtatone for Middlesex South Register of Deeds.
I was proud to travel to New Hampshire last month to campaign for Kamala; I have been very proud to help Elizabeth collect signatures in each of her runs for United States Senate, and I have also been proud to stand with Maria in each of her runs for Register of Deeds. All three of these extraordinary women face opposition from right-wing opponents who would take us backward on various levels.
Finally, I want to express my gratitude to constituents, friends, and supporters. Election Day is a humbling experience, for we are reminded that legislators aren't appointed from on high — we are elected by voters like you.
As State Representative, I have always been willing to stand up to anyone — even House Leadership — whenever our values are at stake. At the same time, I have also been willing to work with everyone to make progress for our community. Advancing good policy and making state government work for our local residents, that is what I am committed to doing, even when it's difficult.
This year, I am very proud to be endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, Reproductive Equity Now, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Service Employees International Union, the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, the Boston Teachers Union, the Somerville Democratic City Committee, and others. I'm also pleased that my voting record has once again been ranked as the most progressive in the House of Representatives by Progressive Massachusetts.
But what I'm most proud of is the progress we've made in our community — from opening the Community Path Extension that connects East Cambridge to East Somerville, to passing legislation that helps make our schools and our courts more equitable and more just, to securing funding for local non-profits and advancing groundbreaking housing and climate policies — this work means the world to me and is a joy to do in partnership with so many colleagues and constituents.
I'm heading over to the East Somerville Community School to greet voters right now, then I plan to fill out my ballot at Cambridge City Hall later this morning. This afternoon, I have a meeting with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to discuss future improvements on Memorial Drive, a video shoot to talk about the work we're doing to advance the Green New Deal locally, and finally, I will be preparing for a meeting with the Housing Secretary tomorrow, before tuning in to watch the results this evening. Another busy day!
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to continue doing this work, and I am very hopeful that today will finally mark the end of Trumpism in America. Please be sure to vote!
Yours in service,
Rep. Mike Connolly
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Election Day 2022
Election Day 2022
ShareELECTION DAY 2022 IS FINALLY HERE!
Polls are now open until 8 pm today.
Have you voted yet? Or do you have a plan to return your ballot or vote in person?
If you are still holding on to a Vote By Mail ballot, Secretary Galvin recommends that voters who have yet to mail their ballot bring it to a local drop box to avoid it not reaching election officials in time. Technically, it has to be postmarked by today and arrive at the local elections office by 5 pm on Saturday — but the surest way to ensure it is counted is to return it today.
Also please note: many wards, precincts, and polling locations have changed this year as a result of the Constitutionally-required decennial redistricting process.
For City of Cambridge voting information, please see the Cambridge Election Commission website.
For City of Somerville voting information, please see the Somerville Elections Department website.
For statewide polling location information, please visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website.
Here in Massachusetts, we have a historic opportunity to elect women to our Constitutional Offices and to win tax fairness and some immigrant justice by voting Yes on Questions 1 and 4. For the record, I voted Yes on all four questions.
I'm proud to support the Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll ticket — they will be the first all-woman elected gubernatorial ticket in our nation's history, and Maura Healey will be the first open lesbian elected Governor in our nation's history as well. In addition, I am very excited that Maura has included support for local option rent control in her housing platform, and she's also expressed support for our fossil fuel-free local demonstration projects and supervised consumption sites, which are proven to help save lives in response to the opioid epidemic.
It's also important to support Diana DiZoglio for State Auditor — I've been proud to call her a colleague in the state legislature, but she's now facing some vicious attacks from Charlie Baker's political machine as Republicans try to hold on to a single statewide office. Diana is smart, tough, fearless, and very independent, a perfect combination for the position of state auditor.
Nationally, we face the very real possibility of an end to the democratic system and the total loss of reproductive freedom if election-denying Republicans are allowed to gain control of Congress. Let's hope the polls are wrong, and please do everything you can to encourage your friends and relatives in other states to vote blue today.
Anyways, I'm heading off to the polls right now to record voter turnout data for the Maura Healey, Kim Driscoll, and Andrea Campbell campaigns. Then circa noontime, I'll be joining Maura Healey and Ayanna Pressley at the West Branch Library in Somerville.
Please make sure your voice is heard in this critical moment, and as always, feel free to contact me directly with any questions about voting here in Cambridge and Somerville.
Yours in service,
Rep. Mike Connolly