Jane Swift

Latest Articles

Taking sides

The US Senate election is forcing Massachusetts pols to choose their team. Plus, Pagliuca’s plan, and the state GOP tries to get serious.
The stakes are high in the battle for Massachusetts’s first new US senatorship in a quarter-century.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 04, 2009

The punch that took two lives

Nearly 17 years ago, Joe Donovan initiated a tragic chain of events with a brutish act of machismo. But should he be in jail for life?
When he was 17 years old, Joseph Donovan made the first of two stupid, and even reckless, mistakes. On the evening of September 18, 1992, in a brutish act of machismo, the East Cambridge native and minor-league delinquent punched out Norwegian MIT student Yngve Raustein.
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 05, 2009

Grading the cabinet

At the midway point of Governor Deval Patrick's first term, we issue a report card for his cabinet
As we watch President Barack Obama replace the federal government's old, unpopular, Republican department heads with fresh, bright talent, it's hard not to think back two years, to the start of Governor Deval Patrick's first term as governor of Massachusetts.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 29, 2009

Meet your Massachusetts Governor's Council

Clown committee
In this perilous economy, Governor Deval Patrick is faced with extraordinary economic challenges.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 14, 2009

The right stuff

Senator John Kerry has it; challenger Ed O’Reilly doesn’t. Plus, Sarah Palin’s Hannah Montana equation.
Politics is often a matter of perspective.
By EDITORIAL | September 10, 2008

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Women on the verge

Clinton die-hards have created a new-girls’ network bent on remedying decades of sexism by putting women in elected office
At next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, Hillary Clinton’s delegates will get just about everything they’ve wanted — aside from the nomination of their candidate, of course.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 20, 2008

The trolley Svengali

Why Dan Grabauskas might actually fix the T — if he can keep his job
When the T works, we usually don’t notice. But when it doesn’t, our reaction is swift and severe.
By ADAM REILLY | April 30, 2008

Time to break a sweat

Massachusetts may be beyond reform, but couldn’t Governor Patrick try a little harder?
Deval Patrick won the governor’s office by raising expectations that he could quickly make a difference on Beacon Hill.
By EDITORIAL | April 16, 2008

New Hampshire notebook

The day after the Iowa caucuses, more than a dozen reporters and a hundred or so citizens, trudged to New England College to watch Mike Huckabee get down with Chuck Norris.
By MARGARET DORIS | January 09, 2008

Old Mitt of the Mountain

How the Romney campaign crumbled and fell in the Granite State primary
Mitt Romney had a golden opportunity a week ago to do something about his inauthenticity problem, the one that even his most ardent supporters in New Hampshire recognize.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 28, 2010

Dumb or dishonest?

Bush and Iran. Plus, disturbing news about AIDS, and Romney’s illegal problem
For some reason, wisdom maintains that Republicans hold an edge over Democrats when it comes to commanding the military and conducting foreign policy.
By EDITORIAL | December 05, 2007

Murphy’s big tent

In his bid for re-election, city councilor Stephen Murphy has collected a combustible group of allies, from Dapper to Deval
In the past few years, Murphy has recast himself to reflect the changing city.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 17, 2007

Letting the DA skate

Violence rises, prosecutions plummet, and nobody points a finger at Boston’s top law-enforcement officer
In Boston’s sharp-elbowed political world, when anything goes wrong assigning blame usually takes top priority.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 20, 2007

Martha’s quick start

In her first four months as attorney general, Martha Coakley has shown political deftness — and a desire to play a major role in state policy
Martha Coakley told opponents of same-sex marriage this past week she would use the full force of her new office to fight their efforts.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 16, 2007

Economy travel

Why Governor Patrick’s helicopter ride was A-okay. Plus, war with Iran?
Remember Jane Swift? She was the likeable-enough political-mediocrity chosen as Governor Paul Cellucci’s running mate in order to produce a gender-friendly ticket.
By EDITORIAL | February 14, 2007

Massachusetts pols with money in hand but no place to go

Campaign finance
Had John Kerry decided to run for president again, the state’s political floodgates were ready to open.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 31, 2007

Good Deval, bad Deval

How will Governor Patrick work the press?
There are a few ways to interpret Deval Patrick’s weeklong million-dollar inaugural bash, which includes festivities throughout Massachusetts and concludes with Patrick’s swearing-in outside the State House on January 4.
By ADAM REILLY | January 08, 2007

Flashbacks: November 3, 2006

The Boston Phoenix has been covering the trends and events that shape our times since 1966.
These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Dan Peleschuk, Ian Sands, and Eva Wolchover.
By FLASHBACKS | November 01, 2006

The Mormonator

Mitt Romney’s blinding ambition. Plus, the inexplicable opposition to an Armenian-genocide memorial.
Political dynasties are as American as apple pie.
By EDITORIAL | October 30, 2006

GOP, RIP

Arguably at its lowest point ever, can the Massachusetts Republican Party rescue itself from its leaders?
Trivia question: if Kerry Healey loses her gubernatorial bid in November, who will be the top Republican elected official in Massachusetts, based on voter constituency, after Mitt Romney leaves in January? Political stock report: Who’s got the best chance of filling the Mass. GOP’s leadership void? By David S. Bernstein
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 13, 2006

Political stock report

Who’s got the best chance of filling the Mass. GOP’s leadership void?
Charles Baker is the party establishment’s favorite, and with good reason. GOP RIP: Arguably at its lowest point ever, can the Massachusetts Republican Party rescue itself from its leaders? By David S. Bernstein
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 11, 2006

Kicking and screaming

How much Democratic bad blood is too much?
Every four years, right around Labor Day, the interests of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the Democratic candidates for governor become almost totally divergent.
By ADAM REILLY | September 15, 2006

Flashbacks: September 8, 2006

The Boston Phoenix has been covering the trends and events that shape our times since 1966.
These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Ian Sands.
By PHOENIX FLASHBACKS | September 06, 2006

Battle of the second bananas

Three Democrats want to be Lieutenant Governor. Who’s the party’s best bet?
Being Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts has its headaches.
By ADAM REILLY | August 28, 2006

A Handy Guide to the Big Dig Screw-Up

Who was watching out for the integrity of the work on the Big Dig? Everyone and no one
As people try to sort out responsibility for the fiasco that led to the death of Milena Del Valle in the I-90 connector tunnel, you might have a hard time keeping the players straight.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 27, 2006

Daisy, Horton, ¡Peligro!

Three ads to spice up the guv race
The Massachusetts governor’s election is just six short months away, but three candidates — Republican lieutenant governor Kerry Healey, Democratic attorney general Tom Reilly, and independent businessman Christy Mihos — still haven’t rolled out any video ads.
By ADAM REILLY | May 04, 2006

Bush’s high crimes

Plus, Romney’s whining and Menino’s grim job
President Bush’s penchant for authoritarianism — for executive power unchecked by either Congress or the courts — has been laid bare by his aggressive and unapologetic defense of the indefensible: the secret surveillance of Americans without warrants.
By | January 04, 2006