There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local representatives voted with their party’s leadership in the 2025 session.

Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 113 votes from the 2025 House session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls that were not votes on local issues.

The votes of 132 Democrats were compared to the votes of Democratic Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy.

The votes of the 24 Republicans were compared to the votes of House Republican Minority Leader Brad Jones, R-North Reading.

On the 113 roll calls, Mariano and Jones voted the same way on 68 roll calls (60.2%) and voted the opposite way from each other on 45 roll calls (39.8%)  

A total of 122 (92.4%) of the 132 Democrats voted with Mariano 100% of the time. There were only 10 Democratic representatives who voted differently from Mariano on any roll calls. Five of those voted differently from Mariano just once.

Mariano did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to comment on why he thinks that 92.4% of Democratic representatives voted the same way that he did 100% of the time. 

The Democratic representative who voted least frequently with Mariano was Rep. Colleen Garry, D-Dracut, who voted with Mariano only 81.8% of the time. Garry did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking her to comment on this.

The other four Democrats who voted differently than Mariano more than once are Reps. David Robertson, D-Tewksbury, who voted with Mariano 92% of the time; Alan Silvia, D-Fall River, who voted with Mariano 95% of the time; Jeffrey Turco, D-Winthrop, who voted with Mariano 95.5% of the time; and Francisco Paulino, D-Methuen, who voted with Mariano 96.3% of the time.

The five Democratic representatives who voted differently from Mariano only once are Reps. Jennifer Armini, D-Marblehead; Michelle Badger, D-Plymouth; Dennis Gallagher, D-Bridgewater; Steven Ouellette, D-Westport; and Richard Wells, D-Milton. They voted in agreement with Mariano 99.1% of the time.

Beacon Hill Roll Call asked all these representatives why they voted differently from Mariano at least once, while 122 of their colleagues voted with Mariano 100% of the time. Only two responded.

Rep. Jeff Turco: “The people of Winthrop and Revere elected me knowing I would vote my conscience. I proudly voted with Speaker Mariano and the overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives, in often unanimous votes, when I agreed that the particular legislation was more positive than negative.  On several occasions, I concluded as a matter of conscience that the negative outweighed the good and I voted accordingly.”

Rep. Alan Silvia: “While I respect the speaker, my votes reflect the specific concerns of my district. I strongly believe that we are elected to independently review each issue and cast a vote in the best interest of the people I represent. Differences of opinion are or should be viewed as a healthy part of the legislative process. I remain committed to working collaboratively with my colleagues and leadership as we move forward.”

None of the 24 GOP members voted with Jones 100% of the time.

The Republican representative who voted least frequently with Jones is Rep. John Gaskey, R-Carver, who voted with Jones 64.2% of the time.

“I was sent to Beacon Hill by my district that was demanding change,” Gaskey told Beacon Hill Roll Call. “They were tired of the state funding and supporting illegal immigrants over citizens and veterans. They were tired of ‘go along to get along’ politics.  That message is codified in my voting record.”

Rounding out the top five GOP representatives who voted with Jones least frequently are Reps. Nick Boldyga, R-Southwick, who voted with Jones 66.6% of the time; Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica, who voted with Jones 67.9% of the time; Alyson Sullivan-Almeida, R-Abington, who voted with Jones 77.7% of the time; and Ken Sweezey, who voted with Jones 81.2% of the time.

Beacon Hill Roll Call asked all these representatives to comment on their voting record. Only one responded.

“The Minority Leader [Brad Jones] votes in lockstep with the Democrats and their failed policies,” Boldyga said. “He allows the Beacon Hill Machine to continue to steamroll the taxpayers. My voting record is consistent and principled in defense of my constituents and taxpayers all across the commonwealth. It only makes sense that our voting records do not align.”

Jones told Beacon Hill Roll Call, “The members of the House Republican Caucus represent many diverse districts across the state, so a particular policy or budget issue that is popular in some members’ districts might not have the same support in other members’ districts. It does not surprise me that none of the caucus members voted with me 100% of the time. The numbers seem to be a reflection of my encouragement to members to always be mindful of voting the interests of their district and constituency first and foremost.”

Athol Rep. Susannah Whipps is the only unenrolled House member and is not affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic party. We based her record on how many times she voted with Democratic House Speaker Ron Mariano. She voted with Mariano 100% of the time.

The following sources were also asked to weigh in on the voting records.

Mary Connaughton, chief operating officer and director of government transparency at the Pioneer Institute: “Legislators come into office believing they’ll make a difference on Beacon Hill. They learn quickly that it’s in their best interest to get along by going along. The stipend scheme rewards loyalty to party leadership and is a systematic way of thwarting open debate and legislator independence. We will never have the Legislature envisioned by John Adams without meaningful reform.”

Paul Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance: “The leader of the House Republicans voted with the Democratic speaker over 60% of the time. Taxpayers are completely abandoned at the State House when the Republican minority leader gets his marching orders from the Democratic speaker. Taxpayers need a watchdog by the leader of the minority party, not a lap dog for the majority party. The Republicans in the House need to elect a leader to lead them, not a babysitter for the speaker. It’s time new people step up into leadership roles with the Republican House caucus.”

Scotia Hille, executive director of Act on Mass: “2025’s voting record proves that leadership’s consolidation of power in the State House is near-absolute and our representative democracy is broken. The 6 million Bay Staters represented by Democrats on Beacon Hill are left to hope that their needs and opinions are shared by the 15,000 people in Quincy and Randolph who elect Speaker Mariano to his House seat. For a healthy democracy and a State House that works for all Massachusetts residents, rank-and-file Democrats must be able to publicly break from leadership without fear of retribution. This year, we challenge tools of power like the corrupt stipend system in hopes of securing such a State House in 2027.”

The percentage next to the representative’s name represents the percentage of times the representative supported his or her party’s leadership in 2025. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the representative opposed his or her party’s leadership.

Some representatives voted on all 113 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll calls. The percentage for each representative is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted.

  • Rep. Natalie Blais — 100% (0)
  • Rep. Aaron Saunders — 100% (0)
  • Rep. Susannah Whipps — 100% (0)                        

Also up on Beacon Hill

Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day (H 4625)

The House gave initial approval to legislation that would designate Oct. 15 as Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Massachusetts to promote public awareness of lobular breast cancer, encourage education and support related research efforts.

“While knocking on doors during my campaign in Pinehills, I had a conversation at one home with Plymouth resident Laurie Hutcheson, executive director of the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance, that introduced me to lobular breast cancer — a disease I had never heard of, despite the fact that it accounts for 10% to 15% of all breast cancer cases and is the second most common form of the disease,” said sponsor Rep. Michelle Badger, D-Plymouth. “Through continued conversations, Laurie shared critical information about how lobular breast cancer is difficult to detect on mammograms because it does not form distinct lumps but instead appears as striations, often described as spider-web-like patterns, lacks its own targeted treatment and frequently goes undiagnosed for years. I am proud to have filed this bill … to raise awareness, promote earlier detection and help prevent further unnecessary loss of life.”

Forever chemicals (H 4870)

The Public Health Committee gave a favorable report to and recommended passage by the full House and Senate of a bill to protect public health from toxic “forever chemicals,” which are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The measure would phase out PFAS in many products, cut industrial discharges of PFAS, and set up a fund to help communities test and treat PFAS in drinking water, soil and groundwater.

Supporters said that in Massachusetts, 172 public water systems in 96 cities and towns, as well as many private wells, have exceeded the state’s legal limit for PFAS, which are toxic even at very low-level exposure and do not break down easily, meaning they will persist for thousands of years in the environment. They argued that PFAS can increase the risk of developing cancers, immunosuppression, liver disease, and developmental and reproductive illnesses. They said that 28 states have passed laws to ban PFAS in at least one product, and most states in New England, except Massachusetts, have banned PFAS in food packaging, firefighting foam, carpets, clothing, fabric sprays and personal care products.

“This is great news for Massachusetts residents,” said Deirdre Cummings, legislative director at MASSPIRG.

“Other states have already enacted laws to restrict PFAS in some or all products,” said Laura Spark, Environmental Health Program director at Clean Water Action. “Now it’s time for Massachusetts to act. PFAS contamination in Massachusetts will continue to worsen until PFAS restrictions go into effect.”

Personnel records (H 2112)

The House gave initial approval to a bill that would expand a current law that prohibits an employer from penalizing, in any way, an employee as a result of any action on the part of the employee to seek his or her rights under the Massachusetts wage laws, which are designed to ensure that workers are fairly treated and paid for all the hours they work. The bill would provide the same protection to employees who ask their employers to provide the employee with any of his or her personnel records.

Under current law, an employer is required to notify an employee within 10 days of the employer placing in the employee’s personnel record any information to the extent that the information is, has been used or may be used, to negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or the possibility that the employee will be subject to disciplinary action. Once notified, the employee can request a copy of his or her records. The bill would prohibit the employer from penalizing an employee who does so.

Supporters said the bill will guarantee that an employee is not penalized for making a simple and reasonable request to see his or her personnel records.

Rep. Kenneth Gordon, D-Bedford, the sponsor of the measure, did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to explain why he filed the bill and to comment on its initial approval.