Sick of the partisanship they found on both the left and right, a group of voters have gathered the small number of signatures required to add the Forward Party as a declarable political designation in Massachusetts.
By doing so, according to former Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (who is not related to current Bay State Gov. Maura Healey), the majority of Bay State voters who choose not to join either major political party might find they have a place to call home.
“Massachusetts has long been a national leader in education, health care and innovation, due in great part to its rich history of collaboration and balance between its Democratic legislature and Republican governors. But today, our political system in Massachusetts is broken. More than 60% of Massachusetts’ registered voters choose not to affiliate as either Republicans or Democrats, and the Massachusetts GOP claims only 8% of registered voters,” Healey said on Thursday.
With the filing of the 50 signatures required, unenrolled Bay State voters can now request the addition of the Forward Party designation to their voter registration and, if a candidate gathers the 10,000 signatures required, they can run for statewide office under the party’s banner.
According to information provided by Secretary of Commonwealth Bill Galvin’s office, the Forward Party will be the 30th political designation recognized in Massachusetts, joining the likes of the Reform party, the Green-Rainbow Party, the Constitution Party, the Conservative Party, and — believe it or not — the Pirate and Pizza Parties.
Founded in 2022 by former Democratic Presidential candidate and businessman Andrew Yang, who is perhaps most famous for his long-standing campaign promise of establishing a universal basic income program, the Forward Party currently has ballot access in Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.
According to the party website, the Forward Party neither right nor left but “centrist” and is still in the process of coming up with a formal party platform.
“We believe a Party’s platform should be created by a process that elevates the voice of its membership. We are engaged in a process to organize, inform, and then poll Forward members to show which policies are supported,” the party’s website reads, in part.
Healey, who served as the state’s number two executive under now-Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, said that her 43 years in the Republican party ended on January 7, 2021, the day after the attack on the Capitol Building which halted the electoral certification process. She said she started looking for a new party when it became apparent no Republican would hold any of their party’s leaders to account for that day. She currently serves as a member of the Forward Party board of directors.
Healey said that she, like many Republicans and Democrats, feel left behind by the partisan politics of the moment. Healey said that Romney, her former boss and a man who has had his own problems with the Republican party of late, would understand her position.
“60% of all Massachusetts voters have said ‘I don’t want to be labeled a Republican or a Democrat’ So the question is, what does tap into the passions of the people here in this state?” Healey said.
“Almost half of all Americans — 49% of all Americans — are actually not enrolled in a political party. We have to say, ‘why is it that 49% of the voters in America are not going to feel represented by one of these candidates?” she said.
The forward party, according to candidate for Waltham state representative and former state party leader Sean Diamond, will offer voters a choice in a state essentially run by a single political party and where incumbent candidates often run entirely unopposed.
“Today, I think, is going to be a very historic day,” he said. “I think within the next four years we might become the second biggest party in the state. And I think in the next 10 or 20 years we might become the biggest party in the state.”
Healey, a former Republican Party Chairwoman, said that she is not planning to find herself on a Forward Party ballot now or any time soon, but felt the need to lend her support to the cause. The former Republican said she will not be voting for either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump this November.
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