So this election cycle is pretty damn interesting to me.

In Massachusetts we frequently see public officials only change when there is an open seat – an incumbent has decided not to seek re-election. There is a scramble of candidates that I always find fascinating.

Or we see a handing-off of the baton with a retiring incumbent picking his or her successor and attempting to control the political narrative and outcome.

Even more of interest to me is when people decide to challenge the status quo of their party and force a primary fight. For me that is a greater expression of the democratic process than the former.

Look at what is happening here:
• Democrat Cheryl Coakley-Rivera challenged the late Donald Ashe for the Hampden County Register of Deeds position. With his untimely passing, she will be facing Republican Marie Angelides for the job.
• Democrat Amaad Rivera is taking on incumbent State Sen. James Welch for that position.
• Democrat Attorney Tahirah Amatul-Wadud is doing something I can’t ever remember a Democrat doing in years: challenging Congressman Richard Neal.
• Over the weekend I met Democrat Josh Zakim who is trying to oust longtime Secretary of State Bill Galvin.
• On the other side of the aisle, Dr. Scott Lively is running a campaign against incumbent Gov. Charlie Baker for the nomination.

At least several of the races are about the direction of the Democratic Party. In the wake of the last presidential elections there is an increasing number of Democrats who see the party drifting into an ideology that they believe does not serve the country well.

Much has been made of the support Sen. Bernie Sanders received in the last presidential race because he was not presenting a platform that was typical of the current Democratic platform. This support has resulted in several activist movements that are backing progressive Democrats.

Look at the campaign Wadud is running. Grassroots in nature, she is receiving national press coverage as a progressive trying to re-shape her party. She has criticized Neal’s voting record and recently charged he has received contributions from defense contractors.

Rivera’s campaign is receiving support for the former Democratic State Party head John Walsh, the man who helped Deval Patrick get elected as governor.

On the Republican side, Lively was able to get on the primary ballot through support at the state conventions. Calling himself “ a full spectrum conservative,” Lively has unleashed an almost daily attack on Baker through his press releases and believes he has a chance to win the nomination because there are so many dissatisfied Republican voters in the Bay State.

Races such as these give me hope as they speak to the core of our democracy. People should be voting for the candidate rather than the party and should be evaluating the performance of an incumbent. The incumbent can indeed be the best candidate, but he or she should never be expecting that since they are in office they should be returned automatically.
    
A new look
With the next edition, the look of this newspaper will be changing. Because we have a new printer the size is going to change more to a broadsheet format.

What will that mean for you?        

Well, you will probably see more local content and more photos, which is what you expect from The Reminder.

The only impact this change will make will be on me. Since I hate laying out the paper, I’ll probably swear more than usual until I get used to the new physical format.  

I might have to self-medicate with a little Scotch afterwards.