If three examples make a trend, then we indeed have a trend: the MBTA Communities Act is slowly hemorrhaging support on Beacon Hill. Not a lot. Not decisively so. At least not yet. But you can’t ignore the fact that House Speaker Ron Mariano, a GOP gubernatorial candidate and Republican lawmakers in general have now all expressed, in some way, reservations, doubts, concerns etc. about the transit-oriented housing law that’s fiercely opposed in some communities. … Might as well throw in Auditor Diana DiZoglio as a fourth example of someone questioning the basis of the law. … My assumption is the reservations, doubts, concerns etc. will only intensify as we approach the ’26 elections.  …

The Hub Blog mind drifts to the Globe’s excellent lessons-learned story about our initial response to the Covid crisis – and how we got a lot of things wrong. Are we going to look back one day and say the same thing about our response to the housing crisis, that we got a lot of things wrong? I’m not saying the MBTA Communities Act is wrong. I think it’s necessary, generally. But I’m beginning to wonder if it’s too much stick and not enough carrot.