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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
NEW: OPERATIVE RAMPING UP PRO-MARKEY PAC — Sen. Ed Markey could soon get a boost from an environmentally-minded super PAC in his primary battle against Rep. Joe Kennedy III.
George Bachrach, the former president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, is working behind the scenes to put together an operation to support of Markey through the nonprofit Environment America. The Environment America Action Fund pledged in September to spend $1 million on behalf of Markey's campaign. Bachrach has recently reached out operatives who specialize in polling and media consulting.
"I think we're moving as quickly as we can move, and I think we want to get this done if we're going to do it," Bachrach said, saying the group would focus efforts on paid media. "The message would be simple and clear — the senator's singular leadership on climate change and his work with AOC on the Green New Deal."
Markey filed the Green New Deal resolution with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez last year.
Bachrach's plan has added fuel to a disagreement Markey and Kennedy have had since their rivalry began. Kennedy wants Markey to take a so-called People's Pledge to limit outside spending in the Senate primary, a pact Markey did take during his 2013 campaign.
Meanwhile, Markey has put forward his own version of the pledge, which would allow for "positive voices" like environmental advocacy and reproductive rights groups to spend money. Kennedy outraised Markey by $1 million last quarter.
The lawmakers have not come to an agreement. Kennedy's campaign slammed Markey yesterday for allowing his allies to bring "dark money" into the race by spending on his behalf.
"Six days ago Senator Markey sent an email to his supporters saying that 'a tsunami of undisclosed, unlimited campaign spending' has 'polluted our democracy,'" said Kennedy spokesperson Emily Kaufman, referencing an email Markey sent supporters about Citizens United. "Meanwhile, his allies are quietly working behind the scenes to bring millions of that same dark money into this race. This is frustrating and disappointing — and Senator Markey can speak up and put a stop to it by signing onto the same People's Pledge he signed in 2013."
But Markey's campaign reiterated that groups it deems positive should be allowed to get involved. Kennedy balked at that suggestion in December, calling the proposal a loophole "big enough to drive a truck through."
"In this campaign, we have called for an updated 2020 People's Pledge which prohibits outside, negative advertising, and demands disclosure of advertising funding," said Markey campaign manager John Walsh. "We should not silence or stifle the voices of positive, progressive organizations, like our reproductive health champions, labor unions, and environmental and climate advocates who disclose their donors."
A super PAC can raise and spend unlimited sums of money to support the candidate of its choice in the Sept. 1 primary. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Sen. Scott Brown, for example, took a People's Pledge in 2012. That race was still the most expensive in the country.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker testifies before the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attend a ribbon cutting at the MassRobotics headquarters. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito makes grant announcements in Fitchburg and Lawrence. Polito and Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty make a Worcester Red Sox announcement. Boston City Council President Kim Janey hosts a cannabis town hall. Former Gov. Bill Weld holds a fundraiser in Gloucester for his presidential campaign.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "'I've never participated in a meeting like that': Inside the House's great transportation debate," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "One group of lawmakers suggested tolls at the state's border. Others want a dedicated revenue stream for regional transit hubs. Some simply asked that their towns not be forgotten. As Massachusetts House leaders shape the details of a long-awaited transportation financing bill, they have spent weeks systematically meeting behind closed doors with the caucuses and delegations that make up the chamber's membership, asking for input on a bill that could raise hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes or fees. The approach is an unusual and painstaking one that, legislative leaders hope, will solicit ideas and help build consensus for a bill that would separate residents from more of their money — no small task in an election year."
- "Ex-Fox News host joins State House battle on nondisclosure agreements," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "WHEN GRETCHEN CARLSON filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes in a scandal that ultimately led to his firing, she said she had no idea that her complaint would help ignite the #MeToo movement, a cultural shift that has empowered women to go public with complaints about workplace sexual harassment. Carlson signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of a $20 million settlement she reached with Fox, in which the news network publicly apologized to her."
- "Baker proposes bigger budget for elevator inspections," by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: "In his new budget proposal, Gov. Charlie Baker allotted just over $16 million to the state office that oversees elevator inspections, a 7% increase from last year's budget. A Business Journal investigation published in June found that more than 4,500 of the state's roughly 42,000 elevators did not comply with inspection requirements. Nearly a dozen people were injured on elevators with expired inspection certificates from 2016 to 2018, according to incident reports obtained through public records requests."
- "State eyes plan to improve diversity among teachers," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "For more than two decades, the exams Massachusetts teachers and administrators must take to secure their professional licenses have been marred by gaping racial disparities in pass rates, driving a disproportionate share of educators of color out of the profession while raising questions about potential racial bias in the exams. But on Tuesday, education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley will formally propose a potential fix: He is seeking to allow teachers who repeatedly fail their exams to receive a license based on their actual work experience — vetted by an expert — instead of their test scores."
- "Link Between Hynes Sale and BCEC Expansion Questioned," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "If the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is going to finance its plan for a $500 million expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in the Seaport through the sale of the Back Bay's Hynes Convention Center, it is going to need to do more to get residents, businesses and legislators on board, a committee chair told the authority Monday. Seeking to attract more and larger conventions to Boston, the MCCA is planning to build an addition with 100,000 square feet of exhibition hall space, a 60,500-square-foot ballroom and 44,000 square feet of meeting rooms onto the hulking convention center in Boston's Seaport."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "UMass Boston interim chancellor withdraws from race for permanent post," by Gintautas Dumcius, Boston Business Journal: "A day before a search committee was expected to name finalists for the position of UMass Boston chancellor, the campus's interim leader said she is withdrawing her name from the pool of candidates. "This was a difficult decision, involving many considerations," Katherine Newman, the interim chancellor since July 2018, said in an emailed note to students, faculty and staff on Monday. The 21-member search committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the UMass Club. If the committee comes up with finalists, their names will be released to the public and their visits to campus for interviews could start as early as Jan. 31."
- "Boston councilor seeks more liquor licenses," Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "A new bill would give Boston up to 150 new liquor licenses earmarked for businesses in the outlying neighborhoods that have increasingly fewer local watering holes. "It gives us as a city the ability to look at economic opportunities for different neighborhoods," City Councilor Frank Baker, who's introducing the bill on Wednesday, told the Herald. The bill would allow Boston to issue up to 150 new nontransferable licenses from 2021 to 2023. All would revert back to the city if restaurants go under."
- "Ex-Official Who Took Bribe Has Received $200,000 In Retirement Benefits. Can He Keep The Money?" by Callum Borchers, WBUR: "Former Boston official John Lynch must forfeit the $50,000 bribe that led to a 40-month prison sentence Friday, and he may yet be forced to give up something more valuable: his pension. Lynch, 67, already has received more than $200,000 in retirement benefits, according to the Boston Retirement System. With federal bribery and tax fraud charges imminent, he resigned his position in the Boston Planning and Development Agency last August. Lynch might ordinarily qualify for an annual pension for the rest of his life, based on his long tenure in city government."
- "Iowa-Registered Voters In Mass. Can Still Caucus — In Harvard Square," by Saraya Wintersmith, WGBH News: "More than 50 Massachusetts residents, most of them likely college students from Iowa, are set to play a small voting role in that state's Democratic caucuses next week. This year, the Iowa Democratic Party authorized "satellite" caucus sites for the first time — including one in Cambridge. Pre-registered Iowa voters can express their presidential preference at the sites without physically being in their designated precinct back home. A site in Harvard Square is one of 92 in 12 states and the District of Columbia, three foreign countries and places like assisted living communities in Iowa whose residents have difficulty reaching precinct caucuses."
- "Ring's Neighborhood Watch Feature Is Bringing Out the Worst in Boston," by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "The app touts itself as a "new neighborhood watch," that helps users harness "the power of your community" to keep you "safe and informed." Police are so confident in Ring's usefulness that many departments have even partnered with Amazon to promote the product in Massachusetts. But I've been keeping my eye on the Neighbors app's Boston-area posts, and it's becoming increasingly clear that the technology is driving our community nuts, turning Bostonians into terrible neighbors—and that all of us are suddenly at risk of being publicly shamed for as little as walking down the street. Is this really what the city needs?"
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Senators, unions push back against more T privatization," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "MBTA UNIONS and their legislative supporters launched a full-court press at Monday's meeting of the Fiscal and Management Control Board to block efforts by the transit authority to buy 60 new buses and turn them over to a private contractor to operate and maintain. Six of the state's 40 senators and a host of union officials testified before the control board, pressing the panel to invest in its own workforce rather than contracting the work out. "Do not default to privatization, default to working with your employees," said Sen. John Keenan of Quincy to rousing applause from union workers in the audience."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Statie lieutenant allegedly went on Bermuda cruise while claiming to be at work: prosecutors," by Andrew Martinez, Boston Herald: "A now-retired state police lieutenant allegedly claimed to be working while he was actually on a cruise in Bermuda, according to court documents. David Andrade, 47, of Westport, pleaded not guilty Friday in Bristol Superior Court on charges including larceny over $1,200 and a public employee standards of conduct violation, and was released on personal recognizance, according to court documents and the Attorney General's office. Andrade is accused of stealing $11,538 in holiday pay for time off he wasn't entitled to, including a stint he claimed pay for when he was allegedly on a cruise to Bermuda, according to court documents."
- "Chipotle Agrees To $1.3 Million Penalty For Violating Mass. Child Labor Laws," by Paul Connearney, WBUR: "Chipotle Mexican Grill on Monday agreed to pay $1.37 million in restitution and penalties for violating child labor laws in Massachusetts, in the largest child labor investigation in the history of the state attorney general's office. The investigation was launched in 2016, after the office received a complaint from a the parent of a young employee alleging that the minor had worked past midnight at a Chipotle in Beverly, which is against Massachusetts law. Attorney General Maura Healey says a review of the restaurant chain's records revealed that minors routinely worked in violation of state child labor laws."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Warren Wants Bolton To Testify, Now More Than Ever," by Anthony Brooks, WBUR: "Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is among the Democrats ratcheting up pressure on Republicans to call witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial, after The New York Times published an explosive report about former National Security Advisor John Bolton. In a forthcoming book, Bolton is said to reveal that President Trump wanted to continue freezing security aid to Ukraine until he got help with investigations into the Bidens, according to the Times. "It sure as heck puts it to [the Republicans] now," Warren told WBUR Monday."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Ed Markey has never been a John Bolton fan, but he thinks he could be a 'difference maker,'" by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Sen. Ed Markey has never had many nice things to say about John Bolton. In 2018, when Bolton was appointed as President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Markey called the foreign policy hawk and Iraq War architect "a grave danger to the American people." The Massachusetts senator has since criticized Bolton over everything from Iran to North Korea to nuclear proliferation. Even as far back as 2005, Markey called his appointment as ambassador to the United Nations a decision "we will live to regret." But now, the Malden Democrat thinks it's imperative that Bolton be heard."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "State energy secretary seeks support for Baker's climate plan," by Ron Chimelis, Springfield Republican: "The governor's office says the law allows him to do it by himself, but Charlie Baker's secretary of energy and environmental affairs is still canvassing the state to convince residents it's worth it. At issue is Baker's Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI), an aggressive plan to regionalize transportation strategies with the goal of reducing emissions. The governor has set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, making Massachusetts one of only four states (with Hawaii, New York and California) and four other countries to go that far."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "BERN'S HOT!" "CORONAVIRUS FEARS HIT HOME," — Globe: "Buttigieg tries to straddle ideological line," "Bid intensifies to call Bolton for testimony." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Plan to move welfare office in Worcester gets pushback," by Scott O'Connell, Telegram & Gazette: "Residents, social services representatives, city officials and lawmakers on Monday raised concerns about the state's plan to move the Worcester office of the state Department of Transitional Assistance to the outskirts of the city, saying it will create hardships for Worcester's poor. The welfare department intends to move by the end of February from 13 Sudbury St. downtown to the Southwest Commons shopping plaza on Route 20 at Sunderland Road near the Shrewsbury line. The plaza, near the southern end of Lake Quinsigamond, used to be anchored by a Big Y supermarket."
TRANSITIONS - Dave Sweeney is leaving his post as chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to become president and CEO of MASCO.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Mark McDevitt, communications director to Rep. Lori Trahan, who celebrated Monday.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Antonio Caban, deputy communications director to Senate President Karen Spilka; former Rep. Peter Blute, Chrissy Raymond, former policy adviser for Rep. Seth Moulton, former Rep. Peter Torkildsen, Christina Knowles, and Katie Holzman, PR coordinator at the Meredith Corporation.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: IF I HAD A BILLION DOLLARS — On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith talk with State House News reporter Katie Lannan about Gov. Charlie Baker's budget proposal. NARAL Pro-Choice's Rebecca Hart Holder talks about the ROE Act on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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