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Presented by Transportation for Massachusetts
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF!
PRE-SUPER TUESDAY WEEKEND — Super Tuesday, the March 3 mega-primary when Massachusetts and 13 other states will cast ballots, is just days away. This weekend is the last chance for the presidential campaigns to drum up support in the Bay State, where 91 unpledged delegates are at play.
SANDERS - 25%
WARREN - 17%
BUTTIGIEG - 14%
BLOOMBERG - 13%
BIDEN - 9%
KLOBUCHAR - 6%
STEYER - 2%
GABBARD - 1%
OTHER/UNDECIDED - 14%
The poll surveyed 426 likely Democratic primary voters and the margin of error is 4.9%.
SANDERS MAKES HIS BAY STATE PLAY — A shout out to Boston housing activists on Twitter, a TV ad evoking President John F. Kennedy and a four-day music and canvassing festival in Worcester. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is serious about beating Massachusetts from Sen. Elizabeth Warren on her home turf, and judging by the two in-person rallies he'll hold on Friday and Saturday, he's feeling confident.
Can beat Warren in her home state? Polling shows Sanders ahead, but this election cycle is very fluid, and Warren has a lot of goodwill in Massachusetts. I took a look at all the ways Sanders is courting Bay State voters, and how Warren is responding to her progressive rival. Read it here.
KERRY TO LEAD BIDEN CANVASS — Former Secretary of State John Kerry will lead a canvass kickoff for former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign on Saturday, while Bernie Sanders rallies supporters on the Boston Common. The Biden canvass will begin at IBEW Local 103 in Dorchester at 1 p.m., an hour after the Sanders rally is slated to begin 4 miles down the street.
Kerry endorsed Biden in December, and has hit the trail for his former Senate colleague in the months since, serving as a top surrogate in Iowa and New Hampshire. Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Kerry was overheard speculating about launching his own presidential campaign at a hotel in Des Moines, according to an NBC News report. Kerry dropped an F-bomb to deny the report on Twitter, but later deleted the tweet and rephrased his statement.
CHECK YOUR DM'S — If you follow Pete Buttigieg on Twitter, you might want to check your inbox this weekend. Buttigieg's presidential campaign is running a "first-of-its-kind" program to get Buttigieg's online supporters to get out the vote IRL.
"Pete for America volunteers pulled a list of all Twitter followers of Pete for America's account that live in Massachusetts. Now, volunteers are direct messaging each of these Twitter followers to encourage them to move their online support to offline action," a press release from the Buttigieg campaign says.
Buttigieg has also released a new digital ad featuring Steve Leibowitz of Brewster, who was a Sanders delegate in 2016 but now supports the former South Bend, Ind. mayor.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: KHAZEI NABS DEFENSE ENDORSEMENT — Alan Khazei, a Brookline Democrat running to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III, is announcing an endorsement from former Undersecretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy today. Flournoy served in the President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama administrations.
"I am proud to stand with Alan because he understands that our national security depends not just on having the strongest military, but also on making investments in the drivers of U.S. competitiveness, such as research and development, higher education, 21st century infrastructure, renewable energy and opportunity here at home," Flournoy said in a statement.
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 and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito celebrate the opening of the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield. Baker announces the Gateways Housing Rehabilitation Program awards. Baker celebrates the opening of the new Campus Center at Holyoke Community College. Baker and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno highlight the administration's housing legislation in Springfield.
Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius is a guest on WGBH's "Boston Public Radio." Bernie Sanders holds a rally in Springfield. The Sanders campaign holds a "Berniepalooza" music and canvassing festival in Worcester. Amy Klobuchar's husband John Bessler campaigns in Newburyport.
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A message from Transportation for Massachusetts:
Massachusetts is facing a transportation crisis. Roads, bridges, and transit statewide urgently need investment. The gas tax, which has increased by only 3 cents since 1991, is a proven, stable, and immediate solution to make our commutes better. Learn more. |
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 | HEALTH CHECK |
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- "State health official: Hundreds under coronavirus quarantine in Massachusetts," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "State health officials said Wednesday that hundreds of Bay State residents are quarantined in Massachusetts to guard against coronavirus but that the "risk remains low" for the highly contagious infection. Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH said on a conference call that a total of 608 people have been under a 14-day quarantine in the state. Of those individuals, 377 have already completed the monitoring and have been released with no symptoms."
- "Coronavirus could be 2020′s most important issue," by James Pindell and Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "It's the coronavirus, stupid. As fear spread about the potential for a global epidemic of novel coronavirus and US markets had their worst drop since the 2008 recession, no one knew whether it would be a passing panic or something much worse. But this much is clear: Coronavirus is now the biggest X-factor in the race for president, and it could boost or bust President Trump's campaign."
- "Mass. Senate-Approved Bill Includes Funding For Coronavirus Testing," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "The Senate followed the House's lead on Thursday and approved a roughly $123-million mid-year spending bill that includes funding for an initial coronavirus testing regime, leaving it a few procedural votes from Gov. Charlie Baker's desk. The budget (H 4502), based on a request Baker filed this month, "can be largely described as a bill-paying exercise limited in scope to issues that need our immediate attention," Senate Ways and Means Chairman Sen. Michael Rodrigues said Thursday."
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Baker pans tax, fee increases in House transportation bill," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "ONE DAY AFTER House leaders unveiled a $600 million transportation revenue bill, Gov. Charlie Baker poured cold water on the tax increases and fees the bill calls for to fund improvements, setting up a showdown with the Legislature on one of the most pressing issues facing state leaders. The House bill would hike the state gas tax by 5 cents, raise the minimum corporate tax paid by Massachusetts companies, increase fees paid by ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, and remove a sales tax exemption for the purchase of rental car fleets."
- "Lawmakers want to divert Columbia Gas fine to disaster victims," by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: "Elected officials from the Merrimack Valley are angling for a piece of the record fine assessed Columbia Gas for its role in the 2018 gas disaster to be diverted back to the region. On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said it reached a settlement in a criminal case against the embattled gas company that included a $53 million fine and a requirement that Columbia Gas be sold in exchange for a guilty plea."
- "Healey, 7 firms sign $1m mental health settlement," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY announced a settlement on Thursday with five health insurers and two behavioral health firms, dismissing alleged violations of mental health parity laws in return for $1 million to support improved access to behavioral health services. The companies charged with violating the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act are Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Optum, Fallon Community Health Plan, Beacon Health Strategies, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, AllWays Health Partners, and Tufts Health Plan."
- "Traffic camera debate derailed in Senate," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "A SPIRITED DEBATE about the use of automated traffic cameras was abruptly derailed in the state Senate Thursday evening after a Republican senator moved to table the bill. Under Senate rules, a single senator has the power to force a bill to be held. After a close debate about the scope of the traffic camera program, Sen. Ryan Fattman of Sutton said he believed Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester was "gaveled down inappropriately" and tabled the bill. The bill would let municipalities install automated traffic cameras to issue violations for offenses like speeding and running red lights."
- "Massachusetts Senate passes bill to make it easier for the homeless to get IDs from the RMV," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Lawmakers took a step toward making it easier for homeless people to get an ID from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. The Senate unanimously passed a bill that would waive a $25 fee and let the RMV use discretion to accept other forms of documentation for people to use their identity if they do not have a home address. The bill, S.2555, included an amendment that directs the RMV and the Secretary of State's office to enter into a memorandum of understanding to ensure existing laws on automatic voter registration are still enforced."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "The Best and Least Boring Ideas for What to Do with the Hynes Convention Center," by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "As the state mulls a plan to sell the Hynes Convention Center—or more to the point, the absurdly valuable land it sits upon—this question hovers between a hypothetical and a neighborhood-upending reality, and last week we got our first glimpse of what the future might hold. A report from the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority proposed 2.3 million feet of office space, retail, and 650 units of housing, which is all fine and good. At the same time, can't we think of something a little more exciting to do with one of the last great development opportunities in Boston?"
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Warren at risk of losing her home state," by Stephanie Murray, POLITICO: "Bernie Sanders is outpacing Elizabeth Warren in polls across the Super Tuesday map. But one state stings more than the others: Massachusetts. Warren is at risk of losing her home state, the latest indignity in her long slide in the polls in her own backyard. In the run-up to the March 3 primary, Sanders is going all in on his bid to pick off Massachusetts, culminating in a four-day music and canvassing festival in Worcester that begins Friday."
- "Bernie Sanders blasts Suffolk Downs project as he plays for Elizabeth Warren's Massachusetts," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: "Bernie Sanders is backing East Boston housing advocates in the fight over the Suffolk Downs redevelopment project just days before the Massachusetts Super Tuesday primary, voicing support for local affordable housing in Elizabeth Warren's backyard. On the eve of his two-day sweep through the Bay State, Sanders tweeted, "We need affordable housing for all instead of more gentrifying luxury developments for the few. I stand with the longtime residents of East Boston fighting displacement from the communities they have spent generations building."
- "Kennedy, Markey face off at Ward 10 caucus," by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: "Minutes after he walked into the Democratic Party's Ward 10 Caucus in the community center of the Mission Park housing development Feb. 22, Joe Kennedy III faced the question: "I'm sure a lot of people in this room have the same question — I think you're a great rep. — but why?" asked Ward 10 committee member Jim Farra. "Besides the fact of being young ... why are you running?" Kennedy's response reiterated the two main points he's been making in stump speeches and at last week's debate."
- "Partisans predict repeats in Franklin County: Sanders and Trump," by Domenic Poli, Greenfield Recorder: "Franklin County and the North Quabbin region might be working on a sequel to the feature film that was the 2016 Massachusetts presidential primaries. The most rural county in the state selected Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as its Democratic candidate of choice, though the state's primary votes went to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and tapped eventual President Donald J. Trump on the Republican ballot. Sanders notched about three times as many votes as Clinton in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Lack of commuter rail parking, crowded trains are barriers to boosting 'T' ridership," by Jeff Malachowski, Daily News: "A lack of parking at commuter rail stations, crowded trains and poor reliability have long been barriers to getting more commuters out of their cars and onto trains. But the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Keolis and state legislators are taking steps to tackle those shortcomings. Transportation leaders and state legislators outlined some of those initiatives during a forum Thursday held by the Marlboro and Worcester Regional Chambers of Commerce."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe loses crucial appeal in casino case," by Andy Rosen, Boston Globe: "The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Thursday was dealt another major setback in its effort to build a casino in Taunton, losing a federal appeals court case it hoped would remove a crucial barrier to the long-stalled project. The tribe had asked the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to overturn a lower court decision that said the federal government had improperly allowed the Mashpee to hold land in trust. That designation is required in order to build a tribal casino."
- "Suffolk DA Refused To Prosecute Library Janitors For Alleged Overtime Theft," by Colman M. Herman, WGBH News: "The Suffolk County district attorney refused two years ago to prosecute Boston Public Library janitors for collecting overtime for hours they didn't work because the DA said library officials had known about the scheme for years and let it continue, according to newly uncovered records. WGBH News' New England Center for Investigative Reporting first reported in 2018 that library custodians were routinely paid full eight-hour overtime shifts for cleaning up after private events at the central library, even if they only worked a few hours."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Super PAC backing Warren makes $9 million Super Tuesday ad buy," by Alex Thompson, POLITICO: "A mysterious Super PAC supporting Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign is making a late attempt to save her candidacy with a $9 million ad buy in states voting next Tuesday. Combined with the $3.25 million Persist PAC already spent in Super Tuesday states along with $2 million in Nevada and South Carolina, the shadowy group has committed over $14 million to try to buoy Warren's candidacy. All together, Warren — who has made the corrupting influence of dark money central to her candidacy — now has the biggest Super PAC advertising in the Super Tuesday states."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "We Need to Defend America's Research and Science From Foreign Spying," by Seth Moulton, Time Magazine: "As a Harvard physics student, I got to learn from some of the smartest minds on earth. My professors were also good people, and the department has a proud history both of great discovery and great service. Harvard physicists helped America win World War II, and then establish the ethical code around nuclear physics that helped keep the peace in the Cold War to follow. Coming from that proud tradition, I was floored to learn that the head of Harvard's chemistry department was getting paid secretly by the Thousand Talents Program."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "In Boston, 'yesterday's paper route could become tomorrow's neighborhood compost collection route,'" by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "One consultant proposed a $25 million composting plant — with the idea that the company gets a long-term contract to process the city's food and yard waste. Another proposed setting up pick-up sites where residents can drop off their organic waste, and then the firm can pick it up on bicycles. And still another — the Kitchen Compost Man, if you must know — proposed going from high-rise building to high-rise building, picking up 2.5 gallon bins of organic waste at a time, via the old-fashioned garbageman way."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Mass. Cities And Towns Demand Large Payouts From Marijuana Companies," by Tori Bedford and Amanda Beland, WGBH News: "When Massachusetts approved legal recreational marijuana, Hans Doherty saw an opportunity to make money while also giving back to New Bedford, the city where he grew up. Doherty began the process of setting up a pot shop. In 2018, he began renting a building, applied for a license, and started to work out negotiations with New Bedford city officials in order to be awarded a host community agreement, or HCA. An HCA is a deal between marijuana businesses and the towns that plan to host them."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "CLOCK STRIKES 12," — Globe: "As virus spreads, so do the impacts," "A DIFFERENT SPIN FOR SANDERS' REVOLUTION," "'Contested' convention could decide." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Editorial: Bernie for president," Daily Hampshire Gazette: "'Not me. Us." It's the ubiquitous slogan for the presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. It also happens to be the guiding principle of any newspaper editorial board. An endorsement doesn't reflect the belief of one individual; it's the consensus of the group. And our editorial board, after much debating and deliberating, is endorsing Sanders for the Democratic presidential nominee."
- "The Republican endorses Bloomberg in Democratic primary (Editorial)" Springfield Republican: "Desperate times don't always call for desperate measures. In fact, they sometimes loudly cry out for a good dose of realism. Democrats need to nominate a realist. And a uniter, someone to bring together both the party and the nation. Mike Bloomberg is the candidate best positioned to do all of that, and more."
- "Sean Mullan to launch campaign for state representative in Springfield," Springfield Republican: "The chairman of the city's Ward 2 Democratic Committee says he will run for state representative in the 9th Hampden District, joining two other Democrats in the race for the seat currently held by state Rep. Jose F. Tosado. Sean Mullan, of Green Lane, announced his campaign in a statement Thursday. "I thank Rep. Tosado for his hard work, especially on mental health, substance abuse, and recovery issues. His example in this area is one I will follow," Mullan said."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Plan to renumber Route 6 exits gets little support," by Ethan Genter, Cape Cod Times: "Massachusetts initially balked at a federal mandate to renumber its highway exits, and most who attended a public information session Tuesday night on the pending changes on the Cape registered their continuing opposition. "It's very clear to the Cape (legislative) delegation that this is entirely a waste of funds which could be used for different purposes," said Dorothy Smith, chief of staff for state Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "NBCUniversal unveils $125 million new media center in Needham," by Grace Griffin, Boston Globe: "Politicians, community members, and executives gathered for a ribbon-cutting Wednesday at NBCUniversal's new media center. Located in Needham, the center will serve as a new home for NBC10 Boston, NBC Sports Boston, Telemundo Boston, and NECN. The space, a $125 million project, spans 160,000 square feet and includes state-of-the-art facilities, including six production studios, six broadcast control rooms, and a podcast studio."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to POLITICO's Charlie Mahtesian, Ben Gundersheimer and Li-Dor David.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Bruins beat the Stars 4-3.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: BERNING DOWN THE HOUSE - On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray talk all things Super Tuesday. Beth Huang from the Boston chapter of Democratic Socialists of America discusses Bernie Sanders and the possibility of a brokered Democratic National Convention. 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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A message from Transportation for Massachusetts:
In every corner of the Commonwealth, people are frustrated with our transportation system. From potholed and congested roads, to delayed trains, to regional transit buses that don't run on the weekends, transportation is holding back our economy, hurting our quality of life, and polluting our air. The gas tax must be part of the solution. Each one-penny increase in the gas tax raises $30 million per year for transportation improvements statewide, including an increase to Chapter 90 local road repairs, dedicated funding for Regional Transit Authorities, and upgrades to the MBTA. Learn more. |
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