GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
MARKEY'S MISSED VOTES — Sen. Ed Markey has missed 80 percent of Senate votes in May and June, according to GovTrack . The Senate has voted 40 times in the last month-and-a-half, and Markey missed 32 of those votes.
It's not unusual for Senate lawmakers to miss votes during a campaign, especially one as competitive as the primary race between Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, for example, missed every Senate vote between October and December 2019, a key period in the 2020 presidential primary race. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wasn't far behind, missing 98 percent of votes during that time. Markey’s campaign didn’t say whether being on the trail has kept him from the Senate.
A number of the votes Markey missed in May and June were for judicial nominations and other measures expected to pass the Republican-controlled chamber, meaning his attendance wasn't exactly critical. Markey returned to Washington in May to vote for an amendment to restrict surveillance on internet browsing that failed by just one vote.
But missing votes isn't typical for Markey, who has only missed 4 percent of the 2,134 roll call votes the Senate has taken since 2013. It's hard to compare Markey's recent voting record to Kennedy's because the House hasn't been in session.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL BACKS KENNEDY — Rep. Joe Kennedy III will announce an endorsement from the largest construction labor group in Massachusetts this morning.
The Massachusetts Building Trades Council, which represents more than 75,000 construction workers in Massachusetts, is backing Kennedy's Democratic primary campaign against Sen. Ed Markey. The Newton Democrat has been endorsed by approximately three dozen labor groups this cycle.
HAPPENING TODAY: Join the hosts of The Horse Race podcast for a live Happy Hour episode this afternoon. State Rep. Liz Miranda is our guest. Watch live at 4:30 p.m. on the MassINC Facebook page.
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 First Lady Lauren Baker speak at a Project 351 virtual event with former Gov. Deval Patrick, former First Lady Diane Patrick and Robert Kraft and Josh Kraft of the New England Patriots, among others.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on WGBH’s “Greater Boston.” Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse holds a town hall with Springfield City Council President Justin Hurst, Tanisha Arena, Asher Hamilton, and Brooke Bridges for his congressional campaign.
JOIN TODAY AT 4 p.m. ET - WOMEN AND COVID-19, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN CRISIS PART III: WOMEN RULE INTERVIEW WITH PADMA LAKSHMI: The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the food industry and the experience of dining out, potentially forever. Join Women Rule editorial director Anna Palmer for a virtual interview with Padma Lakshmi, host of “Top Chef”, to discuss the inspiration behind her new series, ‘Taste The Nation’, as well as the devastating impact of Covid-19 on women chefs and restaurant owners, and how food has the power to connect Americans to their community. REGISTER HERE.
 | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
– “Massachusetts reports 18 new coronavirus deaths, 195 new cases as state continues to dodge spike seen elsewhere,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts health officials announced another 18 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, bringing the death toll in the state to 7,665. Officials also confirmed another 195 cases of the virus, including 55 probable cases. Altogether, officials estimate there are at least 105,885 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts.”
– “Key metrics the state is looking at for the reopening,” by Ryan Huddle and Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: “The state, in its reopening plan, detailed key metrics it is following to determine whether it’s safe to gradually loosen restrictions intended to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The charts below show the trends in four measures cited by officials as key to moving the state through the multi-phase reopening plan.”
| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
– “Senate passes vote-by-mail option,” by Chris Van Buskirk and Sam Doran, State House News Service: “The Senate passed expanded vote-by-mail legislation Tuesday that would allow voters to avoid the polls, but still participate, during the upcoming primaries and general election if they feel unsafe due to the ongoing pandemic. The Senate approved its own version (S 2755) of vote-by-mail legislation that would offer registered voters three options to cast a ballot: during extended early voting periods, voting in-person on election day, or voting-by-mail.”
– “Brazilian-American makes history on Beacon Hill,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “Danillo ‘Dan’ Sena is living what he considers to be the American Dream as the first Brazilian-American elected to the state Legislature. Sena swept to a landslide victory on June 2 in a special election to replace former state rep Jennifer Benson, who left Beacon Hill to become president of the Alliance for Business Leadership.”
– “Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling calls efforts to defund police departments ‘ridiculous,’” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling took a swipe at the growing movement to reform police departments across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd, calling talks around defunding the police ‘ridiculous.’ ‘I’m not opposed to police reform if it’s intelligently done, but these calls to literally defund urban policing are frankly ridiculous,’ Lelling told reporters on Tuesday during a press conference announcing charges against 31 members and associates of a Boston-based street gang.”
– “Nursing homes fall short on COVID-19 controls,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Dozens of nursing homes have repeatedly failed to meet coronavirus infection control standards set under a state program that provides funding to help them improve the safety of staff and residents. Recent clinical audits of state-licensed nursing homes, conducted by the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services, found at least 50 facilities were not ‘in adherence’ with the state's COVID-19 safety and infection control protocols.”
| FROM THE HUB |
– “Protesters Call On DA Rachael Rollins To Reopen Coleman, Rahim Cases,” by Quincy Walters, WBUR: “Reopen the cases. That was the mantra from the rally held outside Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins' office in Boston Tuesday evening. The group Massachusetts Action Against Police Brutality organized the event to demand Rollins re-examine the evidence in cases where Black men in Boston were killed by law enforcement — specifically the cases of Terrence Coleman and Usaamah Rahim.”
– “Boston councilors call to limit police use of tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Boston city councilors are seeking to heavily limit police use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other ‘less lethal’ crowd-control measures — the latest step in a push for change as protests continue. City Councilors Andrea Campbell and Ricardo Arroyo are introducing a proposed law change at Wednesday’s council meeting that Boston Police officers ‘shall not use a Kinetic Impact Projectile or a Chemical Crowd Control Agent against any person or persons engaged in a protest, demonstration, or other gathering of any kind involving more than ten persons.’”
– “Amid nationwide movement to reform policing, some call on Boston to remove officers from schools,” by Milton J. Valencia and Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: “Amid a nationwide movement to reform police policies, local officials and community activists are calling for Boston to remove police officers from schools, saying their presence is part of the ‘cradle to prison pipeline’ that entangles at-risk students in the criminal justice system.”
– “'We Just Want To Be Heard': Black Immigrant Domestic Workers In Mass. Face Confluence Of Pandemic Challenges,” by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: “Scores of Black immigrant domestic workers in Massachusetts told researchers they have either lost their jobs or worked fewer hours amid the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by The Institute for Policy Studies and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Jobs like nannies, house cleaners and personal caregivers often fall within the domestic worker field.”
– “Nurses Renew Calls To Stop Cleaning, Reusing N95 Masks,” by Beth Healy, WBUR: “A new slate of tests by Mass General Brigham on the cleaning and reuse of N95 respirator masks has not eased the concerns of nursing associations, which renewed their calls Tuesday to stop the practice. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and a national nurses' group said they still believe the practice is putting medical workers at risk.”
– “MIT Catholic chaplain forced out after message on Floyd killing and protest,” by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: “An MIT chaplain was asked to resign last week after he sent a message to the university’s Catholic community suggesting that George Floyd’s killing by a white Minneapolis police officer may have had nothing to do with racism and questioning Floyd’s character.”
| PRIMARY SOURCES |
– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Ironworkers 7, IBEW 223 Endorse Jake Auchincloss for Congress,” from the Auchincloss campaign: “Ironworkers 7 and IBEW 223 have endorsed Jake Auchincloss for Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional seat. Representing 3,500 Boston-area members, the Ironworkers 7 chapter stands as one of the largest Ironworker Locals in the country. IBEW 223 represents electrical workers throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, brought together by a shared mission to bring ‘fair wages, safety on the job, and trained workers’ to the electrical industry.”
– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Cambridge City Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler Endorses Jordan Meehan for State Representative,” from the Meehan campaign: “Today, Cambridge City Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler is proud to announce his endorsement of Jordan Meehan for State Representative. ‘Jordan is focused on the same issues I am -- public transit, government transparency, and tenant protections including rent control,’ Sobrinho-Wheeler said. ‘I'm excited to see him in the State House fighting for these changes.’”
– “Joe Kennedy III, campaigning virtually in a tightening race,” by Adrian Walker, Boston Globe: “As he makes his bid for US Senate amid the most sweeping racial tumult of a generation, Joe Kennedy III is spending a lot of time off to the side, listening. Whether at a rally at Franklin Park, or in Chelsea or Springfield, Kennedy has been a presence but not a vocal one. That’s the nature of running in a time no one saw coming, in a contest framed by issues that have come roaring to the forefront in recent weeks.”
| DAY IN COURT |
– “Judge orders Oxford to shut down gym staying open in defiance of court order,” by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: “A Worcester Superior Court judge is ordering Oxford to shut down a gym that has remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic despite a court order, though it wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday how or when the town would do that.”
– “SJC: Boston police must provide Snapchat records in racial profiling inquiry by defense,” by John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: “Boston police must turn over a year’s worth of internal documents that, according to defense attorneys, may show officers racially profiled Snapchat users in gathering evidence used to arrest more than 20 people, the state Supreme Judicial Court said Tuesday.”
| WARREN REPORT |
– “‘The most acceptable white candidate’: Black support lifts Warren’s VP prospects,” by David Catanese, McClatchy: “The prospect of the first Black woman to appear on a presidential ticket looks more likely than ever before, with Joe Biden seriously considering Kamala Harris, Val Demings and Keisha Lance Bottoms to be his running mate. But there’s also a serious white contender in the mix who is showing a unique capacity to energize African Americans: Elizabeth Warren.”
– “Warren endorses Bowman over Engel in show of progressive support,” by Max Cohen, POLITICO: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren backed progressive challenger Jamaal Bowman over longtime incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel on Tuesday, further fueling the endorsement slugfest in one of the nation's most-watched primaries. Warren (D-Mass.) is the latest national progressive icon to support Bowman — a middle school principal challenging a 16-term congressman and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman in a New York district that spans from the Bronx to Westchester County.”
| MARKEYCHUSETTS |
– “Sen. Ed Markey on the politics of technology,” by Andrew Marino, The Verge: “If you’ve ever had an 18-inch satellite dish, you’ve enjoyed the work of Senator Ed Markey. Sen. Markey (D-MA) was there in 1992 as a US Representative when the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act was passed, which regulated cable service pricing, increased competition, and, in his eye, birthed the 18-inch satellite dish.”
| MOULTON MATTERS |
– “Moulton, Bennett discuss need for equal policing,” by Ethan Forman, The Salem News: “During a virtual town hall Monday on police brutality and systemic racism, Salem Congressman Seth Moulton and the Rev. Dr. Andre Bennett, the youth and young adults pastor at Zion Baptist Church in Lynn, traded stories of their traffic stops and their unequal treatment.”
| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
– “Businesses, Colleges Plead With Trump To Preserve Work Visas,” by Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press: “Gregory Minott came to the U.S. from his native Jamaica more than two decades ago on a student visa and was able to carve out a career in architecture thanks to temporary work visas. Now a U.S. citizen and co-founder of a real estate development firm in Boston, the 43-year-old worries that new restrictions on student and work visas expected to be announced as early as this week will prevent others from following a similar path to the American dream.”
| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
– “State environmental officials fail to report critical water data, according to state audit,” by David Abel, Boston Globe: “The state Department of Environmental Protection has failed to send federal regulators reports about the safety of watersheds in Massachusetts, according to the state auditor. The reports, required by the Clean Water Act, are meant to make public information about whether specific watersheds are polluted.”
– “Boston organization stirs ire of solar advocates,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “A shadowy Boston-based organization is sending renewable energy advocates across the country into a tizzy by challenging the logic behind one of the key subsidies that has been used to spur the growth of the solar power industry.”
– “GE outlines planned Housatonic cleanup ahead of EPA order,” by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle: “And here's how we'll do it, says a new 83-page report from the General Electric Co. complete with maps, attachments and a glossary of 54 abbreviations and acronyms. All that, even though ‘it’ isn't official. Duty-bound by a 20-year-old consent decree, and a far newer pact, the company just dropped a broad-strokes description of how it would go about removing carcinogenic toxins it spewed for decades into the Housatonic River.”
| ABOVE THE FOLD |
— Herald: TRIPPING IN THE IVY” — Globe: “Corporate world must step up on racial equality," "As virus surges in other states, a sobering reminder for Mass.”
| FROM THE 413 |
– “Battle lines drawn: Springfield City Council, armed with new lawyers, prepares to fight for return of police commission,” by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: “The City Council, armed with new pro bono lawyers, is threatening a legal fight with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to push for resurrection of a citizen police commission to oversee policy and officer discipline. The council voted on Tuesday night to accept the free services of two Northampton lawyers, Thomas Lesser and Michael Aleo, to aid the council in a prolonged dispute with Sarno.”
Reinstatement of officers involved in Nathan Bill’s case was a ‘mistake,’ Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno says; officers will be suspended, again,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Mayor Domenic J. Sarno on Tuesday announced his decision to rescind the reinstatement of five police officers who were suspended without pay after they were criminally charged in the Nathan Bill’s off-duty cop brawl case.”
– “Pittsfield Council Narrowly Approves Trimmed Police Budget,” by Josh Landes, WAMC: “Monday night, the Pittsfield City Council approved an amended police spending plan for 2021, along with accepting the city’s fire and emergency management budgets unaltered. The hearing came after an unresolved and emotional debate over cuts to the school department the week before.”
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
– “In Swampscott, a bar conversation becomes a townwide controversy,” by Dugan Arnett, Boston Globe: “Erik Heilman was bartending at the upstairs patio at Mission on the Bay restaurant in Swampscott last Thursday when a group of four adults arrived. Among them was Don Hause, a second-term Swampscott selectman. While serving the group over the course of the next couple hours, Heilman said, he grew angered by a number of comments made by Hause, who according to Heilman called the Black Lives Matter movement ‘liberal b------t’ and said that white privilege isn’t real.”
– “Case against Salem developer set for fall trial,” by Julie Manganis, The Salem News: “A Salem developer charged with being the alleged mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme that cost banks and mortgage lenders more than $4 million — and almost two dozen apartments from the city's rental housing stock — is tentatively set to stand trial in October. But getting George Kritopoulos' case to trial then still might not be possible, U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris acknowledged during a hearing Tuesday.”
– “Devin Brosnan, Atlanta officer involved in confrontation that turned deadly, grew up in Southboro,” by Brian Lee, Telegram & Gazette: “One of the two white Atlanta police officers involved in a fatal confrontation with a Black man at a Wendy’s drive-thru grew up in Southboro and graduated from Algonquin Regional High School in Northboro. Devin Brosnan, who is not the accused shooter in the high-profile death, has been placed on administrative duty from the Atlanta Police Department.”
– “Newton firefighters oppose city order barring ‘red-stripe’ memorial flag,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “The union representing Newton’s firefighters has filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor Relations after the group said it was prohibited by Mayor Ruthanne Fuller from displaying a memorial flag in honor of fallen firefighters at a local fire station.”
| MEDIA MATTERS |
– “Dave Andelman resigns as CEO of Phantom Gourmet after comments on Black Lives Matter protests,” by Jaclyn Reiss, Boston Globe: “Dave Andelman has resigned as CEO of Phantom Gourmet, Inc. after he was criticized for posting a number of messages on his personal Facebook account deriding the ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Andelman, who founded the company in 1993, will no longer appear on episodes of ‘Phantom Gourmet.’”
– “Daily Hampshire Gazette, Greenfield Recorder outsource printing to Worcester County; union calls layoffs ‘devastating,’” by Ray Kelly, Springfield Republican: “The owners of the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Greenfield Recorder will cease in-house printing of those newspapers, resulting in what a union official described as massive and devastating layoffs.”
SPOTTED: Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson at the White House with President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Pic.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to CBS News reporter Nicole Sganga, Aaron Saunders of Loophole Brewing Services and Maxwell Nunes.
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