| | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday! HOW THE SCOTUS FIGHT PLAYS IN MASSACHUSETTS — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s death Friday has set the stage for an unprecedented fight over an open seat on the Supreme Court just weeks ahead of Election Day. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is locking up key votes to fill the court vacancy, while Democrats are waging war on vulnerable Senate Republicans up for reelection, minting money from small-dollar donors, and even warming to expanding the size of the court. Court packing is getting another look from Democrats outraged with McConnell’s plans to replace Ginsburg with a nominee picked by President Donald Trump four years after he refused to hold a vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee under similar circumstances. Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III expressed new support over the weekend for expanding the Supreme Court with more justices in the event Trump appoints Ginsburg's successor ahead of the election. They're not alone. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said last year she would be open to talking about expanding the high court, as did Rep. Seth Moulton. Here's how Rep. Katherine Clark's office put it in an email last night: "Everything is on the table at this point." Clark is the second-most powerful woman in the House. Closer to home, the Supreme Court fight is likely to have a ripple effect. Expect Beacon Hill lawmakers to be under more pressure to pass the ROE Act, a bill which would expand abortion access in Massachusetts and codify the landmark Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade. Because state lawmakers extended their two-year session past July due to the pandemic, the bill is still alive. And Gov. Charlie Baker faced scrutiny over the weekend for backing a fellow Republican who could play a key role in what happens with the court. The governor endorsed Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins for reelection hours before news broke that Ginsburg had died. Collins is among a handful of senators who sometimes break ranks with Republican leadership, meaning her vote could be one of a handful that decide the Supreme Court fight. Collins said over the weekend that whoever is elected on Nov. 3 should appoint the next justice. Baker issued a similar statement on his official Twitter account. "I urge President Trump and the U.S. Senate to allow the American people to cast their ballots for President before a new justice is nominated or confirmed," Baker wrote. "The Supreme Court is too important to rush and must be removed from partisan political infighting." But other Bay State Republicans disagree. GOP Senate candidate Kevin O'Connor and Julie Hall, the Republican running for Kennedy's House seat, both told me they believe Trump should nominate a new justice as quickly as possible. Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss, the Democrat running against Hall, did not say whether he would support court packing. 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 speaks at an event hosted by Biogen and the Boston Globe. Rep. Lori Trahan visits businesses in Westford and Hudson as part of National Small Business week. | |
| | JOIN OUR THURSDAY TOWN HALL - CONFRONTING INEQUALITY IN AMERICA: The current wave of protests have surfaced long simmering racial inequalities in a pronounced way, making it harder for Americans to ignore. On Thursday, POLITICO Live will convene scholars, activists and public officials for a virtual town hall focused on education inequality and the policies and measures needed to overcome disparities that persist in how Black and minority students are educated. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – As nation nears 200,000 COVID cases, Massachusetts reports 340 new positive coronavirus tests, 15 more deaths on Sunday,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Public health officials on Sunday announced another 340 COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts and 15 more deaths linked to illness from the virus as the national death toll nears 200,000. Sunday’s new totals follow a notable jump in cases, 569 reported on Saturday, after two consecutive days of at least 400 new cases.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Massachusetts no longer has highest unemployment rate in nation,” by Larry Edelman, Boston Globe: “The Massachusetts job market extended its recovery from the pandemic-induced shutdown earlier this year as employers added workers for the fourth consecutive month in August and the unemployment rate declined sharply, the US Labor Department said Friday.” – “SJC lobbies lawmakers on police reform,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “As conference committee members negotiate a final version of a police reform bill, the committee’s senators just got a powerful ally: The Supreme Judicial Court. The SJC on Thursday, in an unusual move, explicitly urged the Legislature to pass a provision that the Senate included in its bill mandating the collection of more racial data on traffic stops.” – “Massachusetts’ COVID-19 data on college students, faculty, staff incomplete, advocates say,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “A glance at the Massachusetts data on higher education COVID-19 testing suggests close to 500 people have confirmed coronavirus cases at colleges and universities, but public health experts and transparency advocates say the report is far too incomplete to serve the public.” – “While BPD investigates, employees collect $2.5m,” by Colman M. Herman, CommonWealth Magazine: “The Boston Police Department has paid out $2.5 million in salary and benefits to the 18 employees who are currently on administrative leave while the agency investigates alleged wrongdoing by them. The investigations by the department’s internal affairs and anti-corruption divisions tend to take a long time – three of the cases have been ongoing for more than 1½ years. The $2.5 million cost — $1.9 million in salaries and $600,000 in benefits – represents less than 1 percent of the department’s payroll.” – “Reopening violations nearing 1,000,” by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: “Health officials have logged nearly 1,000 complaints about violations of the state's reopening rules, ranging from allegations of employees and customers not wearing masks to a lack of social distancing or sanitizing. A list provided by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development shows at least 906 cases have been investigated since late May, when the Baker administration began allowing some business to reopen.” | | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| – “Andrea Campbell Is 'Seriously Considering' Running For Boston Mayor,” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “City Councilor Andrea Campbell said Friday she is ‘seriously considering’ jumping in the 2021 race for Boston Mayor. ‘If I decide to do this it will be because I feel this moment demands a different type of leadership to finally eradicate systemic racism and the inequities we see in the city of Boston,’ she said in an appearance on Boston Public Radio, ‘and to have a clear focus on solving generational inequity in the city of Boston.’” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Trials begin for COVID-19 plasma treatment,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Researchers at two of the state's largest hospitals are studying the use of antibody-rich plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to determine if it's effective in treating patients who are fighting the virus. But the trials underway at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital have been complicated, in part, by the gradually improving outlook for the coronavirus in Massachusetts, with emergency rooms in the Greater Boston area seeing far fewer COVID-19 patients.” – “Mass. Has Been Tracking Impact Of Police In Schools For A Year, But Reporting Has Been Spotty,” by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: “As the country grapples with police reform, many juvenile justice advocates in Massachusetts are questioning whether officers belong in schools. We know people of color disproportionately come into contact with the criminal justice system at a young age and for minor offenses, and some argue school police may play a role in the criminalization of students.” – “Andrea Campbell: Police Task Force Recommendations 'Step In The Right Direction,' But Some 'Red Flags,'” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell told Boston Public Radio on Friday the recommendations issued by the mayor's police task force are a ‘step in the right direction,’ but contain some ‘red flags.’ The task force's report, released earlier this month, calls for a new and more powerful civilian review board with the ability to independently review and investigate allegations of police misconduct.” – “In higher education, the pandemic has been especially cruel to adjunct professors,” by Laura Krantz, Boston Globe: “The coronavirus has thrown the entire higher education industry into uncertainty, but it’s been especially cruel to the thousands of part-time professors undergirding New England’s colleges and universities. The effect has been to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots in higher education: While many tenure-track professors received pandemic-related extensions for their research, many adjuncts simply watched their jobs evaporate.” – “Air quality and ventilation issues trip up school reopenings across Massachusetts,” by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: “On some days, the smell of sulfur lingers in the air at the 98-year-old Higginson Inclusion School in Roxbury. Rodents scurry around the floors, and the tall, heavy windows in special-education aide Allie Bledsoe’s classroom only stay open with blocks propped under them — if she can get them open in the first place.” – “Nearly 4,000 new students at Catholic schools in Boston, 700 in Springfield as they field calls from parents wanting in person learning,” by Heather Adams, MassLive.com: “The Archdiocese of Boston announced the closure of 10% of its schools earlier this year with fears that even more would have to close this fall. But increased enrollment due to parents wanting in person learning during the pandemic is turning that around.” – “Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology and Wentworth are talking merger — in secret,” by Adrian Walker, Boston Globe: “According to multiple sources, Benjamin Franklin is engaged in secret talks to merge with Wentworth Institute of Technology. The negotiations are so hush-hush that board members are bound by nondisclosure agreements while the deal is being hammered out. What that would do to the pending sale and move to Roxbury is unclear.” | | BALLOT WARS |
| – “With ranked choice voting on the ballot, Elizabeth Warren comes out in support,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren has said in the past that she had warmed to the idea of ranked choice voting. Now, she’s fully on board. Ahead of a Massachusetts ballot question this fall that proposes to implement ranked choice voting, the state’s senior senator published an opinion piece Friday in The Boston Globe endorsing the alternative voting system along with Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin.” | | THE OPINION PAGES |
| – “Anti-union actions reflect racist attitudes,” by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Tim Foley, CommonWealth Magazine: “The Civil Rights movement did not end with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. We are still in the midst of it. The work continues as we grapple with the legacy of our nation’s original sin of slavery. The Black Lives Matter movement is only the latest embodiment of our collective and ongoing struggle to live up to our highest ideals of liberty and justice for all.” | | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| – “WRTA extends free fares to end of year,” by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: “The Worcester Regional Transit Authority will remain fare free at least until the end of the year, as advisory board members worried that reinstituting fares may be premature if COVID-19 surges in the fall.” | | NOVEMBER IS COMING |
| – “A test for democracy,” by Liz Goodwin, Jess Bidgood, and Jazmine Ulloa, Boston Globe: “This is sure to be the most complicated election in modern US history. And because of our deliberately decentralized federal system, it will be, as ever, not one election but more like 10,000 — each precarious in its own way. Then there is the question of how a norm-shattering president will behave in the weeks that follow. The list of what could go wrong is longer than its hopeful counterpart.” | | THE SENATE SHOWDOWN |
| CLOSING THE LOOP — Weeks after the Sept. 1 election, a question that became a flashpoint in the Democratic primary between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III has an answer. Kennedy's father, former Congressman Joe Kennedy II , gave $2 million from his old campaign account to a pro-Kennedy super PAC, according to a new FEC filing. The deadline for the New Leadership PAC to disclose its latest round of donors came on Sunday. Whether Kennedy's father would use his leftover campaign cash to help his son became a fiery issue in a debate between Markey and Kennedy over the summer. The Markey campaign turned the exchange into a viral video and a campaign T-shirt, while some Kennedy allies argued it would be strange for the former congressman not to support his son's primary bid. | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, Massachusetts man facing charges in N.H. crash that killed 7 motorcyclists, wants to be released while awaiting trial,” by Scott J. Croteau, MassLive.com: “Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, the 24-year-old Massachusetts man from West Springfield who is facing several charges in connection with the New Hampshire crash that left seven motorcyclists dead, wants to be released while awaiting trial.” | | WARREN REPORT |
| – “Sen. Elizabeth Warren at Ruth Bader Ginsburg vigil: SCOTUS ‘fight has just begun,’” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “At a vigil for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Saturday night led hundreds in a chant of ‘I will fight,’ and delivered a speech warning that American democracy was at stake as President Donald Trump geared up to nominate Ginsburg’s replacement.” | | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
| – “John Kerry takes the climate change fight to Wall Street,” by Shirley Leung, Boston Globe: “John Kerry has spent a lifetime fighting climate change, but until recently he’s done it almost exclusively from a perch in government. Now the former Massachusetts senator and US secretary of state is taking the battle to Wall Street. Kerry has become an investor in and adviser to a fund launched over the summer on the New York Stock Exchange that is attempting to set a global price for carbon emissions.” | | KENNEDY COMPOUND |
| – “A Young Kennedy, in Kushnerland, Turned Whistle-Blower,” by Jane Mayer, The New Yorker: “Months before Bob Woodward’s book ‘Rage’ documented President Trump’s efforts to deceive Americans about the peril posed by covid-19, Robert F. Kennedy’s twenty-six-year-old grandson tried to blow the whistle on the President’s malfeasance from an improbable perch—inside Trump’s coronavirus task force.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “SHORTLIST,” — Globe: “Pandemic deepens a divide in academia," "Democrats, Trump brace for showdown," "Vow to pick woman as justice carries risk.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “In Facebook post, Berkshire DA blames NY snafu for license suspension,” by Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle: “Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington went on Facebook late Tuesday to say she paid a fine for a speeding ticket in New York directly to that state's Department of Motor Vehicles, but the court where she was cited never learned of the payment, and resulted in a suspended license.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “Parents, teen, likely to face charges after party forced Lincoln-Sudbury school to switch to remote learning,” by Norman Miller, MetroWest Daily News: “The teen who hosted a large underage drinking party last weekend that led to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School switching the start of its school year to all remote learning will likely face criminal charges, authorities said. The teen’s parents, the owners of the property where the incident occurred, are also being targeted.” – “Unclear if 'Thin Blue Line' citizen's petition is enforceable,” by Erin Nolan, The Salem News: “It is unclear whether the warrant article asking Town Meeting members if town fire trucks and other public safety apparatus should be allowed to display ‘Thin Blue Line’ flags will be enforceable if passed. Town Manager Steve Bartha said the town's legal counsel is reviewing the citizen's petition and will issue an opinion.” – “Falmouth residents want to rename street named for controversial scientist,” by Jessica Hill, Cape Cod Times: “After an influential scientist’s racism was brought to light, some residents in Woods Hole and Falmouth are seeking to change a street named after him to better reflect the town’s goals. Two Woods Hole residents started a petition that has garnered more than 600 signatures asking that the Falmouth Select Board change the name of Agassiz Road to Jewel Cobb Road.” – “Donoghue: ‘It was his call, but I very much disagreed,’” Robert Mills, The Lowell Sun: “City Manager Eileen Donoghue said she feels for students and parents who were told they would have in-person teaching when school started, and that she told Superintendent Joel Boyd that she disagreed with the decision to cancel in-person classes at the last minute due to a lack of air purifiers.” REMEMBERING JOSEPH LARAIA … via the Patriot Ledger: “Former Quincy mayor Joseph LaRaia, whose career in the city’s politics spanned more than four decades, has died. He was 88. In addition to serving as the city’s 28th mayor, from 1976-78, LaRaia spent more than 20 years on the city council and worked as an appointed city assessor for seven years.” Link. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Harvard’s Samantha Power, Mark Steffen and Cass Sunstein. NEW EPISODE: THE HORSE RACE OF THE APOCALYPSE – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray break down what could be in store for Boston’s 2021 mayoral race, and talk about the MassGOP candidates running for congress. 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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