| | | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | Presented by Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday! MAILING IT IN — Beacon Hill lawmakers passed a vote by mail law last year as an emergency fix during the coronavirus pandemic. Now they're weighing whether — and how — to make it permanent. The ongoing debate could shape next year's race to be the top elections official in Massachusetts. This is all happening when voting rights are a hot national topic. At the federal level, the House just passed a big election reform package supported by Democrats, but the margin it would need to pass the Senate makes it unlikely to land on President Joe Biden's desk. Meanwhile, Republican state lawmakers want to pass new voting restrictions in their states. In Massachusetts, Secretary of State Bill Galvin, a Democrat, put out a plan to make vote by mail permanent and establish same-day voter registration last month. There are two ways to view that: Planks of a platform for his reelection campaign, or legacy-building legislation if the septuagenarian secretary of state decides to retire. It's worth pointing out expanding vote by mail may be at odds with the state constitution. In the meantime, there's another temporary vote by mail bill on the move. The House recently passed legislation to extend voting by mail in municipal elections through June, which heads to the Senate this week. And as CommonWealth Magazine points out, it's the source of a partisan battle. Republicans were frustrated the bill didn't get a public hearing from the House, though the Senate is accepting testimony until later this morning. GOP lawmakers also haven't received the vote-by-mail autopsy they requested from Galvin last year. While it’s overshadowed by the looming race for governor, there has been chatter about which constitutional officers — secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general — will run for reelection in 2022. Galvin hasn't announced his plans. Galvin's performance in 2018 might make potential challengers think twice if he runs for an eighth term, though. He won the highest percentage of votes of any constitutional officer in the general election, and handily defeated his Democratic primary opponent Josh Zakim, a former Boston city councilor who turned heads when he beat Galvin at the state Democratic convention. If Galvin doesn't seek another term, there are plenty of voting advocates who might want to take his place. State Sen. Becca Rausch, a vocal proponent of voting by mail, could emerge as a potential candidate next year. And so might Patrick Roath, an attorney at Ropes & Gray who was part of a successful lawsuit to slash the number of signatures needed to get on the ballot during the early days of the pandemic. WORTH THE CLICK: Rep. Jim McGovern sits down (virtually) with POLITICO cartoonist Matt Wuerker to illustrate how the House Rules Committee, which McGovern chairs, actually works. Link. HAPPENING TODAY: Join us on Clubhouse! I'm moderating a talk about the future of transportation in Massachusetts with Rep. Jake Auchincloss and Transportation for Massachusetts Director Chris Dempsey at 7:30 p.m. Click the link on your phone, and hit the button in the top right corner to set a reminder that will tell you when the room opens. The app is iPhone only. If you don't have Clubhouse, ask a friend to send you an invitation. Link. 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 is expected to return from Florida following a death in his family. Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, candidate for mayor, continues her “Get Boston Back to Business” tour with stops in Dorchester and Mattapan. | |
| | A message from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM): The Senate enters 2021 facing the immediate challenges of moderating the pandemic and setting Massachusetts on the road to economic recovery. Senate President Karen Spilka is not only looking at long-term issues such as the effect of COVID on remote work, transportation and child care. Register here for AIM’s Executive Forum featuring the Senate President as she outlines her vision for the commonwealth. | | | | |
| | SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST” TO JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION: Power dynamics are changing. “Influence” is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge “business as usual.” Don’t miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 1,281 new COVID cases, 41 more deaths on Sunday,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts public health officials on Sunday reported another 1,281 cases of COVID-19 and 41 more deaths linked to the virus. There are 27,320 estimated active cases statewide.” – “Mass. surpasses 16,000 deaths due to COVID-19,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts crossed a grim new threshold in the fight against COVID-19, as the state’s death toll passed 16,000 Saturday, even as numbers of new cases and hospitalizations continued to decline in the state.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “State Orders Elementary Schools To Fully Re-Open Classrooms By April 5,” by Carrie Jung, WBUR: “Public schools in Massachusetts will have to begin offering in-person learning to elementary school students five days a week next month. It's the first decision education Commissioner Jeff Riley made under new authority approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Friday afternoon, by a vote of 9-3. Under the regulation change, Riley can determine when remote-only education will no longer be an option for districts.” – “Massachusetts Teachers Association wants MCAS tests canceled, not just postponed, during ‘unbelievably stressful year,’” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “Hours after the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced that MCAS tests would be postponed this year, the Massachusetts Teachers Association said that measure is not enough during the COVID-19 pandemic.” – “Body armor and pepper spray: Politicians can buy safety gear with campaign funds after Capitol attack,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “In a move with little precedent, Massachusetts campaign finance regulators say they will allow the state’s elected officials to use campaign funds to buy bulletproof vests, gas masks, and other gear to protect themselves and their staffs following the January attack on the US Capitol.” – “New rules aim to ease housing crunch,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “The Baker administration is touting new rules aimed at boosting home building, saying the changes will help alleviate a housing crunch that has driven home prices and held back economic growth. A law signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in January, as part of a $627 million economic development package, immediately allows town governing bodies to change local zoning with a simple majority vote.” – “State Rep. Tami Gouveia arrives just in time,” by Amy Sokolow, The Lowell Sun: “State Rep. Tami Gouveia of Acton said one of the most frequently asked questions she receives is, ‘Why did you leave a career in public health to become a politician?’ She argues that she never left.” – “Families call for justice for police shooting victims,” by Angela Rowlings, Bay State Banner: “Family members of men who were killed by police in or around Boston called for independent investigations into their deaths during a news conference organized by Mass. Action Against Police Brutality in front of the State House on Thursday.” | | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “Massachusetts Explores The Advantages And Potential Challenges Of The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine,” by Martha Bebinger, WBUR: “Massachusetts received 58,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine this week, the first shipment of what could be a substantial boost in vaccination efforts here and across the country. But it’s not clear how that boost will play out or when it will start. Gov. Charlie Baker says he’s not expecting any more J&J deliveries until late March or early April.” – “Gift cards? Time off? Mass. employers offer incentives for vaccinations,” by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: “Teachers and staffers at Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. child-care centers are among those who can begin signing up for the shots in Massachusetts on March 11. The Newton-based company (NYSE: BFAM) is offering $100 gift cards to Target Corp. to employees after they are fully vaccinated.” – “Massachusetts coronavirus vaccine-finder website could cost state up to $250,000, octopus error message included,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “The state’s Vaxfinder website — whose failure last month prompted that ubiquitous octopus graphic — is powered by a tool that could cost up to $250,000. ‘If it actually helps speed shots into arms, that’s a price I’ll take,’ state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, said. ‘But that’s an awful lot of money to pay for a picture of an octopus.’” – “Unions push Baker to back plan for firefighters to vaccinate educators, school workers,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “Unions representing teachers and firefighters expect to meet Wednesday with the state’s health and human services secretary on their proposal to have firefighters administer vaccine doses to thousands of school workers — a program they say would facilitate a more timely and convenient inoculation of educators across Massachusetts.” – “Essential workers feel ‘left behind’ in Massachusetts coronavirus vaccine rollout,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Sean Philip Cotter and Alexi Cohan, Boston Herald: “Grocery and other essential workers who have toiled for a year on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic are feeling left behind in the state’s vaccine rollout and say the powers that be are making ‘value judgments’ in prioritizing other groups ahead of them.” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Walsh administration refuses to release internal affairs files of embattled police commissioner,” by Andrew Ryan, Boston Globe: “After a rebuke from the state’s public records office, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration doubled down Friday, refusing to release decades-old internal affairs records about embattled Police Commissioner Dennis White at least until the city completes its own administrative probe.” – “Boston rally calls for conviction in George Floyd case,” by Lucas Phillips, Boston Globe: “With a murder trial for the former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on the neck of George Floyd set to begin Monday, a small group of protesters in Boston rallied Saturday in support of his conviction —and to draw attention to local incidents.” – “Several Student Leaders In Boston Resign, Citing Disrespect And 'Adultism,’” by Max Larkin, WBUR: “Several student leaders inside the Boston Public Schools have resigned their positions, in protest of what they called the disrespect, manipulation and ‘adultism’ of district leaders and staff. Between six and a dozen high school students resigned from the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC), a body that aims to give students a voice in district decision-making through 49 student representatives.” – “Michael Loconto went down in a moment of online infamy. Can he come back?” by Adrian Walker, Boston Globe: “What comes after the night of Internet shame, after the resignation, after the apology? That’s the question that Michael Loconto has been pondering for months now. Loconto was chairman of the Boston School Committee when he met with his moment of infamy last October.” – “Dorchester Youth Collaborative shutdown a tough blow,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “The news hit George Huynh hard, and for good reason. Starting when he was nine, Huynh often spent more waking hours at the Dorchester Youth Collaborative than he did at home. The youth program in Boston’s Fields Corner neighborhood wasn’t just a favorite place for him and his older brother to hang out. It was a lifeline.” | |
| | A message from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM):  
| | | | | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
| – “Kim Janey rolls out new Boston mayoral transition website — and starts fundraising off of it,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Acting-mayor-in-waiting Kim Janey has rolled out a new transition website as she prepares to assume her temporary post — and the potential mayoral candidate is raising campaign cash from it.” | | ON THE STUMP |
| – “Ben Downing raises $116G in first weeks in governor’s race, Charlie Baker lags in fundraising,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “Former state Sen. Ben Downing raised $116,722 in the opening weeks of his gubernatorial bid as Gov. Charlie Baker continues to lag behind likely contenders for the corner office. Downing, a former Pittsfield Democrat who now lives in East Boston, launched his campaign on Feb. 8 and raised $116,722 through the end of the month, according to Office of Campaign and Political Finance reports.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Religious school faculty not exempt from anti-discrimination laws,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “A Christian college cannot classify all its faculty as ‘ministers’ if they do not have explicitly religious duties, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday, in a decision that could have a major impact in affirming that religious institutions are subject to anti-discrimination laws in their hiring decisions. The Massachusetts court ruling, involving a former professor at Gordon College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Wenham, is the latest salvo in a national dialogue over religious freedom that dates back to the nation’s founding.” – “Lawsuit claims Webster Police Department passed over a top candidate of Laotian descent and hired lower-ranking, non-minority applicants,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “A Webster resident who sought to become a town police officer has claimed in a federal lawsuit that he was passed over for the position despite scoring high on the Massachusetts Civil Service exam, as the town hired other non-minority and lower-ranking candidates.” | | FROM THE DELEGATION |
| – “Warren, Markey vow ‘work is not done’ after Senate approves Biden’s $1.9T coronavirus aid plan,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “Massachusetts Democrats lauded the Senate’s party-line approval of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, calling it a ‘life raft’ that will provide sorely needed direct cash payments and extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.” – “Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Rep. Jim McGovern urge improved staffing for St. Vincent Hospital nurses ahead of strike,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “A trio of Massachusetts lawmakers on Sunday urged Tenet Healthcare, the parent company of St. Vincent Hospital, to make staffing and safety concessions for the hundreds of nurses planning to strike starting Monday. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Jim McGovern argued that Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has ‘still not made appropriate and necessary movement on the issue of staffing.’” | | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
| – “Researchers Find Previously Undetected ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Cape Cod Waters,” by Eve Zuckoff, GBH News: “Harvard researchers have discovered large quantities of previously undetected chemical compounds known as PFAS in six watersheds on Cape Cod. Chronic exposure to the so-called ‘forever chemicals’ — which can be found in water-resistant clothing, stain-resistant furniture, and nonstick cookware — has been linked to cancer, diabetes, and low infant birth weight.” | | AS SEEN ON TV |
| – Senate President Karen Spilka on how to speed up the state's teacher vaccination program, during an interview on WBZ's "Keller @ Large" which aired Sunday: "If you want to get teachers vaccinated, they don't have time to spend hours on the website, which is confusing and anxiety provoking. I know that firsthand. And then they don't have time, necessarily, to take off. So great, it's on the weekend. But if you bring them to the communities, you can just do almost like an assembly line. Get them with appointments, lined up, have them get their vaccination locally, and get ready to go." Link. | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “BACK IN ACTION," "THE WORST IS BEHIND US,” — Globe: “Body armor, gas masks OK'd for legislators," "Stimulus win comes with hitch for Biden.” | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| – “Buying legal marijuana is more convenient than ever. Good luck finding somewhere to legally use it.” by Dan Adams, Boston Globe: “If the pandemic winds down as hoped this summer, Red Sox fans streaming toward Fenway Park on game days may notice something new in the neighborhood: three recreational marijuana stores within blocks of the park, including two approved last month by Boston zoning officials.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “In WAMC Exclusive, Moon Discusses Working For Berkshire DA Harrington And Why She Left The Office,” by Josh Landes, WAMC: “In a WAMC News exclusive, a Pittsfield, Massachusetts city councilor is opening up about her time working for Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington – and what led to her exit.” – “‘Change had to happen’ after audit of Essex County retirement board; officials see parallels in Hampden County,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Ten years before a stinging audit of the Hampden County Regional Board of Retirement, there was Essex County. A 2010 audit of the regional retirement board in northeastern Massachusetts exposed lavish travel, patronage and general piggery by its executive director and, to a lesser extent, its board members.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “St. Vincent nurses rally in Worcester on eve of first strike in 2 decades,” by Scott O'Connell, Telegram & Gazette: “On the eve of the St. Vincent Hospital nurses’ planned strike, both sides in the contract dispute Sunday vowed they are ready for the new reality. In an announcement Sunday morning, the hospital said it is ‘fully prepared and appropriately staffed to continue to provide safe, high-quality care to our patients,’ as some 800 nurses go on strike Monday.” – “‘It’s spiked up quite a bit’: Restaurants in Worcester see surge in customers in February as COVID cases dwindle,” by Michael Bonner, MassLive.com: “During the last several weekends, Ed Russo has stood between his two restaurants on Water Street within Worcester’s Canal District. Each time the foot traffic in the district appears to increase. He’ll watch cars park near his spot, Russo Italian Restaurant and walk across the neighborhood to the Worcester Public Market.” – “Commissioner Bharel: What it means to be an equity city,” by Madeline Hughes, Eagle-Tribune: “Throughout the pandemic, data has been driving Massachusetts’s Public Health response and now it’s driving the vaccination effort. ‘It’s been a very long year. It’s been a very hard year. There’s been a lot of suffering and death,’ said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel in an interview with The Eagle-Tribune.” SPOTTED: Two Massachusetts voices on the FOX Top 5 podcast. Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh and Colin Reed, former campaign manager for GOP Sen. Scott Brown, list their top five political speeches. Link. WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Former Ambassador and Sen. Scott Brown and Gail Huff became grandparents for the first time when their daughter Arianna Hendry and her husband Jimmy Hendry welcomed baby Cecelia Gayle over the weekend. NEW EPISODE: COVID 101 – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith and Stephanie Murray discuss a coronavirus outbreak at UMass Amherst with Massachusetts Daily Collegian reporters Cassie McGrath and Will Katcher. 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. | |
| | A message from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM): The COVID-19 pandemic transformed workplaces around the globe. One of the consequences of this transformation in the United States has been a mass exodus of women from the workforce. Women, and particularly women in communities of color, have been hard hit from both a health and economic perspective. They have also been hampered by the move among schools to remote learning and limited access to childcare.
At Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), we believe businesses must increase value for society and be a force for positive change, therefore, we are calling attention to the loss of women in the workforce with the goal of finding solutions.
We are spearheading the conversation about the “Pink Slip” phenomenon across the commonwealth. We want to bring this issue to life for the business community and deliver specific action steps that can be taken immediately to reverse this alarming trend. We know WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS. | | | | |
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