| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | Presented by Google | BUCK STOPS WITH BAKER? — Gov. Charlie Baker is on the defensive after a stunning Boston Globe report that concluded he and his top health official “played key roles” in the events leading up to last spring’s deadly coronavirus outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home. The investigation from the Globe’s Spotlight team called the tragedy a “government failure at every level.” And it claimed former federal prosecutor Mark W. Pearlstein's report into the facility's handling of the outbreak — an external investigation commissioned by Baker — was “marred by key errors and omissions that helped shield Baker and (Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou) Sudders from blame.” The newspaper called former Holyoke Superintendent Bennett Walsh a "politically connected hire by Baker" and claimed Sudders was "directly involved" in his supervision pre-Covid — and had to "address serious management problems" under his watch. Walsh now faces charges of criminal neglect related to the outbreak. Asked about the report on Friday, Baker called the outbreak that killed 76 veterans last spring — a 77th died last winter — a “terrible tragedy — and it’s on us.” He also said Pearlstein had “100% carte blanche” with his investigation. The report prompted a flurry of private conversations over the weekend among legislators who just Thursday had sent a bond bill funding construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home to Baker’s desk. One legislative source said it's raising new questions about who’s culpable for the tragedy; another floated the idea of bringing Baker and Sudders before the legislature to address new concerns. The still-developing situation could have political ramifications for Baker, who's considering whether to run for a third term. “Some of the mismanagement in our state over the past few years, it’s been completely outrageous,” said state Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge), a frequent Baker critic. “But somehow it seems like our governor flies under the radar of criticism sometimes.” Then there’s Sudders. Baker expressed “full confidence” in Sudders after the Pearlstein report dropped, and his office said Sunday he stands by that. But state Rep. Shawn Dooley (R-Norfolk) — who was already calling for Sudders to be replaced over the vaccine rollout — told me Sunday she should resign “like she demanded” of former Secretary of Veterans' Services Francisco Urena. It's unclear if the investigation will have any impact on the special legislative committee report on the facility's handling of the outbreak that's nearing completion. One thing that was clear over the weekend — the relief, as one source put it, among some in Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s orbit that a different Bay State pol was taking a turn in the hot seat after the former Boston mayor last week got dragged back into the drama surrounding suspended Police Commissioner Dennis White. GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend, I sure did! Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com. TODAY — Rep. Richard Neal and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kenneally join an EastWest Exchange Sector Series for Aerospace and Defense workshop at 8 a.m. State Sen. Anne Gobi, state Rep. Todd Smola and the Molly Bish Center at Anna Maria College mark Missing Children’s Day with a virtual hearing at 10 a.m. International Association of Fire Fighters Local 718 will endorse Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George in the city’s mayoral race at 10:30 a.m. The Boston Globe and the Environmental League of Massachusetts host a mayoral candidate forum on energy and the environment at noon. State Sen. Adam Hinds and state Auditor Suzanne Bump talk tax reform at 3 p.m. on Facebook Live. Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey will provide opening remarks at “Modeling Leadership, Making Change: Women of Color Transforming Massachusetts Politics” at 6 p.m. | |
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|  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Active COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to decline in Massachusetts as state reports 287 new cases and 5 deaths,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Active COVID-19 cases across Massachusetts declined again Sunday as state public health officials reported 287 new cases and 5 more deaths. There are currently 10,062 active cases of the coronavirus across Massachusetts, down from Saturday’s 10,366 and Friday’s 10,939.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| Beacon BLOC has released the results of the pay equity survey distributed to legislative staffers earlier this month. Of the more than 210 people who responded — a quarter of all legislative staffers — almost half reported being unable to support themselves and their dependents given their current salaries, and 17% reported experiencing food insecurity during their time in the legislature. Of those who can financially support themselves, more than 88% rely on additional sources of income or assistance outside of their State House take-home pay, according to Beacon BLOC (Building Leaders of Color), a collective of Black State House staffers. The results show “the many troubling circumstances and power dynamics Legislative staffers experience,” Beacon BLOC wrote in a press release, adding that some staffers “feel overworked and financially undervalued.” Beacon BLOC wants to work with House and Senate leadership to improve working conditions and increase diversity at the State House. But the group said the 6% raises and $500 stipends for home office supplies recently offered by leadership don’t go far enough. – “Failure of command: The inside story of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home outbreak,” by Rebecca Ostriker, Andrea Estes, Matt Rocheleau, and Spotlight editor Patricia Wen, Boston Globe: “Gov. Charlie Baker and a top deputy played key roles in events leading up to the COVID-19 tragedy at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, but publicly faulted others. … Baker and Sudders have relied on the Pearlstein report — commissioned by the governor — as a thorough, unstinting review of what went wrong at the home. But a Spotlight review of the report found it to be marred by key errors and omissions that helped shield Baker and Sudders from blame.” – “Baker Supplies Executive Order List to Legislature,” by Matt Murphy, State House News Service (paywall): “Gov. Charlie Baker delivered a list to the Legislature Thursday evening outlining several dozen executive orders and other pandemic-era safe business guidelines that will be rescinded on June 15 when the governor ends the state of emergency.” – “‘Get Back To Work’ $1,200 bonus on table as Massachusetts Senate debates fiscal year 2022 budget,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts lawmakers are poised to discuss a ‘Get Back to Work Bonus’ as part of fiscal year 2022 budget debate just as states and businesses scramble to draw unemployed Americans back to the workforce in a tightened job market.” | | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES |
| – “In state’s least immunized county, vaccine holdouts remain as wariness persists,” by Robert Weisman, Boston Globe: “It’s one of the most diverse counties in Massachusetts, home to struggling cities with large Black and Hispanic populations, and mostly white small towns known for tobacco farming and bucking the state’s liberal wave to vote for Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election. Hampden County, straddling the Pioneer Valley along the Connecticut border, has another distinction: the lowest vaccination rate in Massachusetts.” – “Massachusetts shutting down vaccine preregistration system next weekend,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “With the COVID-19 vaccine ‘widely available,’ Massachusetts is shutting down the preregistration system it launched over two months ago to manage the mad dash to secure the then-limited number of appointments.” – “Battered by COVID-19, some Massachusetts communities eye reopening with a mix of hope and trepidation,” by Sahar Fatima, Boston Globe: “In working-class communities across the state that were battered by the pandemic, some residents are wary of returning to normal life too quickly." | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Walsh allies hope uproar over Boston top cop appointment will quickly fade,” by Stephanie Murray, Eleanor Mueller and Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: “Marty Walsh appointed a new police commissioner in one of his final acts as mayor, hoping to put Boston’s political woes behind him. But the local drama followed Walsh to Washington, where that last-minute promotion has the new Labor secretary embroiled in a hometown scandal and scrambling to contain the fallout. A leadership transition gone awry inside the Boston Police Department devolved into finger-pointing between Walsh and the city’s former police commissioner this week, and now Walsh’s biggest labor backers in Washington have gone silent.” – “DA Rollins: Affidavits In Dennis White Case 'Trump' Walsh's Denials,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins — with lawyerly precision — waded into the controversy surrounding the suspension of Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White, who faces dismissal in the wake of an independent lawyer's report that suggested police covered up allegations of domestic abuse made 22 years ago by White's then wife. ’Somebody signed something under the pains and penalties of perjury. For me that has to trump … somebody just saying, ‘Yeah, that never happened,’ Rollins told GBH News on Boston Public Radio.”
| | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| – "Santiago Counts On Boston's Growing Latino Community To Elect Him Mayor. But Will It Be Enough?" by Anthony Brooks, WBUR: "On a recent Sunday morning, a couple of dozen people gathered outside on the patio of the Pueblo Viejo Restaurant in East Boston, under warm, sunny skies. There was plenty of salsa music, drinks, plates of chicken and rice — and politics. State Rep. Jon Santiago, one of a half-dozen major candidates running for Boston mayor, made it clear at the event he is counting on the Latino community to help him win the election." | |
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| | | | | WARREN REPORT |
| – “Elizabeth Warren to target congressional stock trades,” by Dave Levinthal and Warren Rojas, Insider: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, plans to introduce legislation during this congressional session that would ban members of Congress and other top government officials from buying and selling individual stocks, she told Insider.” – “Elizabeth Warren dodges questions about Marty Walsh resignation, takes aim at Boston police ‘blue wall of silence’,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren dodged questions about whether U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh should resign from his Washington post if it turns out he knew about domestic assault allegations against his pick for Boston Police commissioner, installed in his final days as mayor. Instead, Warren took aim at the cops, calling on officers to ‘drop this blue wall of silence’ during a Sunday appearance on WCVB’s ‘On the Record.’” | | FROM THE DELEGATION |
| – “OTR: Rep. Jim McGovern airs frustrations about potential hold-up for commission on Capitol riot,” by Maria Stephanos and Janet Wu, WCVB: “The Massachusetts congressman says anyone who doesn't want to get to the bottom of what happened on Jan. 6 is not fit to serve in the House of Representatives.” – "Rep. McGovern: If Jan. 6 Commission Fails, 'Chances Of Another Attack Are That Much Greater'," by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: "Congressman Jim McGovern said he believes Rep. Kevin McCarthy bowed to the whim of former President Donald Trump after McCarthy voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol." – “Herald records request shows 1.2M stimulus checks unspent, including 27,689 in Massachusetts,” by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: “A staggering 1.24 million stimulus checks remain unspent from the first coronavirus-era bailout as progressive Democrats intensify their lobbying for a fourth round of bailout bucks. IRS records obtained by the Herald show that tally includes 27,689 unspent checks sent to Massachusetts residents — the highest count in New England.” | | DATELINE D.C. |
| – “Former GOP senator: Trump absolutely bears responsibility for Capitol riot,” by CNN: “Scott Brown, who served as a former Republican senator and US ambassador, tells CNN's Dana Bash that he believes former President Donald Trump bears responsibility for the January 6 Capitol insurrection.” – “Lowell woman banned from US re-entry among immigrants President Biden calling to protect,” by Robert Mills, Lowell Sun: “The day after Ana Rafael Cruz — an immigrant who spent all of her adult life living and working legally in Lowell via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — was denied a visa and banned from re-entering the country for at least 10 years, President Biden met in the Oval Office with six other immigrants just like her. … Rafael Cruz’s family reached out to U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey for assistance, and aides for all three confirmed they’re working with the family.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Housing advocates look to state budget for ways to help those at risk of evictions, foreclosures,” by Danny Jin, Berkshire Eagle: “With hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents behind on rent or mortgage payments, housing advocates are eyeing the state budget as a possible vehicle to expand assistance and protections for those at risk of evictions or foreclosures. The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness has identified seven amendments as priorities for the Senate budget.” – “Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are falling. Thank the vaccines, and the sunshine, health experts say,” by Francesca Paris, Berkshire Eagle: “During one of the worst weeks of the pandemic in Berkshire County last winter, at least four people died each day. Over the last six weeks, the virus killed four people in total. ” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “Conservative group says safe space for students of color in Wellesley violated white students’ civil rights,” by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: “After the March murders of Asian American women in Atlanta, Wellesley Public Schools invited students of color to a conversation to process their emotions. A teacher said the discussion wasn’t for white students, according to an e-mail obtained by the Globe, but offered them other avenues to discuss the recent violence. Now, a newly formed Washington, D.C.-based conservative group is asking President Biden’s administration to investigate the Wellesley school district..." – “Maura Healey waiting for DA’s report before deciding on independent inquiry into Mikayla Miller’s death,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Attorney General Maura Healey said her office will wait until after the Middlesex DA’s office finishes its investigation before deciding whether or not to open an independent inquiry into the death of Hopkinton teen Mikayla Miller, who medical examiners determined died by suicide.” – “New Bedford is America's most lucrative fishing port for 20th straight year,” by Ted Nesi, WPRI: “The Whaling City's bragging rights remain in tact. The National Marine Fisheries Service -- better known as NOAA Fisheries -- released its annual report on the health of the nation's fishing industry on Thursday, and once again the Port of New Bedford took top honors as the nation's highest-grossing commercial fishing port.” – “Massachusetts fishermen fear ‘dead zones’ as massive wind farms loom,” by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: “Vineyard Wind, the company given federal approval this month to build the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind project, could be the harbinger of a new age of wind energy in the U.S. — but some fear it also could irreparably harm Massachusetts fishing and lobstering industries where it will be built.” – Fourth decade’s a charm? “City Council candidate Bill Coleman 'determined' to get elected after 40-plus years on ballot with no luck,” by Steven H. Foskett Jr., Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “Time and age and history are funny things to think about some time. William S. Coleman III is 66, but he said he feels like he's still 22, the first year he ran for office in the city. He hasn't been on every ballot since 1976, but it's close. He's giving it another go this year, in the at-large race for City Council.” – “State Rep. Jack Lewis takes a pass on mayoral run,” by MetroWest Daily News staff: “Thanks, but no thanks. That's essentially what state Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis, D-Framingham, told supporters who apparently urged him to run for mayor this fall. Instead, Lewis is throwing his support behind former Selectman and City Councilor Charlie Sisitsky...” | | MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND |
| – "Nellie Gorbea announces run for RI governor," by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea announced Sunday night she is running for Rhode Island governor in 2022, kicking off what’s expected to be a hard-fought primary with the office open for the first time in eight years." | | THE NATIONAL TAKE |
| – “Three inmates implicated in slaying of ‘Whitey’ Bulger face ‘inhumane’ conditions during 31 months in solitary confinement, relatives say,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “More than 2½ years after James “Whitey” Bulger was beaten to death in his cell at a West Virginia prison, no one has been charged with his killing. Yet three inmates who came under scrutiny immediately after the attack have remained in solitary confinement since then, locked in a cell for 23 hours a day with no end in sight.” SPOTTED – Kiss 108’s Billy Costa at The Anchor in Charlestown on Saturday night. TRANSITIONS – Cassidy Ballard, an alum of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential and 2018 Senate campaigns, joins the Department of Energy as an office of management scheduler. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce adds four new members to its board of directors: Emanuel Alves, general counsel at John Hancock; Dana Mendenhall, vice president of marketing and strategy at Takeda Pharmaceutical; Adam Portnoy, president and CEO at RMR Group; and Steven C. Webb, regional president at TD Bank. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Melwood Global’s Kate Donaghey and Boston Globe crime reporter Evan Allen. 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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