Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Unpacking Russia’s attack on Ukraine

Friday, February 25, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Unpacking Russia’s attack on Ukraine

IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES — Members of the all-Democratic congressional delegation condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and commended President Joe Biden for imposing “devastating” and “extraordinary” sanctions, while leaving the door open for harsher punishments.

Rep. Seth Moulton told Playbook that Russian President Vladimir Putin should “absolutely” be targeted directly with sanctions.

Delegation members diverge from there. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said she supports “tailored sanctions targeted to Putin and his oligarchs” and continues to “oppose broad-based sanctions that will result in the unjust punishment of Russian civilians who did not choose war.”

Rep. Bill Keating said there “may be some benefit” in targeted sanctions for Putin, but he believes the “impact of that wouldn’t be great because he’s already taken care of his business and protected himself.” Keating is introducing legislation to sanction Russian parliamentarians who voted in favor of the Kremlin’s recognition of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss cautioned that the U.S. needs room to “retain leverage.” He told Playbook that Congress will debate “how we appropriately ratchet up those sanctions,” such as cutting off Russia from the SWIFT global banking network, "and do we try to target Putin personally, and how do we target the oligarchs?”

MISS INDEPENDENT — Notice how Biden didn’t target the energy sector yesterday. Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer, and any disruptions could lead to more pain at the gas pump for American drivers. Pressley and Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged giant corporations not to exploit the situation by jacking up prices. Several delegation members said the situation should serve as a wake-up call to curb the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.

DEFENDING DEMOCRACY — Some representatives cast the conflict as part of a larger struggle to protect democracy. “If we fail [to stop Russia], democracy fails and authoritarianism will continue to grow,” Keating told Playbook.

SEEKING REFUGE — Keating recounted his recent European meeting with Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, when the Ukrainian spoke of the “peace-loving people” of his city “who just want to go through life, going to work, being with their family.”

Now as many as 5 million people could try to flee Ukraine, Keating said. Sen. Ed Markey urged the U.S. to welcome Ukrainian refugees. Mayor Michelle Wu said Boston is “ready to assist” any who come.

ACROSS THE AISLE — Republicans nationally have split in their responses to Russia. Here, GOP state Rep. Lenny Mirra dismissed Putin as a “thug” and called for unity against Russia. Gov. Charlie Baker blasted Putin as a “tyrant” and urged Biden and U.S. allies to “not let up” with their sanctions.

ANOTHER OUT OF STEP REPUBLICAN INCOMPETENT WHO SHOULD JUST SHUT UP!

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Geoff Diehl criticized Russia’s “unwarranted invasion” in a statement. But he also called for U.S. voters to “elect strong leaders who can prevent such terrible acts of aggression in the future.”

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. As Baker said last night, stay off the roads!

TODAY — Wu gives remarks at a swearing-in ceremony for new fire department recruits at 8 a.m. in Dorchester.

THIS WEEKEND — Markey is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com. Also, we’re aware that some links may be missing from Playbook when we publish. Our engineers are still working on it.

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CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Elect Black Women PAC, a national group working to increase representation of Black women in municipal and statewide executive offices, has endorsed former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell for state attorney general, her campaign said.

— NEW: Progressive Massachusetts has endorsed state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz for governor and state Rep. Tami Gouveia for lieutenant governor.

Both won 78 percent support from Progressive Massachusetts members, exceeding the endorsement threshold of 60 percent. Members who voted for Harvard professor Danielle Allen were allowed to change their votes after she dropped out of the governor’s race. Governor hopeful and state Attorney General Maura Healey did not fill out a policy questionnaire and was therefore ineligible for the group’s endorsement. State Sen. Eric Lesser, who’s running for lieutenant governor, submitted his questionnaire late and was also ineligible. Members could vote not to endorse in individual races.

— GETTING IN: Ryan Hamilton, a former Methuen city councilor and current staffer to Mayor Neil Perry, is running for state representative in the 15th Essex district.

— “New majority-minority state rep seat in Framingham has three contenders,” by Zane Razzaq, MetroWest Daily News: “Two additional candidates have announced plans to join the race for the new majority-minority 6th Middlesex District state representative seat. School Committee Chairwoman Priscila Sousa, a Democrat, said she will ‘explore a run’ for the seat. … Democrat Dhruba Sen, a local activist and also a 2017 mayoral candidate, also filed paperwork on Tuesday. … Both new candidates join former City Councilor Margareth Shepard in the race, who announced her intent to run in late January.”

— “Two eye 9th Norfolk state rep seat,” by Heather McCarron, Country Gazette: “As state Rep. Shawn Dooley looks to move on to the state Senate, two Democrats are eyeing his seat in the House. Norfolk’s Kevin Kalkut and Medfield’s Steve Teehan have both formally declared their intentions to run for Dooley’s post representing the 9th Norfolk District.”

— “Doughty Seizes on Diehl, Healey Local Aid Comments,” by Katie Lannan, State House News Service (paywall): “Gov. Charlie Baker, in his spending plans, has boosted unrestricted local aid at levels aligned with the expected growth in state revenue. Both [Chris] Doughty and Democratic candidate Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz indicated they would continue that practice. [Geoff] Diehl said he does not ‘favor mandates or making payments based just on benchmark figures’ and that local aid payments should be based on available resources. [State Attorney General Maura] Healey’s campaign said she would ‘work to ensure that adequate resources’ are available for cities and towns but did not detail how she would decide where to set local aid levels.”

THE LATEST NUMBERS

— “Massachusetts among top states in declining COVID hospitalizations, which average 53% fewer than two weeks ago,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive: “On Thursday, the state Department of Public Health reported 512 hospitalizations, about the same as what the commonwealth faced before Thanksgiving and a winter surge of cases driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. The state also reported 1,556 new cases, an uptick from Wednesday but only due to system errors that made the previous day’s total lower than it should have been, according to DPH.”

— “Town-by-town COVID-19 data in Massachusetts,” by Ryan Huddle and Peter Bailey-Wells, Boston Globe.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “State asks Labor Sec. Marty Walsh for waiver on unemployment overpayments,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “The leader of the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development is asking for permission from the federal government to waive a slew of unemployment overpayment claims impacting hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Hearing over Boston vaccine mandates gets testy,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The first in-person hearing of the City Council in nearly two years was a testy one, as councilors exchanged jabs over the Wu administration’s response and slates of union heads, city officials and anti-vaccine activists testified in the hours-long meeting. … A couple of the councilors and the union heads — in attendance were IAFF Local 718 president John Soares, Boston Police Superior Officers Federation head Jeanne Carroll, Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association boss Larry Calderone and AFSCME Local 1526 Elissa Cadillic — continued to call for Wu to change her positions on mandates and restrictions.”

— “In the cold after midnight, Mayor Wu meets with people on the streets,” by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: “[Boston Mayor Michelle] Wu said that the walk reinforced the need for new housing initiatives, including transitional housing that welcomes people off the street with immediate warm shelter, including those still in the throes of substance abuse, while they transition to stability.”

— "At Mattapan farm, Mayor Wu announces new urban agriculture office," by Seth Daniel, Dorchester Reporter: "Grow Boston will be within the Housing Cabinet and will work to increase food production throughout Boston ... Grow Boston will also contribute to Boston’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change while addressing injustices inherent in the current food system, according to Wu."

— IN MEMORIAM: “Lauren Sampson was a ‘bright light’ of Boston’s civil rights lawyers,” by Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Green Line extension to Union Square will open March 21, MBTA says,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “The long-awaited Green Line extension to Union Square in Somerville will open for passenger service on the afternoon of March 21, MBTA General Manger Steve Poftak announced Thursday. New stations at Lechmere and Union Square will welcome passengers that day. … The timing of the opening of the separate and much longer Green Line extension branch to Medford, which includes five new stations, was tentatively scheduled for May, but may not start carrying passengers until summer.”

— “Free T bus sped service, even got some to ditch cars — but saved few money, MBTA says,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “Since the MBTA’s 28 bus became free to ride last year, service has improved and some commuters have ditched their cars in favor of the bus. But most people on the free bus still ended up paying for their fare through a monthly pass or when they transferred to another part of the system, the T said Thursday. The preliminary results of the first six months of fare-free service on the 28 come as Boston plans to expand fare-free service to include the 23 and 29 routes for two years starting March 1 using $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to reimburse the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for lost revenue.”

— “Free bus rides begin March 1,” by Mike LaBella, Eagle-Tribune: “The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority will go fare-free for all local fixed route and EZ Trans paratransit services starting on March 1 for at least a two-year pilot program. Fares will still be collected on the Boston Commuter Bus.”

— “New challenges with I-90 Allston project,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “State transportation officials have started meeting with representatives of the city of Boston and Harvard to discuss financing options. Participants describe the talks as productive, with officials from Boston and Harvard acknowledging they have to contribute significant dollars to the project.”

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

— “‘They’re trying to get to Poland — they can’t get gas anymore.’ Relatives worry about family in Ukraine,” by Emily Sweeney and Andrew Brinker, Boston Globe: “Mykola Konrad, a second-generation Ukrainian-American who lives in Newton, has been communicating with a friend in Ukraine over WhatsApp. The friend is in Lviv and would like to leave the country, but doesn’t have enough fuel to make the drive.”

— “Massachusetts Ukrainian community and supporters cry out in protest against Russian invasion,” by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: “With a Russian invasion unfolding in Ukraine, local Ukrainians and their supporters gathered at the Massachusetts State House Thursday to voice their grief — and their outrage. Hundreds of protesters held up Ukraine's yellow and blue flags, calling for support for the nation with signs to ‘Stop Russian aggression’ and ‘Stand with Ukraine.’”

— “How Russian invasion of Ukraine could impact Massachusetts consumers,” by WCVB: “Ukraine is called the breadbasket of Europe. Russia’s invasion could impact consumers’ wallets, starting at the grocery store. … Russia is consistently the third or fourth-largest oil producer. Gas prices are already around $4 and headed up.”

— “In 2012, Mitt Romney was mocked for seeing Russia as a threat. He didn’t forget,” by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: “Nearly 10 years ago, soon after former Gov. Mitt Romney settled into his third debate against then-President Barack Obama, he was quickly painted by his presidential opponent as being out of touch — especially with foreign policy.”

DATELINE D.C.

— “CDC relaunching Covid tracker with an eye on eased mandates,” by Adam Cancryn and Sarah Owermohle, POLITICO: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to unveil new guidelines Friday for determining when local communities can safely ease mask mandates and other Covid-19 precautions, four people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.”

— “Biden makes decision on Supreme Court nominee, with announcement as soon as Friday,” by Jeff Zeleny, CNN: “President Joe Biden has reached a decision on his first nominee to the Supreme Court, people familiar with the selection said Thursday, with his historic selection of the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court set to be revealed as soon as Friday.”

— "Millions of student-loan borrowers 'appear to be at risk' of not knowing 'vital' information about when payments restart, Elizabeth Warren says," by Ayelet Sheffey, Insider: "Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is worried 43 million federal student-loan borrowers don't have the information they need to resume payments in just over two months. On Wednesday, Warren, along with Reps. Lauren Underwood of Illinois and Colin Allred of Texas, led five of their Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona regarding the student-loan payment restart date on May 1. They wrote that they were 'concerned' with the lack of clarity surrounding the timeline to resume payments, saying that 'millions of borrowers appear to be at risk of missing out on vital information about the payment restart.'"

FROM THE 413

— “State calls for $91M in repairs, not replacement, of ailing Roderick Ireland Courthouse in Springfield,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “The state Trial Court has concluded repairs estimated at $91 million — not replacement — is the best solution to environmental and health hazards at the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse that serves Hampden County. In part, that’s because replacing the 45-year-old building would be a years-long process that would include selection and acquisition of a new site as well as design and construction.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Hundreds of thousands of Mass. households are behind on utility bills as end of shut-off moratorium looms," by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: "Over three quarters of a million Massachusetts households were behind on their utility bills at the end of of December, according to a report published Wednesday by the National Consumer Law Center, a Boston-based nonprofit."

— "Nearly two months after ending strike, St. Vincent nurses could lose union and new contract," by Sam Turken, GBH News: "[As union nurses] celebrated [the strike's end], another contingent of the hospital’s nurses was moving to decertify the Massachusetts Nurses Association as the union at St. Vincent. The effort has triggered a high-stakes vote among all nurses over the last three weeks that will determine the union’s future at the hospital. Voting ends Friday, and the National Labor Relations Board will begin counting ballots Monday."

SPOTTED — Governor hopeful and former state Rep. Geoff Diehl talking to an OAN reporter at CPAC, per his Facebook.

TRANSITIONS — President Joe Biden tapped Scott Soares, a former Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources commissioner, Obama administration alum and owner of Boston Bay Consulting, as USDA state director for rural development in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Biden also selected David Cash, a former public utilities and environmental protection commissioner for the state, as EPA regional administrator for Region 1.

— The Castle Group has expanded its public affairs practice with Sharon Torgerson as chief communications officer and Taylor Connolly as senior director of public affairs.

— Dana Larkin is now scheduler and special projects coordinator for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She is a former PR and comms specialist at LaRiviMedia.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jack Dew. Happy belated to state Rep. Lenny Mirra, who celebrated Wednesday; and to Vicki DiLorenzo and Sharon Durkan, who celebrated Thursday.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Harold Hubschman, Cathey Park, Laura Oggeri, Adam Bass and Jill Webb, who celebrate Saturday; and to state Sen. Eric Lesser and Susan Zalkind, who celebrate Sunday.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: THE BLOOPER REEL — Need some levity? Hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Lisa Kashinsky have plenty of outtakes. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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