Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: More Republicans enter the chat

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: More Republicans enter the chat

MONEY, PLEASE — Maura Healey’s gubernatorial war chest has surpassed $4 million.

The Democratic state attorney general will report raising $412,499 in February, the third month in a row she's raked in more than $400,000. Healey entered March with $4,237,372 in cash on hand, her campaign said.

Healey again far outpaced state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, who will report raising $106,607 in February and ending the month with $351,058 in her campaign coffers. The Republicans’ totals aren’t out yet.

Here’s something to watch going forward: Candidates often post bigger fundraising hauls in December and January because the new calendar year can bring fresh money from old donors.

February marks the third month Chang-Díaz raised over $100,000. Her campaign said more than half of her 600 February donors were first-time contributors. March will show whether Chang-Díaz can sustain or grow her hauls — or whether her February take benefited from Harvard professor Danielle Allen dropping out and making the primary a two-woman race.

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN — Some familiar GOP faces are stepping up for statewide office.

Jay McMahon is taking another stab at attorney general after losing to Healey in 2018. In a press release announcing his candidacy — sent, curiously, not by McMahon but by the MassGOP — the Cape Cod Republican and failed state Senate candidate vowed to help first responders who were fired over vaccine mandates regain their jobs.

Former state Rep. Kate Campanale is running for lieutenant governor — as Chris Doughty’s running mate. But the new duo has to make it through separate primaries to actually run as a ticket. That means Campanale, the only major Republican vying for LG, could wind up paired up with Doughty’s rival, former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, come November.

For Doughty, the addition of Campanale — who ran unsuccessfully for Worcester register of deeds in 2018 and is married to state Rep. Peter Durant, her former boss — adds some establishment heft to the political novice’s campaign. And pairing a more moderate businessman with a more conservative central-Massachusetts lawmaker has worked for Republicans in the past.

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Cutting the cost of child care. Check. Combating the opioid crisis. Check. Making corporations and the wealthy pay “their fair share.” Check.

One glaring omission from President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech : canceling federal student loan debt — a priority for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley. Pressley tweeted that she was “encouraged” by Biden’s calls to enact paid family and medical leave and raise the minimum wage — but that it's "past time" to "#CancelStudentDebt.”

Climate change barely got a shout in a speech reshaped by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sen. Ed Markey responded by urging his colleagues to pass climate justice and clean energy provisions in the stalled Build Back Better plan — which the president was careful not to mention by name — en route to “delivering on a Green New Deal.”

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito join a roundtable discussion on the administration's dangerousness and "revenge porn" legislation at 10 a.m. at the Springfield YWCA. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new High Street Place Food Hall at 9 a.m.

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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ON THE STUMP

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell will report raising $329,488 in her first month campaigning for state attorney general. Her February haul is also her highest monthly total to date, including her mayoral and council bids, her campaign said. Campbell entered March with nearly $320,000 in cash on hand.

— CASH DASH: Quentin Palfrey, one of Campbell’s rivals for AG, will report raising $101,942 and ending February with $246,877 in cash on hand, his team said.

— State Sen. Eric Lesser will report raising $100,410 in his bid for lieutenant governor and growing his war chest to $884,000, his campaign said.

— “GOP gubernatorial hopeful Chris Doughty picks former lawmaker as running mate,” by Matt Stout and Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Appearing together at Stearns Tavern on Tuesday, Doughty and [Kate] Campanale pitched themselves as a unified ticket that’s largely untethered from national Republicans or the ideological divide currently battering the state GOP. ‘This election isn’t about Donald Trump or Joe Biden. It isn’t even about Charlie Baker,’ Campanale, 36, said, flanked by about 20 supporters and Doughty campaign staff. ‘It’s about looking forward.'"

— “The Rev. Miniard Culpepper announces run for state Senate after two decades at HUD,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “The Rev. Miniard Culpepper, a community advocate, lawyer, and senior pastor at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Dorchester, announced his run for the state Senate on Tuesday, a move that follows his decision to retire as regional counsel for the nation’s housing authority. … The field already includes state Representatives Nika Elugardo and Liz Miranda, who both represent parts of Boston, but Culpepper said his status as Beacon Hill outsider will help set him apart in his appeal to voters.”

— “Jeffrey Morneau has announced his candidacy for Mary Hurley Governor’s Council seat,” by Douglas Hook, MassLive: “Just hours after Mary E. Hurley announced that she will be standing aside in the upcoming Massachusetts Governor’s Council elections for the eighth district, Jeffrey Morneau has announced that he will be running for her seat.”

THE LATEST NUMBERS

— “Massachusetts’ coronavirus hospitalizations drop to lowest patient tally in more than 6 months,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The total of 394 patients is the lowest hospitalization count since Aug. 14, when there were 384 patients in Bay State hospitals. The state Department of Public Health on Tuesday also reported 1,209 daily coronavirus cases, a 17% drop from the 1,459 infections reported two Tuesdays ago. … In the state’s weekly breakthrough report, the state Department of Public Health reported 3,488 breakthrough infections last week — a 45% drop from the 6,312 fully vaccinated cases during the prior week.”

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— BAKER’S FULL-COURT PRESS: Gov. Charlie Baker has been ramping up his pressure on the Legislature to act on his bills that would revamp the state’s criminal dangerousness statute and outlaw “revenge porn.”

Baker has been posting a series of tweets highlighting the stories of survivors of domestic abuse and other violent crimes that were shared with him at a Plymouth roundtable last December. Today, Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will hold another roundtable with survivors, this one in Springfield, as they continue to prod lawmakers to take up the thrice-filed legislation.

— NOT SO FAST: A bipartisan and bicameral group of 58 lawmakers, led by House Minority Leader Brad Jones, sent Treasurer Deb Goldberg a letter asking her to divest any state pension funds invested in Russian-owned companies. Goldberg replied that she, too, is “horrified” by Russia’s assault on Ukraine — but that her hands are tied without an act of the Legislature. The Boston Herald’s Amy Sokolow has more.

— “New offshore wind bill drops electric bill charges,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “House leaders on Tuesday abandoned a proposal to hike electric ratepayer bills as they pulled together the votes needed to pass legislation offering significant financial incentives to the offshore wind industry to put down roots in Massachusetts. ‘There will be other opportunities to put more money in this. We want to keep the debate about building an industry,’ said House Speaker Ron Mariano. ‘We didn’t want this bill to get killed because of an argument over consumer electric bills.’”

— “Two protesters arrested at State House,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “State Police on Tuesday arrested two people at the Massachusetts State House who authorities said were part of a group protesting new rules that visitors must provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 before entering the building.”

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “Mass. no longer requiring masks on school buses for K-12 students, officials say,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “State public health officials said Tuesday that Massachusetts school children no longer have to mask up on their buses, the latest in a series of moves relaxing the COVID-19 guidelines as the impact of the punishing Omicron surge earlier this winter continues to wane. … The Boston Public Schools will be keeping its mask mandate on buses in place for the time being, a spokesperson said Tuesday in an email.”

— “Do at-home COVID-19 antigen tests detect the omicron variant as well as delta? UMass researchers now have a better idea,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “UMass researchers in a new study say that reports of at-home COVID-19 antigen tests struggling to quickly detect the omicron variant may have been ‘overstated.’ The at-home antigen tests were slightly better at detecting omicron variant infections than delta variant cases, according to the study authored by UMass Chan Medical School and associated researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative.”

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FROM THE HUB

— “Boston to drop indoor mask mandate for businesses, health chief says,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Boston will lift its mask mandate on Saturday, allowing the bare-faced back into businesses — though the step doesn’t apply to Boston Public Schools. … The district continues to have a mask mandate for teachers and students alike, and the BPHC will further discuss masks in schools at its next meeting on March 9.”

— “Boston School Committee to sign superintendent’s separation agreement Wednesday night,” by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: “The Boston Public Schools Committee is expected to sign a separation agreement Wednesday giving Superintendent Brenda Cassellius at least $311,000 to walk away from her job in June after just three years in the post.”

— “Michelle Wu defends move to get rid of early-morning protesters at her home,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “When it was pointed out that the main ‘someone’ who’s being picketed these days is her, meaning this primarily benefits her and her neighborhood in that they’d no longer have to deal with the regular early morning anti-vaccine-mandate demonstrators, [Boston Mayor Michelle Wu] pushed back. She said that City Council President Ed Flynn, Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and others had had some bouts of similar targeted protests, if not for so long of a time.”

— “Health officials report an overdose death at Roundhouse,” by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: “A woman died of an apparent drug overdose Monday at the Roundhouse hotel, the controversial housing site and healthcare clinic that has been used to place and treat people who were living at the tent encampments at Mass. and Cass, city and health officials said.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “On first day of fare-free bus pilot, Wu boards 29 bus for celebratory ride,” by Taylor Dolven and Gal Tziperman Lotan, Boston Globe: “Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston took a free bus ride Tuesday morning, launching a two-year pilot program of fare-free buses on three MBTA routes. … Most riders waiting for the 29 bus at Jackson Square Tuesday did not know the three bus routes were fare free. The buses are supposed to have a digital sign reading ‘Ride for Free,’ but many were still without them Tuesday morning.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “Sen. Ed Markey seeks to choke off $20B in Russian oil imports to US that help ‘fuel Putin’s despicable war on Ukraine’,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive: “Coming during a wave of severe economic sanctions, worldwide protests and increased calls to boycott Russian-made goods after [President Vladimir] Putin’s forces rolled into Ukraine last week, Markey’s newly proposed bill — the Severing Putin’s Immense Gains from Oil Transfers (SPIGOT) Act — would bar imports of all Russian crude oil and petroleum products unless the president authorized a national security waiver.”

— “Lawmakers push Biden administration to give Ukrainians temporary protection,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “Massachusetts Reps. Richard Neal, Jim McGovern, Ayanna Pressley and Stephen Lynch as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey were among dozens of legislators who wrote President Joe Biden on Tuesday, urging him to use ‘all available pathways’ under the law to protect individuals of Ukrainian nationality already in the U.S. on temporary visas.”

THE OPINION PAGES

— “So Long, Charlie. RIP, GOP,” by Jon Keller, Boston Magazine: “Poor Charlie Baker. Heir to a generational legacy of thoughtful, civil, community-minded, results-oriented Republicans, his departure now clears the way within his party for the ascendance of dismissive Trumpian ideologues.”

FROM THE 413

— “Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno appoints 5 to Police Commission; disappoints those who sought community input,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “A new five-member Police Commission is now in place to oversee the operations of the Police Department. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced the appointment of the new panel Tuesday after the close of the business day. His appointees include four of the members of the Civilian Community Police Hearing Board that had previously worked with now-superintendent Cheryl C. Clapprood to review citizen complaints.”

— “FEMA reimbursing BMC for some pandemic-related costs,” by Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle: “The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending $2.9 million to Massachusetts to cover BMC for some of the costs associated with operating in a pandemic environment — it included operating safely and handling increased patient loads — from June 2020 to September 2020.”

— “Petition calls on UMass to make campus safer after student killed,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “An online petition is calling on the University of Massachusetts to make the campus safer for pedestrians following last week’s crash that killed a student while she was crossing Massachusetts Avenue.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Federal audit slams local districts and Mass. education department’s oversight of emergency aid,” by James Vaznis and Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts school districts opened their doors four years ago to more than 6,000 students from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands who were fleeing from the devastation caused by hurricanes Maria and Irma. Along the way, the districts collectively picked up millions of dollars in extra federal aid that was supposed to be used for their schooling. But now a recently completed federal audit is raising questions about misspending and is blaming the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which administered the federal program locally, for basically shuffling along paperwork and money.”

— “The minimum salary to be happy in Massachusetts is $139,125, according to Purdue study,” by Cassie McGrath, MassLive: “Despite these findings, the median household income in the commonwealth is $81,215, according to Census.gov.”

— “Health system Wellforce changes name to Tufts Medicine,” by Doug Banks, Boston Business Journal: “Wellforce, the health system that includes such hospitals as Lowell General, MelroseWakefield and Tufts Medical Center, is changing its name to Tufts Medicine.”

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

— “Providence mayor forms reparations commission,” by Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press: “The 13-member panel is charged with examining reparation work being done in other cities, conducting community outreach and creating recommendations for ways the city can begin repairing harms.”

SPOTTED at SOTU — Labor Secretary Marty Walsh; Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Sen. Ed Markey, wearing a mask as a reminder that immunocompromised people and those over 60 remain at higher risk for severe Covid-19 illness; Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark and Rep. Lori Trahan, along with other members, wearing blue and yellow in a show of solidarity with Ukraine; and Reps. Jake Auchincloss and Jim McGovern wearing blue-and-yellow pins.

NOT SPOTTED at SOTU — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the former Rhode Island governor, who was the designated survivor.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Rep. Brian Donnelly, Kevin Madden, Joseph Gravellese and John Krol.

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