Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: When history doesn’t repeat

Monday, April 25, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: When history doesn’t repeat

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WHAT JAKE AUCHINCLOSS IS READING — One of the state’s biggest potential Democratic primary matchups this cycle won’t come to pass.

Jesse Mermell will not challenge Rep. Jake Auchincloss this year. Her announcement, shared with Playbook, puts a pin in talk of a rematch between the top two vote-getters of the 2020 Democratic primary for MA-04.

Mermell was gearing up for a second congressional run when her ailing father took a turn for the worse. She flew to Florida for what she thought would be a four-day visit last fall and ended up staying five months until his death in March.

“Caring for my dad, supporting my mom, and once again experiencing the failures of the American health care system have made me more determined than ever to fight for families like mine,” Mermell said in a statement. But, she continued, “as I navigate my helping my mom during this time of transition, and processing my own grief, now is not the time for another campaign.”

Mermell signaled there could be another run in her future. She spoke of her dad’s “commitment to fighting for change” and said “he will be my guiding light when the day arrives to wage this fight … again.”

For now, her decision is a blow to progressives angling to unseat Auchincloss. But it would have been difficult for Mermell, who had just under $3,000 in her bank account at the end of March, to just now start competing against Auchincloss and his $2.4 million war chest. The first-term representative has also worked to shore up his defenses by allying himself with House leadership and the White House. Now, with two weeks until signatures are due, Auchincloss faces no challengers from either party after the two Republicans running against him dropped out.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and state Attorney General Maura Healey have a history of supporting each other in contested Democratic primaries. "This isn't political," Healey said when she endorsed then-Boston City Councilor Pressley against Rep. Mike Capuano in 2018. “It’s personal.”

But Pressley isn’t returning the favor in the Democratic primary for governor — at least not yet.

“I’m honestly just reveling in the historic nature of this run,” Pressley said when on WCVB “On the Record” whether she’d endorse Healey. “We are going to see a historic governor serving in that corner office, whatever happens, and I have the good fortune of calling Maura and Sonia [Chang-Díaz] good friends. … We shall see.”

Pressley didn’t close the door on an endorsement in the gubernatorial primary or other down-ballot Democratic races. But she certainly wasn’t tipping her hand on OTR. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” Pressley repeated. “Right now I’m just watching these candidates make the case to the electorate, and that’ll be the most important endorsement.”

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito speak at an early college roundtable event in Fall River at 1:30 p.m. Polito attends the FutureSkills roadshow in Framingham at 4:30 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a rally in support of MBTA low-income fare legislation at Park Street station at noon, is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 3 p.m. and hosts a press conference to discuss the city’s youth summer jobs program at 4 p.m. Healey is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at 1 p.m. Rep. Jim McGovern highlights federal funding at 10:30 a.m. at the Worcester Public Schools’ Fanning Building. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) speaks at the New England Council’s “Politics & Eggs” at the NHIOP at 8 a.m.

Your Playbook scribe is still getting back up to speed, so email your tips and scoops to lkashinsky@politico.com .

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PARTY POLITICS

— NEW THIS AM: President Joe Biden’s overall job approval rating among young people keeps falling, according to the latest Harvard Youth Poll . At 41 percent, it’s down 5 percentage points from the fall 2021 Harvard Institute of Politics youth poll and down 18 points from last spring’s edition.

But 40 percent of respondents still prefer Democratic control of Congress — compared to 28 percent who prefer Republicans and 32 percent who are unsure — though “enthusiasm for Democrats has decreased since 2018,” according to IOP polling director John Della Volpe.

The pollsters see signs that 18-to-29-year-olds are on track to match 2018’s record-breaking midterm turnout. But the percentage of young people who believe that “political involvement rarely has tangible results” and that their vote “doesn’t make a difference” is on the rise.

One interesting nugget: 85 percent of young voters say they want some form of federal action on student loan debt, though just 38 percent favor full cancellation. Read the full results.

WARREN REPORT

— SHE’S EVERYWHERE: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is back in the national spotlight, though some would argue she never left. Between her New York Times op-ed offering a blueprint for how Democrats can not lose the midterms and her slate of Sunday-show interviews in which she called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a “traitor” over recordings that show he wanted then-President Donald Trump to resign after the U.S. Capitol riot, she’s generating questions about her 2024 intentions.

Warren said on “Meet the Press” that she’s running for reelection in 2024, something the senator first declared almost a year ago. But that’s not quelling speculation about what Warren might do if President Joe Biden doesn’t seek a second term:

— “Sanders, Warren attract presidential speculation with big moves,” by Hanna Trudo, The Hill: “Roughly two years after Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) suspended their White House bids to back Joe Biden as the party’s nominee, they are getting attention for what some Democrats say resemble early national campaigns-in-waiting.”

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: FitMoney, a local nonprofit that provides free financial literacy curriculum to Massachusetts schools, is out with a new report highlighting the dangers of financial illiteracy amid rising inflation and pointing to how few Bay State students are guaranteed financial education.

FitMoney’s executive director, Jessica Pelletier, is urging Gov. Charlie Baker to make learning about money management in K-12 schools “not just an option, but a priority” in a new letter that calls on the governor to support funding the House has included in its fiscal 2023 budget for financial literacy training for teachers and prod the Legislature to move on five other bills that would promote financial literacy learning in schools.

— LET THE DEBATE BEGIN: House lawmakers will begin debating the Ways and Means Committee’s $49.6 billion FY '23 budget proposal and its 1,521 amendments today.

Republicans are using the budget as a vehicle to again push for a gas-tax holiday, with the average price at the gas pump still above $4 here. They’re also pushing to include parts of Gov. Charlie Baker’s $700 million tax relief plan, including cutting the capital gains tax to 5 percent from 14 percent and increasing the estate-tax threshold to $2 million from $1 million, per the Salem News’ Christian M. Wade. Look for all those to potentially come up today, and peruse the other amendments here.

— LOOKING AHEAD: House Speaker Ron Mariano is now certified to appear on the ballot for reelection, according to spokesperson Scott Ferson, and has confirmed, again, that he plans to seek another term as speaker, for anyone wondering whether this budget might be the Quincy Democrat’s last.

— “State Senate poised to debate long-awaited sports betting bill Thursday — but differences with House remain,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “The prospect of legalized sports betting in Massachusetts could take another step forward this week, when the state Senate is expected to debate its version of a bill to greenlight gambling on professional teams. But the proposed measure continues to have key differences with a counterpart bill approved last year by the state’s House of Representatives, notably a Senate prohibition against wagers being placed on college sports.”

— “A ‘scary man,’ or someone like your uncle? Mass. requires doctors to undergo implicit bias training in an effort to address health care inequities,” by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: “Starting June 1, the Board of Registration in Medicine, which licenses doctors in Massachusetts, is requiring all doctors to take two hours of instruction in implicit bias — mistaken beliefs and prejudices that people hold without realizing it. The training will focus on attitudes toward gender, race, ethnicity, and culture.”

— “Charlie Baker wants lots of new housing around MBTA stations. Not so fast, towns say,” by Catherine Carlock and Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: “[L]egislation mandates new multifamily zones in 175 cities and towns, known as ‘MBTA Communities’ because they have a subway, commuter rail, bus, or ferry station, or neighbor a town that does. … As Governor Charlie Baker’s administration drafts rules for how the law will be implemented, more than five dozen communities are balking at the new requirements, according to letters they’ve submitted in recent weeks to the state that were obtained through a public records request.”

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— AS SEEN ON TV: Rep. Ayanna Pressley said on WCVB’s “On the Record” that the Justice Department is “absolutely doing the right thing” in appealing a Florida judge’s decision that ended the nationwide mask mandate on public transit, and she continued her advocacy for the hundreds of thousands of Bay Staters and millions of Americans estimated to be suffering from “long Covid.”

— “Boston-area COVID wastewater data starts dropping: ‘I’m cautiously optimistic’,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “After local wastewater samples spiked more than 100% over the previous two weeks — along with an increase in reported virus cases during the omicron BA.2 variant wave — the most recent update from the wastewater tracker shows the sewage data has taken a downward turn. The north-of-Boston COVID wastewater average has fallen 13% in the past few days, and the south-of-Boston average has gone down 8%.”

— “Hospitals seek to solve their own staffing shortages,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: “In January, Governor Charlie Baker’s administration estimated that critical staffing shortages had contributed to the loss of approximately 700 hospital beds since the beginning of 2021. Now, a number of hospitals have stepped in to try to shore up the health care workforce, by starting or expanding paid programs to recruit staff in response to workforce shortages and the mounting costs of hiring temporary workers.”

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FROM THE HUB

— “Almost a year on, new Boston police watchdog has processed only a few complaints of officer misconduct. Some advocates are disappointed,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “Since the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, or OPAT, was established in early May of last year, five complaints of officer misconduct have gone through the organization’s intake process. All of those cases are still pending, meaning the organization has yet to make any recommendations. An additional 10 complaints were lodged but have yet to go through the intake process. For some advocates, those numbers suggest the organization is falling short of its mission — to investigate complaints of police misconduct in a city of 700,000 — and that more needs to be done to ensure the new watchdog is not another toothless bureaucracy that quietly accepts the status quo.”

— “Michelle Wu says she still intends to abolish the BPDA,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Three years ago, then-City Councilor Michelle Wu put out a manifesto arguing for the abolition of the Boston Planning & Development Agency. After winning the mayorship, apparently losing control of her old AbolishtheBPDA.com domain name to a foreign blogger and recently naming her own city planning chief, Wu says the goal is still to junk the controversial agency.”

— “Group says 8 guns in Boston Public Schools since September points to an ‘immediate crisis’,” by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald.

— “Wu announces plan to prepare Boston for extreme heat,” by Dharna Noor and Annie Bennett, Boston Globe.

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “MBTA goes out to bid for battery-electric buses,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “The MBTA is beginning the process of electrifying its bus fleet, launching a long-awaited procurement that could lead to the purchase of 460 battery-electric buses over the next five years.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

— DEBATE DRAMA PART ???: After state attorney general hopeful Shannon Liss-Riordan said she and rival Quentin Palfrey would take part in a climate debate in May with or without Andrea Campbell , the former Boston city councilor’s campaign says she’s in — and is accusing Liss-Riordan of “playing games for political points.” MassLive’s Alison Kuznitz has the latest on the debate debacle.

— “Carole King will perform at virtual fundraiser for state senator candidate Sydney Levin-Epstein,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Grammy Award-winning singer Carole King will perform at a virtual fundraiser event for a state senator candidate next month. King, who also happens to be a Sydney Levin-Epstein supporter, will headline the virtual May 11 event, according to a flier shared with MassLive.”

— “A Mass. lieutenant governor candidate was mistakenly left out of 2 polls. ‘It seems to be a skewed game,’ he says,” by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: “Bret Bero, a Beacon Hill businessman running in the crowded Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, now has a recurring problem: Two pollsters have — by their own admission — mistakenly omitted him from their voter surveys.”

— “School board races, both nationally and locally, a heated front in culture wars,” by Tom Reilly, The Sun Chronicle: “[S]chool committee candidates in some area communities have taken up the national issues as their own. The most prominent among those hopefuls, though not the only one, is Matt Light, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and a Foxboro resident.”

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DAY IN COURT

— “Jasiel Correia is behind bars in federal prison. Here's what's next for the former mayor,” by Dan Medeiros, Herald News: “Former mayor Jasiel F. Correia II is now behind bars, according to the Bureau of Prisons, an inmate at a federal prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, beginning his six-year sentence for fraud and corruption that left a stain on city government and torched a rising political career.”

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

— "Markey: US must ‘roll out the welcome mat’ to Ukrainian refugees, lift cap on those escaping war," by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “US Senator Edward Markey, appearing at a weekend press conference, urged the United States to lift its cap on refugees from Ukraine as millions of people flee a devastating war started by Russia’s unprovoked invasion. Markey spoke to reporters Saturday in Boston following a diplomatic trip to Poland and Belgium with other US lawmakers.”

FROM THE 413

— “‘Sick’ Roderick Ireland Courthouse woes persist as civil action case heads for trial,” by Stephanie Barry and Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “The state’s begun seeking an alternative site for a Hampden County courthouse, while the 500 people working at the existing Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse every day continue dealing with mold and maintenance issues they say are impacting their health. At the same time, a lawsuit aiming to close the building heads to trial starting on Wednesday...”

— “UMass Amherst goal: No emissions by 2032,” by Brian Steele, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “UMass Amherst will aim to power its entire 1,500-acre campus with 100% renewable energy and transition to an all-electric vehicle fleet within a decade, university leaders announced Friday, the 53rd annual Earth Day. In an effort to limit the flagship campus’s contributions to climate change, the university expects to invest $500 million in the UMass Carbon Zero plan…”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Continued student struggles are weighing on teachers in the third year of the pandemic,” by Christopher Huffaker, Boston Globe: “With full-time in-person learning back and the coronavirus seemingly on the wane, 2021-2022 was supposed to be a return to normal at public schools. But if anything, this school year has been even harder than the previous, as teachers and counselors say a cascade of problems and issues are testing the limits of their endurance and resolve.”

— "'A risk a lot of people take': Why undocumented immigrants drive without a license," by Kevin G. Andrade, Standard-Times: "Armando says he always drives at the speed limit, stops at every stop sign, and always lets pedestrians cross at the crosswalk. As an undocumented immigrant, it's against the law for him to drive, he can't even get a license."

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— “Border visit backfires on vulnerable Senate Dem,” by Sabrina Rodriguez, POLITICO: “Her home state shares a border with Canada. So when New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan recently showed up more than 2,000 miles away, at the U.S border with Mexico, it created a backlash. Not just among Republicans — who mocked her as ‘MAGA Maggie’ and dismissed her appearances in Texas and Arizona as a desperate attempt to appear tough on border security — but within her own party.”

— IN MEMORIAM: “John DiStaso, ‘dean’ of NH political reporters, dies at 68,” by The Associated Press.

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MEDIA MATTERS

— "The Return of The Emancipator," by Amber Payne and Deborah D. Douglas, Boston Globe: "Just as abolitionist publications in the 19th century called for the end of the enslavement of Black people, The Emancipator will amplify big ideas and solutions for achieving a racially just society."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Paul Frost, former Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, Garrett Quinn, Tom Springer, Mariah Philips and Dimara Coulouras.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS — Miriam Cash was Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s deputy communications director, not deputy press secretary.

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