Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Doughty’s not so moderate after all

Monday, April 4, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Doughty’s not so moderate after all

WHAT’S IN A WORD — Chris Doughty entered the governor’s race as a “self-described moderate.” Now he’s pushing back against that label.

“If I chose my own labels, it would be: pragmatic, common sense, businessman, fiscally conservative,” Doughty told WBUR last week. He cast himself similarly in a WCVB “On the Record” interview that aired Sunday, saying that the “Legislature is starting to lean further left. If there is ever the need and a time for a strong conversative Republican to hold back tax increases, it’s now.”

Doughty is often described as the more moderate rival of Geoff Diehl, a conservative former state representative who’s been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

But Doughty has repeatedly lauded Trump’s trade policies with China. He left the door open to voting for Trump for president again. And Doughty stopped short of rejecting both conversion therapy and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law in his WCVB interview, saying that he “would always lean towards the parents being the ones that make the decisions regarding age-appropriate teachings.”

He’s also eschewed comparisons to former Massachusetts governor and now Utah Sen. Mitt Romney — the two Republicans attended the same universities and are members of the same faith. And he doesn’t appear to be lusting after GOP Gov. Charlie Baker’s endorsement, either. Doughty said he didn’t ask for Baker’s support when he met with the outgoing governor prior to launching his bid. Pressed on how important Baker’s endorsement could be in the governor’s race, Doughty said he “would like to have everyone’s endorsement, including Charlie Baker’s” but that it’s “still early in the cycle.”

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Remember when Playbook reported last week that state Attorney General Maura Healey was building a dominant campaign finance operation?

Sure enough, Healey will report raking in $602,420 in March, the largest monthly haul of her gubernatorial bid to date. She's now sitting on a staggering $4.7 million in cash on hand after raising nearly $1.5 million in the first three months of the year, her campaign said.

State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz will report raising $106,635, the fourth month in a row she’s raised more than $100,000. She has $370,516 in cash on hand, her campaign said. The Republicans’ totals aren't yet available.

TODAY — Healey tours the Brockton Adult Learning Center at 10 a.m. and Brockton Neighborhood Health Center at 10:45 a.m. in her official capacity; she then pivots to campaign mode with a meet-and-greet at the Cape Verdean Association at 12:30 p.m. and a business walk at 2:15 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu launches Phase II of the All-Inclusive Boston campaign at 11 a.m. at City Hall. Rep. Lori Trahan highlights ARPA funding in Chelmsford at 11 a.m. Doughty speaks at the Brookline Republican Town Committee meeting at 7 p.m. State Sen. Cindy Creem chairs a legislative hearing on the future of gas in Massachusetts at 10:30 a.m.

Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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CAMPAIGN MODE

— CASH DASH: Former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell has reported raising $237,329 in March for her bid for state attorney general. She now has $502,482 in cash on hand. Campbell’s campaign says more than 90 percent of the money she’s raised has come from Massachusetts donors.

— “AG candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan earns endorsement from labor union representing workers at contaminated Springfield courthouse,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “[Shannon] Liss-Riordan’s new endorsement from OPEIU Local 6 — which represents about 4,500 workers from the Trial Court of Massachusetts, MBTA, and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, among other entities — comes about two weeks after she visited the Springfield courthouse with the labor union.”

— “'America first' Republican will take on state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier for Statehouse seat,” by Danny Jin, Berkshire Eagle: “Gina Divola, 32, of Pittsfield, says she is a constitutional conservative who is running because she is concerned with the direction of the state and the country.”

— “3rd candidate in running for Governor’s Council post that covers WMass,” by Bera Dunau, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “City elected official Tara Jacobs has thrown her hat into the ring for the race for the 8th District on the Governor’s Council, and she said that she’s running to be a strong voice for western Massachusetts and as a change agent for dismantling systemic injustice and promoting equity and transparency. … Other candidates for the position are Michael Fenton of Springfield and Jeffrey Morneau of East Longmeadow.”

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— CHEERS TO THAT: Gov. Charlie Baker signed a $1.6 billion supplemental budget bill on Friday that extends expanded outdoor dining and to-go alcohol sales through April 1, 2023. It also authorizes the state to divest pension funds from companies sanctioned by the Biden administration or incorporated in Russia, and approves $10 million to help resettle refugees, including from Ukraine. The Boston Herald’s Amy Sokolow has more on the bill’s other provisions, including aid for the state’s Covid-19 response.

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “Boston-area coronavirus wastewater jump shows ‘a new wave has begun’,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The Boston-area COVID wastewater tracker data keeps on rising, sending out alerts to the public that ‘a new wave has begun,’ according to a leading local epidemiologist. The latest update from the coronavirus wastewater tracker reveals that COVID levels are back up to the measurements from early February.”

— “‘I felt like I was drowning’: Exhausted and burned out, nurses are leaving their jobs in droves,” by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, Boston Globe: “In interviews, a dozen nurses described staffing crises at hospitals across New England that have left them feeling stretched too thin and unable to think critically or tend to all their patients’ needs. They fear they will make mistakes. And when they go home at the end of a shift, the stress and trauma of their work often stays with them.”

— “Boston digital health company offers long COVID treatment alternative,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “Recognizing the variety of symptoms afflicting long COVID patients, the Cambridge-based corporate benefit wellness company Goodpath has designed what its founders say is the only long COVID solution on the market that’s not offered in a hospital setting.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Demonstrators fined near Wu’s home after new protest restrictions take effect,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “One day after Mayor Michelle Wu signed a controversial proposal that curtailed the hours protesters could target a private home, five demonstrators were fined near Wu’s Roslindale home for violating the new rules. … The new rule bars demonstrations at any private home between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Previously, Boston’s restrictions on noise effectively restricted demonstrators from loud protests before 7 a.m. or after 11 p.m.”

— “Gravestone stolen in Boston as advocates fear escalation in gang dispute,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “A stolen gravestone has reinvigorated a rivalry between two Mission Hill-area gangs, according to police and community sources, worrying advocates about potentially escalating violence in a city that’s otherwise largely been able to avoid recent surges.”

DAY IN COURT

— “Mass. high court places limits on police access to cellphone data,” by John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: “The state’s highest court on Friday for the first time extended privacy protections to ‘tower dumps’ of cellphone data, requiring police to get a search warrant for the novel technique, which was used by Boston police to pinpoint two men out of 50,000 people as suspects in a 2018 Boston murder and several robberies.”

— “For a seventh time, convicted ex-mayor Jasiel Correia asks to delay prison sentence,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: “Convicted former mayor Jasiel Correia II is asking for a seventh temporary or permanent stay pending his case before the First Circuit Court of Appeals on his 2021 conviction for fraud and government corruption. It will, again, be the decision of federal Judge Douglas Woodlock who will likely make a ruling by Monday since Correia is to report to prison the following day by noon.”

DATELINE D.C.

— SUNUNU ON TRUMP: GOP New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu roasted former President Donald Trump as “[expletive] crazy” at a D.C. dinner filled with Washington A-listers. POLITICO’s Rachael Bade has the details.

— “House lawmakers give weed the green light at the federal level,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “‘The criminalization of marijuana is inherently racist in its enforcement, unscientific in its foundation, and out of step with public opinion and the law in 18 states,’ U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark said in a release after the bill’s passage.”

— “Why Democrats hope Romney will support Ketanji Brown Jackson,” by Seung Min Kim, Washington Post: “Just days ahead of Jackson’s likely confirmation this week, [GOP Utah Sen. Mitt] Romney remains one of the most intriguing holdouts on her nomination, sending clear signals that he is weighing not just Jackson’s qualifications and legal philosophy but also the historic nature of her nomination as the first Black woman who would serve on the Supreme Court.”

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

— “With climate change accelerating and despair growing, how far are activists willing to take their protests?” by David Abel, Boston Globe: “With few nations responding to the gravity of the mounting crisis, activists in Boston and beyond are feeling a mix of resignation and desperation. What else, they ask, can they — or should they — do to call attention to the urgency of the warming planet? Their answers vary, ranging from a kind of inertial despair to a determination to take their protests to another level.”

— “Is ‘green gentrification’ driving displacement in East Boston? Researchers say yes, but locals push back,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “East Boston, transformed in recent years by development large and small, is a prime example of what a pair of researchers who specialize in environmental justice call ‘green gentrification’ — where new green spaces contribute to the exclusion of marginalized groups and the displacement of working class residents. It’s a controversial argument that has received significant pushback from residents and advocates.”

FROM THE 413

— “‘They don’t know us’: With a VA hospital threatened with closure, veterans warn that community caregivers are not prepared to treat those with military experience,” by Will Katcher, MassLive: “The future of the Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center is far from settled. … More than 24,000 former service members rely on treatment at the medical center. If it were to close, some of the hospital’s services would be redirected to VA facilities in Springfield and Connecticut. For urgent care needs, or for the veterans who hope to receive their primary and specialty care closer to home, the VA intends for community providers to absorb the additional load of patients. But going to a standard doctors’ office — whether it be the local community chiropractor or Main Street optometrist — is not as simple as it sounds for many veterans.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Mass General Brigham withdraws plans for suburban surgical centers,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: “Mass General Brigham on Friday withdrew a controversial proposal to build three outpatient surgical centers in suburbs outside Boston, a plan that had drawn opposition from competitors, insurers, and community organizations. The move came after staff at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health declined to endorse the planned expansions in Woburn, Westborough, and Westwood, according to Mass General Brigham. However, the department staff did give its support to two other big MGB projects: the $1.9 billion expansion at Mass. General Hospital in Boston, which would include two new towers, and a $150.1 million renovation and expansion of Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.”

— “Somerville landlord’s lawsuit against Tufts student journalists is dismissed,” by Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe: “The short-lived lawsuit brought by a Somerville orthodontist and landlord against two Tufts University student journalists over coverage of a renters’ protest outside his office has been dismissed, court records show. Both parties mutually agreed to the dismissal on Friday, according to filings in Middlesex Superior Court. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.”

— “Cape Cod businesses struggle to find workers ahead of expected banner summer,” by Amanda Beland, WBUR: “Businesses all along Cape Cod are seeing a shortage of workers, particularly seasonal workers who help the region in the busy summer months. Restaurants, hotels and other businesses typically depend on teenagers, college students, and international workers visiting on J-1 and H-2B visa programs to pad Barnstable County's workforce, which typically increases by roughly 20,000 seasonal jobs in the summer. But factors like the pandemic, housing stock and costs, and even international affairs are impacting this year's availability of workers.”

— “Emergency remote teaching and the learning loss that came from it; Were Mass. educators properly trained to teach remotely?” by Tristan Smith, MassLive: “Maria Garcia’s classroom turned into a tug-of-war competition for attention during the 2020-2021 school year. The coronavirus pandemic forced the Jackson Street Elementary School kindergarten teacher to teach virtually for the majority of the school year. Garcia found herself pitted against action figures, pets, iPad apps, video games and other childhood delights, as she attempted to teach her class of over a dozen 5-year-olds over Zoom.”

— “About 75 Protest Catholic Memorial’s Marty Walsh Award Dinner,” by Matt McDonald, New Boston Post: “About 75 pro-lifers protested Friday near the hotel where Catholic Memorial honored former Boston mayor Marty Walsh, a supporter of legally and publicly funded abortion.”

— “Pride, BLM flags continue to fly at Nativity School against wishes of Worcester bishop,” by Steven H. Foskett Jr., Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “The administration at the Nativity School said Sunday the Black Lives Matter and gay pride flags that the Lincoln Street school has been flying for more than a year show families the independent Jesuit middle school is a safe and welcoming place. Diocese of Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus said he sees the meaning of the flags differently, and reportedly demanded they be taken down. McManus said in a statement Sunday that the flags can be construed to represent concepts that contradict with the Catholic faith.”

— "After weeks of wrangling, MIT's grad student union will come to a vote this week," by Max Larkin, WBUR.

— “Despite overall lower participation, Mass. graduating seniors achieved top marks on AP exams in 2021,” by Colleen Cronin, Boston Globe.

REWIND — I joined GBH’s Jeremy Siegel, Paris Alston and Peter Kadzis to talk about the North End’s food fight with Mayor Michelle Wu and the nationalization of Boston politics.

SPOTTED — Climate envoy John Kerry driving an electric scooter through Georgetown on Saturday, telling one of my POLITICO colleagues in D.C. that it’s “the only way to get anywhere.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Sen. Mo Cowan, Michael Forbes Wilcox, Springfield City Councilor Jesse Lederman and Sam Doran of State House News. Happy belated to state Rep. Jon Santiago, who celebrated Friday.

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