Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A marathon, not a sprint

Monday, April 18, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A marathon, not a sprint

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE MONEY RACE — Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation aren’t dashing for campaign cash — at least not yet.

Facing few challengers and competing for donors against candidates in contested statewide races and federal primaries in other states far more consequential to the balance of power in Washington, our House members’ reelection campaigns largely flew under the radar in the first three months of the year, and their Q1 fundraising numbers reflect it. Let’s dive into their latest FEC reports:

HIGHS AND LOWS — Rep. Richard Neal again raised the most money of the delegation. The majority of the $390,394 the powerful House Ways and Means chair received in Q1 came from PACs and other political committees, according to his FEC filing. He also ended the quarter with the most cash on hand, with nearly $2.9 million in his coffers. Rep. Jake Auchincloss was a close second with $312,886 raised in Q1 and $2.4 million in cash on hand.

Rep. Bill Keating again raised the least, just $61,067. And Rep. Jim McGovern ended another quarter with the lowest cash on hand of the bunch, with $470,979.

THE ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM — Republican challengers aren’t giving members of the all-Democratic delegation a run for their money, and several are paying for their campaigns out of their own pockets. Dean Tran, the former state senator challenging Rep. Lori Trahan, raised the most of the bunch with $47,140. McGovern challenger Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette loaned himself the most of any GOP candidate last quarter — $25,000 — and has now poured $90,000 of his own cash into his campaign. All $9,000 that Mark Littles, one of Keating’s challengers, raised last quarter was through candidate loans.

WHAT MONEY CAN BUY — Rep. Ayanna Pressley spent $6,520 on digital ads focused on her legislative work and key issues she supports, like canceling student loan debt, her team said, plus another $1,286 on print advertising. Trahan spent just under $400 sponsoring holiday music in her district, her team said. Keating spent $1,000 on advertising, including to promote campaign events on Facebook, while Rep. Stephen Lynch spent just over $100. It’s chump change compared to what some of their out-of-state colleagues facing intense reelection fights are spending right now, but Bay State representatives don’t need to be in full campaign mode just yet.

GOOD MARATHON MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Patriots’ Day, and best of luck to everyone running the Boston Marathon today, including several Playbookers: Dan Koh and his wife Amy Sennett, Benchmark Strategies’ Joe Rull, the Boston Herald’s Rick Sobey, Boston City Councilor and state Sen. Lydia Edwards, Barry O’Brien, Kelsey Rode, Maddy Thursby and Laura Huggard.

TODAY — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the 247th annual Patriots’ Day Parade at 9 a.m. at City Hall Plaza. Wu and Gov. Charlie Baker participate in the Boston Marathon awards ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Former senator and ambassador Scott Brown is the special guest at state Rep. Steve Xiarhos’ campaign fundraiser at 6 p.m. in Hyannis.

Tips? Scoops? Pictures of you running the marathon today? Email me at lkashinsky@politico.com for a chance to be featured in tomorrow's Playbook!

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CAMPAIGN MODE

— AS SEEN ON TV: Labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan has already loaned $500,000 to her campaign for state attorney general. She signaled more could come when asked on WCVB’s “On the Record” whether she’d be willing to put $3 million into her AG bid like she did for her short-lived 2020 challenge to Sen. Ed Markey.

“I’m privileged to be able to invest in my campaign. We know that my message is resonating and there’s a path to victory,” Liss-Riordan said. “If I need to contribute to make sure we get our message out there, I’m going to do whatever it takes.”

Liss-Riordan also took some shots at her competitors, saying that she’s the only candidate who is an “actual practicing lawyer” and that Massachusetts needs a “top, acclaimed litigator” as attorney general, “not a politician.”

— THAT’S AMORE: The Boston Globe hit the campaign trail with Gov. Charlie Baker and Anthony Amore for a new piece on the latter’s run for state auditor. “Amore, 55, said he was first recruited to run statewide when he was giving a speech introducing Baker at a 2017 Christmas party hosted by Swampscott and Marblehead Republican Town Committees. Within a week, he got a call from the state party asking that he forgo the state House race he had originally entered and consider running for secretary of state. The Winchester Republican did, and lost to William Galvin, who won more than 70 percent of the vote. But Baker supported him then as he does now, which Amore says ‘makes a big difference with credibility’ when he talks to voters,” the Globe’s Samantha J. Gross writes.

Baker was “attracting double-takes” from shoppers as he collected signatures for Amore, who tweeted out pictures of his special helper last week. Baker also plans to introduce Amore to some of his donors at a campaign finance committee meeting next week.

— “State cites Wrentham company led by GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Doughty,” by Tom Reilly, The Sun Chronicle: “A local company whose president is a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination has been cited by state officials for more than a dozen environmental violations. Chris Doughty, a town resident, is president of Capstan Atlantic, a local division of Capstan, an industrial gear manufacturer with other locations in California and Mexico. Capstan Atlantic and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection entered into an administrative consent order in February, with the company agreeing to correct issues and paying a penalty of $1,380. A company official says it’s in talks with the state to resolve other issues. The company says the infractions were ‘minor’ in nature.”

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “State's unemployment rate drops to 4.3%,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in March as employers added 21,000 more jobs, according to newly released figures.”

— “Encore Record Haul Headlines Strong March for Gaming Revenue,” by Colin A. Young, State House News Service (paywall): “In terms of revenue, March was the best month on record for Encore Boston Harbor, the third-best month ever for MGM Springfield and the second-best month for Plainridge Park Casino since Encore opened, the Gaming Commission announced Friday. Encore brought in $64.87 million last month, MGM reported a haul of $24.28 million and Plainridge took in about $12.94 million in March.”

— UNDER THE DOME: There’s no shortage of secrets inside the State House, but the Boston Herald’s Amy Sokolow is taking a look at the “secrets of the golden dome” itself. Did you know the dome was purely wooden when it was first built? That it was eventually gilded, and then regilded, with 23-karat gold leaf? And that it will eventually need to regilded again, because that gold-leaf layer can’t be cleaned? “New Hampshire recently regilded its golden dome with 4.5 pounds of gold leaf at a total project cost of $2.4 million,” Sokolow writes, so it could cost Massachusetts a pretty shiny penny.

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “Three Mass. counties have ‘medium’ level of COVID-19, CDC says,” by Travis Andersen and Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “The CDC says three Massachusetts counties now have ‘medium’ community levels of COVID-19, an elevated designation shared by just 5 percent of all counties nationwide. The new designation for Berkshire, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties was posted on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website Friday. The state’s other counties remain in the ‘low’ category for community level of the virus.”

— “Survey finds widespread grief among children from COVID-19 losses,” by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: “Nearly 60 percent of Massachusetts parents and caregivers who responded to a recent online survey said their family had lost at least one person to COVID-19, another sign that the pandemic’s effects promise to be far-reaching and long-lasting.”

FROM THE HUB

— “On a day of fanfare at the Boston Marathon, reminders of the war in Ukraine,” by Andrew Brinker, Boston Globe: “[Igor] Krytsak, 33, said he was granted an exemption by Ukraine’s government to leave the country for three days so he can run in Boston’s Marathon for the first time. ... People around the world cannot look away from the war, he said, and he’ll spend his run passing out fliers and wearing his country’s colors to ensure that Marathon spectators don’t.”

— "50 years later, Val Rogosheske is back to run the Boston Marathon once again," by Marta Hill, Boston.com: “Rogosheske, who is 75 years old, is running this year’s Boston Marathon as a part of the honorary women’s team. She will be running along with seven other women who have made powerful impacts in everything from athletics to human rights, according to the B.A.A.”

— “State power limits Boston’s vision,” by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: “Here is a partial list of actions Boston can’t take without permission from the Massachusetts Legislature: Levy a new tax. Add liquor licenses. Tweak local election schedules. Thanks to a striking concentration of power in the seat of Massachusetts government on Beacon Hill, the capital city and other Massachusetts municipalities must seek state sign-off for both substantive policy changes, such as restricting how much rents may increase each year, and more routine proposals, such as changing speed limits on some roads.”

— “Properties near ‘Mass and Cass’ are going for record prices. Here’s why,” by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: “Despite the tribulations endured by its business owners, the area’s commercial real estate market has never been stronger. … The hot market is driven in part by the lack of industrial space elsewhere in or just outside of Boston proper.”

— “Boston Police: Recovery of ghost guns up nearly 300% since tracking began,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “Since tracking began in 2019, Boston has seen a 280% increase in the number of so-called ‘ghost guns’ recovered during the course of criminal investigations, reflecting a national trend highlighted by President Biden last week.”

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Passenger killed [earlier this month] on the Red Line was exiting the train at the time, NTSB says,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “Robinson Lalin was exiting the Red Line train Sunday at the time of the tragedy that claimed his life, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday. Little else is known about the death.”

DAY IN COURT

— "Prosecutors tell appeals court: Jasiel Correia deserves no more prison reporting delays," by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: "It’s time for former Fall River mayor Jasiel Correia II to do the time, U.S. prosecutors argued — again."

— “Judge faults Berkshire DA's handling of case involving foster child's death and dismisses charges against Adams couple,” by Amanda Burke, Berkshire Eagle: “A judge has dismissed the manslaughter case brought against two local foster parents in connection with the death of an infant in their care. In a 17-page ruling Monday, Superior Court Judge John Agostini called the evidence against Matthew Tucker and Cassandra Barlow-Tucker ‘circumstantial and not particularly strong,’ and found the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington failed to present to the grand jury sufficient evidence to support the indictments.”

— “Mass. Judge Delays 'Right To Repair' Decision For 5th Time,” by Brian Dowling, Law360: “The Massachusetts federal judge deciding the fate of the state’s expanded automotive ‘right to repair’ law is delaying his long-awaited opinion in the matter for a fifth time, telling counsel Friday his judgment should be delivered before the Fourth of July holiday weekend.”

THE CLARK CAUCUS

— “Mass. addiction treatment faces a staffing 'crisis.' Rep. Clark says this program will help,” by Deborah Becker and Hafsa Quraishi, WBUR: “Workplace shortages are affecting several industries, including addiction treatment. … A federal government initiative called the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (STAR LRP) seeks to address the shortage by offering loan repayment to workers in addiction treatment.”

THE LOWELL CONNECTOR

— “White House official visits Lowell to discuss issues facing Asian community,” by Jacob Vitali, Lowell Sun: “Krystal Ka’ai, executive director of President Biden’s White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, spoke to about 20 people at the Lowell TeleMedia Center on Market Street. At the core of the visit was understanding the issues facing the community. In her remarks, Ka’ai addressed education, health care and language access barriers. She also spoke about the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”

FROM THE 413

— “Northampton VA hospital closure of ‘serious concern’ to Massachusetts delegation; Rep. Jim McGovern prepared to go to President Joe Biden ‘if necessary’,” by Erin Tiernan, MassLive: “Nearly every member of Massachusetts’ federal delegation has signed onto a letter asking the secretary of Veterans Affairs to reconsider recommending the closure of the Northampton VA hospital, saying they are prepared to take their concerns all the way up to President Joe Biden ‘if necessary.’"

— “Chicopee welcomes new Police Chief Patrick Major after turmoil over search process ebbs,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Major was initially competing for the top job along with three other captains, but ended up going head to head with interim Chief Jeffrey Gawron. Previously, two other captains were in the mix, but one, Capt. Donald Strange, dropped out early in the process and another, Capt. Richard Henry, bailed out after allegedly being extorted by the superintendent of schools.”

— “Powerful maps: Groundbreaking report exposes ‘redlining’ in Pittsfield’s past that kept Black citizens in poverty cycle,” by Heather Bellow, Berkshire Eagle: “The authors of a groundbreaking report, ‘Redlining in Pittsfield: A case study,’ lay all of this out, focusing on the West Side neighborhood, and revealing that the Berkshires, like the rest of the Northeast, had its own way of keeping people of color down. ‘We didn’t have Jim Crow laws but we had Jim Crow in everything but name,’ said Kamaar Taliaferro, an NAACP Berkshire County Branch officer and community leader specializing in housing, and one of the report’s leading authors.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— ‘POD SAVE AMERICA’ TAKES BOSTON: Sen. Ed Markey says Bostonians (and people from Malden, etc) are actually raised bilingual: “We have the accent out on the street and then the accent your mother wants you to use,” Markey said on Pod Save America’s live show in Boston . He also knows “many guys” who know people who know people who knew Whitey Bulger, which, to be honest, I’d be more surprised if he didn’t since he served in the state House while Billy Bulger was in the state Senate.

On a more serious note, Markey said former President Donald Trump “belongs in jail” for “what [he] did on Jan. 6."

And Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the hate she gets on Twitter. “I’m probably more extremely online than I should be,” Wu said, adding that she used to be able to check Twitter and "see constituents and respond to issues in real time and feel like I was being available and accessible. ... But when it becomes flooded with such hate, when you’re kind of targeted by right-wing news sources and that whole stuff descends on a city or on an individual, it just crowds out a lot of the direct human-to-human interaction."

— “Study shows positive impact of ‘procedural justice’ police training,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “In one of the first rigorous analyses of training in ‘procedural justice,’ which aims to have police officers treat residents more fairly, the study [of three U.S. cities including Cambridge] found that the training led to better interactions with residents, fewer arrests, and a reduction in crime.”

— "Mansfield police chief on paid administrative leave," by David Linton, The Sun Chronicle: "Police Chief Ron Sellon has been on paid administrative leave since Oct. 29, the town’s lawyer said in a response to a records request filed by The Sun Chronicle. ... The town’s response to The Sun Chronicle did not explain the reason why Sellon is on administrative leave, how long he will be on leave, or his absence from work for some time before he was officially placed on leave."

SPOTTED — at a Valerie Biden Owens book party hosted by Linda Pizzuti Henry at private social club The ‘Quin House on Thursday: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Anne Finucane, Micho Spring, Jill Abramson, Cathy McLaughlin, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, state Auditor Suzanne Bump, Lauren Kennedy, Meredith DeWitt, Kelly Wallace, the Boston Globe’s Marjorie Pritchard, Heather Campion, Cathleen Douglas Stone, Farah Stockman and Dot Joyce, per an attendee.

TRANSITIONS — President Joe Biden has appointed Massachusetts’ Rebecca Haffajee as principal deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services; Haffajee has been serving as the acting assistant secretary for planning and evaluation since March 2021.

— Cam Cote, a Markey campaign alum, is now volunteer network manager for Carter Institute for Caregivers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Dewey Square Group’s Charlie Baker, Theresa Verbic, Kelsey Donohue, Trey Grayson, Tracy Spicer, James D. Lee and Muzammil Nazir. Happy belated to Alex Kellner, Atul Shembekar and Clovis Young, who celebrated over the weekend.

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