Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The governor flexes his political muscle

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The governor flexes his political muscle

BAKER’S BLESSING — Gov. Charlie Baker steadfastly refuses to weigh in on the race to replace him, but he is shoring up his political legacy through other contests.

Baker is the special guest at a Boston fundraiser this afternoon for Themis Klarides, a moderate Republican and former state House minority leader in Connecticut who’s one of three candidates vying to be the GOP nominee against Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in November.

It’s been a busy fundraising week for the governor, who attended a summer cocktail reception on Monday at the UMass Club in support of the Baker-backed Mass Majority PAC, which has given to municipal and state legislative candidates on both sides of the aisle. He appeared at a fundraiser for Republican Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz at Carrie Nation yesterday. And he’s set to join GOP state Rep. Lenny Mirra at a reception in Hamilton next Tuesday, according to people familiar with the events.

Baker’s staying true to type with these picks and others he’s made so far this cycle — including backing Anthony Amore for state auditor and Tom Hodgson for reelection as Bristol County sheriff, and donating to Gail Huff Brown’s New Hampshire congressional campaign.

But the governor’s race is tricky. The Republican field — a race between Donald Trump-endorsed Geoff Diehl and less-conservative businessman Chris Doughty — offers no heir apparent for the fiscally conservative but more socially moderate governor. He has a solid working relationship with Attorney General Maura Healey, who leads both Republicans by more than 30 percentage points among likely voters in a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll. But endorsing a Democrat is a no-go.

Neither Republican running for governor says they're actively seeking Baker’s endorsement, saying he’s made it clear he’s not going to get involved in the primary. But Diehl told Playbook, “I assume he will support the party’s nominee this fall.”

There’s precedent for him not to: Baker buddy and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said over the weekend that he wouldn’t support his party’s nominee for governor after Trump’s pick won the primary. Baker sidestepped a question yesterday about whether he’d support Massachusetts’ GOP nominee this fall, saying that he’s “focused on my day job.”

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Fundraisers? Think I should hold more Playbook office hours this week while the Legislature is still in session? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito chairs a Governor’s Council meeting at noon at the State House. Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III will urge President Joe Biden to increase LIHEAP funding for federal fuel assistance at 1 p.m. at 221 Walnut Ave., Roxbury. MA-02 GOP candidate Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette is in D.C. to deliver letters urging senators to approve codifying same-sex marriage.

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CAMPAIGN MODE

— SOUNDING THE SUPER PAC ALARM: State Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Tami Gouveia want MassDems to call on the party’s endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll , to disavow a super PAC formed to support her bid.

The LG hopefuls are up in arms over a Boston Globe report that says Christopher Collins, a real estate investor and donor with roots in GOP circles, is expected to back the PAC.

“We simply cannot allow national Republicans to decide our election for lieutenant governor,” Lesser and Gouveia wrote in a letter to MassDems Chair Gus Bickford, which notes Collins’ donations to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans.

But Bickford says he can’t get involved. “As chair or [Democratic State Committee] staff, we are not allowed to participate in Democratic primaries,” Bickford told Playbook.

Speaking of super PACs, the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund IEPAC has spent $8,507 apiece on mailers and more in support of Attorney General Maura Healey for governor, Andrea Campbell for attorney general and Chris Dempsey for auditor, as part of a $37,073 expenditure that includes several legislative candidates.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— SPORTS BETTING BATTLE CONTINUES: A year ago, House Speaker Ron Mariano said on Bloomberg Baystate Business that a sports betting bill without the ability to bet on college games “probably would be” a dealbreaker for him, a stance he’s stayed true to since.

On Tuesday, Senate President Karen Spilka took to another radio show, WBUR’s “Radio Boston,” to urge Mariano to back down on his “all or nothing” quest, saying the Senate made a similar sacrifice in giving up same-day voter registration to get the VOTES Act passed.

“I would ask the speaker to change his position,” Spilka said on WBUR , adding, “We have heard from every single college president and all the athletic directors begging us to not include college betting in these bills, that it is not a good thing.”

— NOT SO FAST: Gov. Charlie Baker isn’t cheering the Senate’s late-session push to bring back happy hour, telling reporters that he still has “reservations” about reviving the drink specials “mostly because I'm old enough to remember what it's like when we had it, and there was a lot of carnage on the roads” and because safe driving and highway bills he’s proposed “haven’t gone anywhere.”

— “Abortion care in Massachusetts: Gov. Charlie Baker vows to be ‘pretty aggressive’ in reviewing pending bill,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker intends to move swiftly on a reproductive health care bill that is now headed to his desk. But the Republican governor acknowledged Tuesday he’s yet to fully read the reconciled abortion access legislation that emerged from conference committee on Monday. … That includes the most contentious part of the legislation — clarifying which dire circumstances permit providers to perform abortions later in pregnancy, beyond 24 weeks — ironed out among House and Senate negotiators. … The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the bill on a 137-16 vote, with the Senate passing it on a 39-1 vote.”

Deanna Cook becomes emotional while speaking with her sister, Mya, after Gov. Charlie Baker signed the CROWN Act barring discrimination on the basis of a person’s natural or protective hairstyle into law. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

— “Massachusetts is 18th state to ban discrimination based on one’s natural hairstyles,” by Tiana Woodard, Boston Globe: “As Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation barring discrimination on the basis of a person’s natural hairstyle or hair texture into law in his office Tuesday afternoon, twin sisters Deanna and Mya Cook, 21, smiled with pride and joy. ‘I never thought we’d be here,’ Deanna Cook, in tears, told the dozens of legislators, activists, and reporters gathered for the historic moment. ‘To be here and know that no one will go through what we did again, it means more than the world.’ In 2017, the Cook sisters received detention, were removed from extracurriculars, and prohibited from attending prom while attending Mystic Valley Regional Charter School because they wore braids with extensions, a protective style banned through school policy. … Their experience spurred state Representatives Steven Ultrino, a Malden Democrat, and Chynah Tyler, a Boston Democrat, to file the bill that finally made its way to the governor’s desk that afternoon.”

— “ IG's term may lapse without replacement,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Under state law, the inspector general must be appointed ‘by a majority vote of the attorney general, the state auditor and the governor’ to a five-year term. [Inspector General Glenn] Cunha, who was first appointed in 2012 and reappointed to a second term in 2017, is prohibited from a third term under state law. While a half-dozen individuals have applied for the job, the trio of leaders have yet to name Cunha's replacement."

— “Handful of Democrats called out for voting to suspend rules,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “A conservative advocacy group on Monday called out a handful of Democratic lawmakers who in early 2021 voted for more time to study bills coming out of conference committees but last week voted to suspend the Legislature’s existing rules to take up climate change legislation immediately.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Wu, state officials take steps to bolster child care offerings,” by Sarah Betancourt and Fernando Cervantes Jr., GBH News: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday announced she’s hitting the refresh button on a decades-old zoning amendment requiring downtown developers to support child care. The announcement comes just days after a state office launched a grant program for families who want to start their own caregiving businesses.”

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: NAACP Boston Branch President Tanisha Sullivan has been endorsed for secretary of state by 40 municipal officials and community leaders including Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle and Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga, per her campaign.

— Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara has endorsed Shannon Liss-Riordan for attorney general.

— State Auditor Suzanne Bump has endorsed Mara Dolan for Governor’s Council, per her campaign. Dolan, a public defender, is challenging veteran councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney in District 3.

BALLOT BATTLES

— “Majority of Mass. voters want to keep driver’s licenses for undocumented residents law, poll says,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Most Massachusetts voters support preserving a new law that will soon allow residents without legal immigration status to obtain driver’s licenses, despite a GOP-led effort to repeal it, a new poll found. A majority of registered voters — 58 percent — say they support preserving the new law, while 34 percent would vote to repeal it, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll. About 8 percent were unsure. … The July poll result deviates from an April Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of Massachusetts residents, which found that a narrow plurality of respondents — about 47 percent — opposed what was then legislation that would give driver’s licenses to undocumented residents. About 46 percent were in favor, and 7 percent undecided.”

— “Dental ballot question summary challenged on ‘false statements’,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “The opponents of a ballot question that would regulate dental insurance are asking the Supreme Judicial Court to force Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to change the wording of a summary submitted by proponents of the question because it allegedly contains a false statement. … A court filing from Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, which is representing Galvin, asks the court to dismiss the case."

— “Groups seek to keep Trump off 2024 ballot due to insurrection,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Amid a national progressive campaign to keep former president Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot, should he choose to run again, Massachusetts’s top elections official says it’s not so simple — and the issue is in the US Department of Justice’s hands.”

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BIDEN TIME

NO GOOD VERY BAD WEEK: A pair of New England polls are showing warning signs for President Joe Biden —

— "Massachusetts voters continue to sour on Biden as economic concerns drag down approval rating," by Tal Kopan, Boston Globe: "A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll found that 48 percent of registered Massachusetts voters disapprove of the job Biden is doing, compared to just 41 percent who approve. That’s worse than he fared on the same question in the Suffolk/Globe poll in April, when voters were split on him, 46 percent to 46 percent. Though the slide in approval is pronounced, it is not beyond the polls’ margins of error, which were plus-or-minus 4.1 percentage points this month and 3.5 points in April."

— "N.H. poll: Biden's favorability in the state is at an all-time low," by Olivia Olander, POLITICO: "President Joe Biden’s favorability ratings are at an all-time low among residents of the state that holds the nation’s first presidential primary, according to a poll released Tuesday by the University of New Hampshire . Only one-fifth of New Hampshire residents want Biden to seek a second term in 2024, according to the poll."

TRUMPACHUSETTS

— “Owner of Let's Go Brandon store in North Attleboro claims social media, in part, to blame for closing,” by Tom Reilly, The Sun Chronicle: “A store that sells Donald Trump-themed merchandise and sparked controversy and publicity when it opened in December will close Wednesday, and its owner is in part blaming social media. Keith Lambert opened his Let’s Go Brandon Store on North Washington Street before the holidays but says sales have been slow ‘because no one knows we’re here.’”

DAY IN COURT

— “Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, West Springfield man accused of killing 7 motorcyclists in New Hampshire crash, trial begins,” by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald: “Volodymyr Zhukovskyy admitted he wasn’t paying attention to the road when his truck barreled through a group of motorcyclists on a New Hampshire highway, leaving seven dead and others wounded, the prosecutor in his case said.”

— “23 more Mass. firefighters — including 5 from Worcester — file suit over PFAS in gear, foams,” by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: “Twenty three cancer-stricken firefighters from Massachusetts — including five from Worcester — filed a federal lawsuit this month alleging their illnesses are linked to PFAS, the group of chemicals that have become a topic of national alarm."

— "Former immigrations detainees sue Bristol County sheriff," by Kate Robinson, WBSM: "More than a dozen former immigrations detainees held at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth have filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Thomas Hodgson along with his office and two federal agencies for allegedly violating their rights."

FROM THE 413

— “‘Bastion for abolitionists:’ Springfield under consideration for new cultural center, museum on underground railroad, Black heritage,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “The House passed legislation Tuesday that puts together a task force to study the creation of a museum and cultural center in Springfield focused on the underground railroad, civil rights, and Black heritage, a project a Springfield Democrat says is important to honor western Massachusetts’ role in the abolition of slavery.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “A suffocating sense of unease: Mass. residents are stressed by inflation, Supreme Court decisions, new poll finds,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Eight of 10 residents surveyed [in the Suffolk/Boston Globe poll ] say they have been pinched in some way by ballooning inflation, and more than half say they’re concerned about their own financial situation. This has made money or finances their most common source of stress, the poll found, particularly among Black residents and younger ones — adding a suffocating sense of unease to people’s lives at a time already full of it.”

— “Mark Gearan ’78 to Step Down as Director of the Harvard Institute of Politics,” by Miles J. Herszenhorn, Harvard Crimson: “Harvard Institute of Politics Director Mark D. Gearan ’78 is set to step down after serving more than four years in the role. Gearan, who held a variety of roles in the Clinton administration, will return to serve a second stint as president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Gearan steered the IOP through a tumultuous period marked by high staff turnover and the departure of Caroline B. Kennedy ’80 — the last living child of President John F. Kennedy ’40, to whom the IOP is dedicated — who resigned from its senior advisory committee in 2020. Setti D. Warren, the IOP’s current executive director, will serve as its interim director while the Harvard Kennedy School conducts a search for the 20th director.”

— “Local, state, and US authorities line up against possible plan for releasing treated radioactive waste from Pilgrim plant into Cape Cod Bay,” by Mike Damiano and Alexander Thompson, Boston Globe: “State, local, and federal officials are wielding an array of governmental tools to block a plan to discharge about 1 million gallons of radioactive waste water from the shutdown Pilgrim nuclear power plant into Cape Cod Bay. Town councils on Cape Cod and the South Shore have voted to condemn the plan, the state Senate has passed an amendment to prohibit the discharge until the fall of 2024 at the earliest, and the Environmental Protection Agency said that an unauthorized discharge could result in ‘criminal prosecution.’”

— "'Loyal partner': Police dog killed in Fitchburg armed standoff was first Mass. State Police K-9 killed in line of duty," by Tom Matthews and Erin Tiernan, MassLive: "A police dog shot to death during an hours-long armed standoff in Fitchburg was the first Massachusetts State Police K-9 killed in the line of duty."

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

ENGAGED — Daniel Lippman, a White House and Washington reporter for POLITICO, former co-author of Playbook and a Great Barrington, Mass. native, on Sunday night proposed to Sophia Narrett , an artist who shows with Kohn Gallery and Perrotin. The couple met last September at Shadi Hamid's birthday party where they were introduced by their mutual friend Hanna Trudo. Their first date was dinner at Annabelle followed by seeing Lippman's cousin JJ Mitchell's band Overcoats perform at Black Cat. He proposed on the beach at sunset at the Rosewood Baha Mar in the Bahamas. Pic ... Another pic.

TRANSITIONS — Former congressional candidate and past president of the Alliance for Business Leadership Jesse Mermell is launching deWit Impact Group , a “social impact consulting firm to meet the needs of campaigns, non-profits, and businesses on the front lines of social change." Erik Balsbaugh, Samuel Gebru and Jamie Hoag are joining Mermell, the firm’s president and founder, as senior advisers. The firm is Mermell's mother's maiden name and is an homage to other small businesses started by her family members, including her late father.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Mass Audubon’s Mike Cusher, Linda Feldmann, Rep. Jake Auchincloss campaign manager Anna Fletcher and Miles Ketchum. Happy belated to Patrick Horan.

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