Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The 5 takeaways from the gov debate

Thursday, October 13, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The 5 takeaways from the gov debate

TALKING POINTS — Maura Healey and Geoff Diehl clashed over abortion, Donald Trump and who could best combat high costs in their first debate, a mild affair where the candidates served up familiar arguments with a side of one-liners for social media consumption.

Here are five takeaways from the NBC10 Boston/NECN/Telemundo Boston tilt:

Massachusetts Republican Geoff Diehl, left, and Massachusetts Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, right, speak before their televised debate for governor, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, at NBC10 Boston television studios, in Needham, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool) | AP

— PARTY POLITICS: Diehl said at the top of the hour that the debate should be “about Massachusetts … not national politics.” But he still tried linking Healey to President Joe Biden. And Healey drew heavily from the Democrats’ national playbook, calling Diehl a Trump loyalist who wants to "ban abortion" and "ban books " in an attempt to tie him to Republicans who've moved to restrict access to both.

“It’s not about removing books from libraries," Diehl countered. "This is about allowing parents to have a say” in their childrens’ education. While Diehl describes himself as "pro-life," he said he would set aside his personal views and uphold state laws protecting abortion access as governor. And he dismissed Healey's Trump talk with a seasonal retort: "It's Halloween time, and that's her boogeyman."

— THE ELEPHANTS NOT IN THE ROOM: Trump wasn’t the only Republican who loomed large over last night’s debate. As predicted, the candidates were asked to give outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker a letter grade. Diehl gave the man he nearly primaried a B, saying Baker’s done “the best he could” while navigating Democratic supermajorities in the Legislature. Diehl also reminded reporters after the debate that he supported Baker in all three of his runs for governor. Healey wouldn’t give Baker a letter grade — “I’m not a teacher” — but said he’s “done a really good job.” Why such deference? Voters continue to give Baker high marks in polls and say the state is heading in the right direction under his stewardship.

— HINDSIGHT IS 2020: Diehl has gone back and forth over baseless theories about whether the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Last night he seemed to soften that rhetoric: “Obviously Joe Biden won the election. Look how bad the economy is right now," Diehl said. But he said he still "had concerns with the election nationally."

— AGREE TO AGREE: Healey and Diehl clashed over energy policies and ballot questions. But they generally agree, at least in the broad strokes, on the biggest challenges facing the state: affordability, housing and transportation.

— THE ART OF THE DODGE: Diehl still wouldn't say where he stands on a federal abortion ban. Healey didn’t answer a question about whether Massachusetts should be a “sanctuary state." She wouldn’t share her plan for tackling another Covid-19 surge. And she wouldn't grade Baker. “She did what she’s been doing well, giving limited details and trying to be a Charlie Baker/Democrat mirage,” one Democratic consultant texted.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Want to relive the action? The Boston Globe, Boston.com and CommonWealth Magazine have your debate recaps.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito participates in a virtual STEM Advisory Council meeting at 9 a.m. and tours Red Hat’s Fort Point offices at 12:30 p.m. Rep. Jim McGovern and author Bill Browder discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin and human rights at Worcester State University at 4 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces a new community center in Dorchester at 11:30 a.m.

Healey campaigns in western Massachusetts, starting with a downtown Northampton business walk with Democratic auditor nominee state Sen. Diana DiZoglio at 1 p.m. Diehl and MA-03 congressional candidate Dean Tran attend a fundraiser at 7 p.m. in Chelmsford with a performance by Scott Brown and The Diplomats.

Tips? Scoops? Debate post-mortems? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Baker pardons four men for decades-old offenses,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “As he closes in on the end of his final term, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday issued the first pardons of his nearly 8 years in office, wiping away criminal records of four people on decades-old convictions, most of them for relatively minor charges. The four men are Kenneth Dunn, Steven Joanis, Stephen Polignone, and Michael Picanso. … Baker’s pardons must be confirmed by the Governor’s Council before they go into effect.”

— “GOP Leaders Not Drawing Lines On Spending Bills,” by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): “While their caucuses wield newfound power over the fate of a multibillion-dollar spending and tax relief bill, top Republicans in the House and Senate are wary of digging out an entrenched position on what the proposal must include and exclude. Massachusetts lawmakers are in uncharted waters trying to resuscitate the more than $4 billion economic development bill they unanimously approved but never finalized this summer while apparently still grappling with the impact of paying out nearly $3 billion in mandatory tax refunds. Democrats in charge of the negotiations will need to get every single lawmaker on board to revive the bill or else they risk triggering its final collapse as the two-year term draws to a close. And so far, neither House Minority Leader Brad Jones nor Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr want to play hardball.”

— “Some Mass. Democrats seek to cap tax refunds slated to start going out next month,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “A group of progressive lawmakers is pushing legislation to limit what taxpayers could receive under a round of automatic state tax refunds slated to start going out next month, arguing the disparity between what the state’s top earners and some of its poorest could receive is ‘unconscionable.’ The bill, filed by state Representative Mike Connolly, would limit refunds to $6,500 and redistribute any excess someone would have received over that amount equally among other taxpayers. The goal, Connolly said, is to cap what those making $1 million would receive and ensure others receive more, through an unprecedented return of money under a 1980s-era law.” Connolly and his colleagues will hold a press conference on the new bill at 10 a.m. outside the State House.

— “Early data finds telehealth is largely cost neutral,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “One of the biggest shifts in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic was the sudden launch of telehealth. … As society returns to a new normal, many questions remain about telehealth. How will it be most useful? Will it save the health care system and consumers money, or will it add to costs? A subcommittee of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission took a first stab at beginning to answer some of these questions Wednesday, at a meeting where commissioners reviewed telehealth data from 2020. While the lag in timely data limits their analysis, early trends show that telehealth does not add costs to the health care system, but also provides very limited cost savings. Telehealth appears most useful for mental health, where visits have continued at high rates even as physical health visits largely returned to doctors’ offices.”

— “COVID-era rent relief programs are vanishing, and evictions could follow,” by Diti Kohli, Boston Globe: “The money and legal protections ushered in by the Baker administration to fend off a feared 'tsunami of evictions' during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic are disappearing in dribs and drabs, making it harder for people such as [Brighton renter Kim] Bertelson to stay in their homes. Many of the changes were triggered after the $846 million Massachusetts received from federal COVID relief funding began to run dry. The state closed applications for that money in April. That leaves a much smaller and less generous state program, called Residential Assistance for Families in Transition, or RAFT, as the main source of housing aid. It has $210 million available for the fiscal year ending next June.”

FROM THE HUB

— "At 91, Jean McGuire fights off attacker who stabbed her multiple times at Franklin Park," by Emily Sweeney, Danny McDonald and Christopher Huffaker, Boston Globe: "Jean M. McGuire, a trailblazing educational leader in Boston, was walking her dog, Bailey, through Franklin Park Tuesday night when she was attacked by a man who stabbed the 91-year-old woman multiple times, according to police."

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— MONEY MATTERS: Republican attorney general nominee Jay McMahon has received $78,748 through the state’s public campaign financing program, and is eligible for up to $312,500, OCPF said Wednesday. Democratic nominee Andrea Campbell has raised more than $2 million since the start of the year, but spent most of it in the primary, leaving her with less than $60,000 in her campaign coffers entering October. McMahon has raised about $135,000 and had about $37,000 in his bank account at the start of the month, per OCPF. GOP governor and lieutenant governor nominees Geoff Diehl and Leah Cole Allen initially opted into the state public financing program to limit outside spending, but have not taken money through it.

— “Diehl tries to catch up in the money race,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Republican gubernatorial hopeful Geoff Diehl is ramping up fundraising efforts as he tries to catch up in the money race against his Democratic rival, Maura Healey, who has amassed a sizable campaign kitty in the final stretch to the Nov. 8 election. Diehl and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Leah Allen, have lined up fundraising events every day over the next week, according to the campaign's public schedule. … As of Sept. 30, Diehl had about $88,500 left in his campaign account, compared to Healey’s $3.5 million, according to filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.”

— “This election's most interesting race? Amore vs. DiZoglio for Mass. Auditor,” by Adam Reilly, GBH News: “Anthony Amore, the Republican candidate for auditor, is his party's best bet to retain a sliver of statewide power — but he faces two big obstacles. His opponent, state Senator Diana DiZoglio, is a political dynamo with a proven record of challenging the Democratic establishment from the inside. And Amore's central argument — that Massachusetts voters want, and need, a Republican watchdog on Beacon Hill — hasn't been tested since the end of the Trump presidency and the Jan. 6 insurrection. Throw in the fact that Amore is the only statewide candidate endorsed by outgoing Governor Charlie Baker in the current election cycle, making his fate a test of Baker's clout, and it's fair to say the oft-overlooked auditor's race is the most interesting statewide contest of 2022. … The problem, for Amore, is that DiZoglio already has more of a record of taking on those same Democrats than he does.”

— “Former Attleboro city councilor John Davis says he's running for mayor again,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle: “Former four-term city councilor and Attleboro businessman John Davis will make another attempt to win the mayor’s office. Davis, 57, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1997 and 2007, said he feels the time is right to give it another go. He said it’s hard to beat a popular incumbent, but with Mayor Paul Heroux not running for a fourth term and the possibility Heroux could be elected sheriff of Bristol County, there will be an open seat this January or in 2024.”

DAY IN COURT

— “Fitchburg congressional candidate Dean Tran appeals dismissal of lawsuit against Healey,” by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette: “Republican congressional candidate and former Fitchburg state Sen. Dean A. Tran is appealing a federal judge's dismissal of his First Amendment retaliation lawsuit against Attorney General Maura T. Healey. The attorney general's office is currently prosecuting Tran in Worcester Superior Court on charges of intimidating an elderly constituent in June 2019. He is accused of coercing her into giving him her late husband’s firearms, making her sign a contract and giving her $1,500 in cash. In early July, Tran, 46, was indicted by a Worcester grand jury on charges including larceny of a firearm and misleading a police investigation. Tran pleaded not guilty to all charges July 28.”

ROE FALLOUT

— “Dobbs abortion ruling cited in appeal of Salem murders,” by Julie Manganis, Salem News: “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June that the Constitution does not grant the right to an abortion is being cited on behalf of a Marblehead man appealing his 2012 conviction for murdering his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn but full-term son in Salem. … Massachusetts courts have, since 1984, recognized that a viable fetus can be considered a person in homicide prosecutions. But Ronchi’s appellate attorney, Maine lawyer Neil Fishman, argues the court should now reverse that precedent, partly in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health.”

FROM THE 413

— “Voters in 1st Hampshire, 1st Franklin districts will have say on carbon tax,” by Bella Levavi, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Voters in the 1st Hampshire District, the 1st Franklin District and across the state have an opportunity to weigh in on Election Day whether there should be a fee on the carbon content of fossil fuels — otherwise known as a carbon tax — to compensate for the environmental damage caused by their use. Question 5 on the Nov. 8 general election ballot in these two districts goes on to propose that most of the proceeds from the fee would be returned ‘in equitable ways to individuals as a cashback dividend.’”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Plantation Street will remain; Worcester council ends UMass Chan bid for name change," by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: "The City Council effectively killed a petition by UMass Chan Medical School to rename Plantation Street, but not before plenty of comments about the issue. ... [District 3 Councilor George Russell] said that a name change would require the roughly 6,700 residents and 100 businesses on Plantation Street, Plantation Parkway and Plantation Terrace to change legal and identification documents, change official addresses and go through all sorts of other hassles at considerable expense."

— “Three Mass. residents among 25 winners of this year’s MacArthur ‘genius’ grants,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “All told, 25 people were awarded $800,000 grants, which are paid out over five years. Among them were Danna Freedman, an MIT inorganic chemist, Melanie Matchett Wood, a Harvard University mathematician, and Loretta J. Ross, a prominent reproductive and human rights activist who teaches at Smith College, the foundation posted on its website.”

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— “Gabbard to stump for Trump-aligned New Hampshire Senate candidate,” by Caroline Vakil, The Hill: “Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), who recently announced she would be leaving the Democratic Party, will be campaigning ahead of midterms with a GOP Senate candidate in New Hampshire aligned with former President Trump. The campaign for retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, who won the GOP primary to take on Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) in November, announced on Wednesday that Gabbard would be stumping for him.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at the NBC10 studios for Wednesday’s gubernatorial debate: Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and former GOP governor hopeful Chris Doughty.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: BALLOT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, PART II — Brian Monteiro and Doug Rubin walk hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Lisa Kashinsky through the support for and opposition to ballot Question 2 on regulating dental insurance. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and SoundCloud.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Corinne Falotico and Maria Hardiman of Team Healey.

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