Friday, October 14, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Pressley for president?

THE PRESSLEY PARTY — Is Ayanna Pressley Massachusetts' next Democratic presidential hopeful?

There hasn't been much chatter about it at home. But a story in D.C.-based publication The Hill places her among a group of “female progressive rising stars to watch in 2024” should President Joe Biden not seek reelection, or in future cycles. She joins some other familiar faces: fellow “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia.

Massachusetts political insiders by and large expect Pressley to run, and be a frontrunner, for Senate when either Elizabeth Warren or Ed Markey's seats open up.

That could be a while: Warren says she’s running for reelection in 2024. A spokesperson for Markey told Playbook he plans to seek reelection in 2026. The Malden Democrat would turn 80 that year, but we’re in an age where senators are serving well into their octogenarian years.

Pressley’s not waiting for an opening to start building her brand beyond the 7th Congressional District. She has a national following as a member of the Squad and has been one of the faces of the progressive push to cancel federal student loan debt.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) takes a photo with supporters at the Annual Greater Boston Labor Council Breakfast on Monday, Labor Day, Sept. 5, 2022 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. | AP Photo/Josh Reynolds

Back home, her “Pressley Policy Pledge” — through which the congresswoman gives like-minded candidates a stamp of approval, but not a formal endorsement — doubles as a way for Presley to broaden her network of potential supporters should she pursue a statewide run. She’s also active in ballot question campaigns, including the Fair Share Amendment, which she’ll kick off a canvass for in Dorchester on Sunday afternoon.

A run for Senate, rather than president, makes more sense for Pressley given that her experience is largely legislative, not executive. She got her start working for former Rep. Joe Kennedy II and former Sen. John Kerry. She was the first woman of color elected to the Boston City Council, and then the first woman of color elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress.

But taking Pressley out of Senate contention would blow open the door for many in the state’s deep Democratic bench to make a run for higher office, including some folks who sat out the governor’s race out of deference to — or a lack of desire to run against — the dominant force that is Attorney General Maura Healey. Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are among the names already being floated in polls.

What does Pressley have to say about all this? A campaign spokesperson for the congresswoman, who's facing a reelection challenge from Republican Donnie Palmer, told Playbook that she’s “deeply honored to represent the Massachusetts 7th in Congress and remains intently focused on that job.”

DONNIE PALMER:

In Boston at-large council race, state GOP backed boxer who pushed anti-Asian posts

October 13, 2021

Gintautas Dumcius, The Dorchester Reporter

Massachusetts GOP officials spent thousands of dollars to help a Boston City Council at-large candidate who has taken to social media with anti-Asian posts, falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, and lashed out about vaccine requirements.

Donnie Palmer, a professional boxer who hails from Dorchester, was among the 17 candidates to run for City Council at-large in the Sept. 14 preliminary election. He was knocked out of contention for the Nov. 2 final election after finishing in 14th place with 6,823 votes.

In a recent filing with state campaign finance regulators, the Republican State Committee disclosed it spent $3,697 on Facebook ads supporting Palmer in August. The panel and Palmer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

“ARE WE ABOUT TO ELECT A CHINESE CITIZEN TO CONTROL THE CITY OF BOSTON?” Palmer said in an Aug. 29 message that he posted to Twitter. It was accompanied by a photograph of mayoral contender Michelle Wu, who was born in Chicago and is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. Palmer paired her photo with one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“The Arabs and Chinese want to do to Africa what the Europeans did to America. Wipe out the indigenous people and set up a super colony,” one person posted to Twitter in early September. “Correct!” Palmer responded in another Twitter post.

In early October, Palmer posted a photo of Wu and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who was raised in Chicago, and asked, “Do you think that Chicago would allow a bunch of gangsters from Boston to come in and take over their city??? NO WAY…and neither should we.”

Responding directly to Wu after her campaign posted her TV ad on Twitter on Aug. 19, Palmer echoed former President Donald Trump in calling coronavirus a “Chinese” virus and asked, “Does China run Boston?” In another Twitter post, Palmer claimed Australia is “controlled” by China and added, “WE ARE NEXT.”

Wu said in a statement to the Reporter there is a “responsibility to stand together against the scourge of Anti-Asian racism and hatred of all kinds.” She added: “Funding campaigns built on discrimination only perpetuates the alienation so many have from our political process. I’m committed to joining our communities to stand up against racism, and see and value every person.”

Palmer, an unabashed Trump supporter who sought to be the first Black Republican on the City Council, has also shared content on Facebook that has been flagged as factually inaccurate, posted to Twitter about how the 2020 U.S. election was stolen, and claimed politicians are “forcing us to take a vaccine that’s killing healthy people all over the country.” Palmer also called Aacting Mayor Kim Janey a “fascist dictator” after she required vaccines for city workers.

The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPPA), a top police union, also endorsed Palmer in August and sent him $500 in September. He was one of five candidates the union endorsed in the preliminary.

“We were completely unaware of these postings and we do not condone these racist statements,” Larry Calderone, head of the BPPA, said in a statement. He noted the postings referenced by the Reporter occurred after their Aug. 18 endorsement of Palmer. “Further, at that time, we were unaware of these or any other postings that reflected racist attitudes by Mr. Palmer,” Calderone added. “The BPPA abhors all forms of racism and Mr. Palmer’s statements do not reflect our values.”

In a July 10 post, Palmer wrote, “Earlier in the race I felt that the GOP were not interested in supporting me. That has all changed. Jim Lyons, the Mass. GOP chairman, is giving me massive support.” The post included a picture of Palmer and Lyons, who has worked to remake the Massachusetts GOP, known for moderate candidates who served as a check on Democrats on Beacon Hill, into a pro-Trump outfit.

Since losing the preliminary, Palmer has set his sights on running against Pressley, who is up for reelection next year. Before his at-large run this year, Palmer previously ran and lost to District 3 City Councillor Frank Baker of Dorchester in 2015.

According to campaign finance records, Palmer received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for his at-large run, but he has not disclosed the donors. He appears to have spent much of the money on local eateries. In his most recent filing, his campaign account is nearly $450 in the red.

State campaign finance regulators have sent him several letters asking him about missing information in his filings on donations and expenditures.

LINK

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Stay dry.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito speaks at the inauguration of Chancellor Mark A. Fuller at UMass Dartmouth at 3 p.m. Walsh and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visit the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology at 9:45 a.m.; Warren and Pressley join. Warren hosts a Senate subcommittee hearing on the MBTA with Markey at 11 a.m. at the JFK Federal Building; Wu testifies at 11:30 a.m. GOP governor hopeful Geoff Diehl and MA-01 candidate Dean Martilli host a business roundtable at Shortstop Bar & Grill in Westfield at 1 p.m.

THIS WEEKEND — WBZ airs its auditor debate between Anthony Amore and state Sen. Diana DiZoglio in full at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and in part at 8:30 a.m. Sunday on “Keller @ Large.” DiZoglio is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Tips? Scoops? Fun weekend plans? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

— “Massachusetts reports 7,865 new COVID cases; virus hospitalizations at highest level since May,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The state’s daily average of 1,124 COVID cases from the last week is down from the daily rate of 1,211 virus infections during the previous week. However, the positive test rate was higher in the last week. The state also reported that 856 total patients are hospitalized with COVID, which is up 98 patients from this time last week.”

— “Mass. Reports 14 New Monkeypox Cases in Last Week,” by NBC10 Boston.

— “Town-by-town COVID-19 data in Massachusetts,” by Ryan Huddle and Peter Bailey-Wells, Boston Globe.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— PROGRESSIVE INCREMENTS: A handful of lawmakers have signed on to state Rep. Mike Connolly’s bill to cap what taxpayers receive in their 62F automatic refunds at $6,500 and redistribute the excess to lower-income earners. But Connolly and his co-sponsors, including state Sen. Jamie Eldridge and state Rep. Jamie Belsito, who appeared with Connolly outside the State House on Thursday to tout the bill, face an uphill battle in getting it passed. Connolly told reporters that there’s “no indication” that Democratic legislative leadership or GOP Gov. Charlie Baker are on board with changing the 1980s law. Plus, lawmakers are only meeting in informal sessions now, where one person can derail a bill’s progress.

"As I’ve said before, 62F is the voter-approved law of the land, and Governor Baker is now responsible for implementing his administration’s regulatory changes,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said in a statement to Playbook.

Connolly and his colleagues are playing the long game, too. “If revenues continue to be as robust, then we could be revisiting 62F in future years,” Eldridge said. “So I think it’s important for all legislators to have this conversation.”

But the threat of legal action looms over lawmakers hoping to tinker with 62F. New England Legal Foundation President Dan Winslow, a former state representative, said if lawmakers change the law, “they’ll have to answer to the courts.”

— “Auditor identifies $1.2 billion in unfunded mandates,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “The state has a $1.2 billion shortfall in aid promised to cities, towns, and school districts, Auditor Suzanne Bump concluded in a report released Thursday. The report looked at several major categories of state aid and identified $711.4 million in unfunded mandates related to school aid; $448.3 million related to school transportation; and $103.3 million in government aid, mainly related to the Community Preservation Act.”

— “Nearly 60 officers denied recertification by Mass. police licensing agency,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “Nearly 60 law enforcement personnel in Massachusetts were denied recertification through a police licensing commission, according to data presented Thursday morning at a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission meeting. … Commission Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said 57 officers have now been denied recertification, a number that represents less than a 1% of the total number of officers in the cohort. … Zuniga said most of the 57 law enforcement personnel did not complete certain aspects of the Municipal Police Training Committee’s Bridge Academy, a 200-hour program an officer can sign up for to meet state certification requirements if they did not attend a full-time, 800-hour police academy.”

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Reproductive Equity Now has endorsed state Sen. Diana DiZoglio for auditor, saying she will be a “champion” in ensuring the state “fully realizes the intent of the 2017 ACCESS law , the insurance mandates for abortion care, and protections for providers of gender-affirming and reproductive health care.”

— ON THE AIRWAVES: The coalition supporting the Fair Share Amendment is out with the sixth television spot of its $10 million advertising campaign, this one trying to blunt the opposition’s argument that so-called millionaires tax would hike taxes on some retirees and homeowners. Fair Share for Massachusetts cites a report from the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center that claims most home sales won’t push people over the $1 million threshold. The Fair Share Amendment, or ballot Question 1, would add a 4 percent surtax on annual income above $1 million and funnel the money toward education and transportation projects.

— “Healey claims Geoff Diehl wants to ‘take away minimum wage.’ Come again?” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Rarely, if ever, has the state’s legally enshrined wage floor emerged as a question on the campaign trail this year. That is, until Wednesday, when Democrat Maura Healey claimed — twice — during her first gubernatorial debate with Republican Geoff Diehl that he would target it. … But Diehl has not expressly campaigned on such a promise, nor does his lean slate of policy pledges include one. His campaign on Thursday called such a suggestion ‘ridiculous.’ Totally eliminating a minimum wage on a state level is also effectively impossible with a federal minimum in place. … Yet, there was a time when Diehl supported dropping the state’s minimum wage.”

— More: “Confident after debate, Maura Healey swings through Western Mass.,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe.

— “Mass. state auditor debate heavy on accusations, light on plans for being auditor,” by Alexander Thompson, Boston Globe: “The sole debate between the major-party candidates for state auditor, Democratic state Senator Diana DiZoglio and Republican Anthony Amore, focused little on auditing. … At various points, each candidate accused the other of being ‘desperate,’ DiZoglio accused Amore of sexism, Amore accused DiZoglio of lying, DiZoglio pulled out a printed screenshot of what she said was one of Amore’s old tweets, and Amore said DiZoglio’s claims were a sign of weakness.”

— “Bristol County sheriff race: Cutting through the rhetoric on recidivism,” by Arthur Hirsch, New Bedford Light: “Claims and counter-claims have been flying between the incumbent, Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson, a Republican seeking a fifth six-year term, and the challenger, Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux. Heroux and his two opponents in the Democratic primary have insisted that Hodgson does a poor job running the House of Correction, as too many offenders end up back behind bars. Fact is, though, nobody knows how many people released from Hodgson’s custody are convicted for new offenses within a certain number of years and then recorded as incidents of “recidivism.” Hodgson does not track that information for the Bristol County House of Correction, and the recidivism numbers that his Democratic rivals have cited as reflections on his performance are actually figures for inmates released from state prisons.”

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Texas sheriff certifies the Martha's Vineyard migrants are crime victims, opening the door for special visas,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “A Texas sheriff has certified that the nearly 50 migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were victims of a crime. That certification is a key step in qualifying them for a special visa they would not have otherwise been eligible for. Texas’ Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar expeditiously signed certification forms for all of the migrants, according to Boston-based immigration attorney Rachel Self, who went down to San Antonio to obtain the paperwork.”

— “‘The system is strained’: Thousands of migrants surge into Greater Boston, stressing local support networks,” by Mike Damiano, Boston Globe: “When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flew two planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard last month, the stunt commanded national headlines and prompted an outpouring of support from good Samaritans and state agencies. But the Vineyard migrants’ numbers — fewer than 50 — represented a mere drop in the bucket when compared to a surge of thousands of migrants who have reached the Boston area in recent months. Their arrival is overwhelming the resources of local aid groups and prompting calls for more resources to handle the influx. … The new migrants, by and large, have come to the state after crossing the border in Texas and then bouncing between detention centers, shelters run by nonprofits, or friends’ living rooms throughout the country.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “MBTA weighing proposals for half-price fares and free buses for low-income riders,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Implementing half-price fares for low-income riders across the system would make sense for more users, and cost the MBTA less than offering free bus rides, a team of staffers determined. A means-tested fare option would cost the T between $46 million and $58 million, but the cost to make all buses free would increase significantly to $94-$141 million, according to a presentation at Thursday’s Audit & Finance subcommittee meeting.”

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Mass. cannabis commission rebuffs license applicant over ties to agency’s chairwoman,” by Dan Adams, Boston Globe: “Just over a month into her tenure as the state’s new top marijuana regulator, former Massachusetts treasurer Shannon O’Brien is mired in an awkward controversy over her previous ownership of a pot company. The state Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday took the highly unusual step of ‘remanding’ a license application from Greenfield Greenery, a proposed outdoor marijuana-growing operation in Greenfield that until last December counted O’Brien as its chief executive and 50 percent co-owner. The 4-0 vote — O’Brien recused herself — essentially puts the application on hold pending an investigation by commission staffers into who really owns and controls the firm.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Midwife-led birth center in Beverly has seen its last patient, staff say,” by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: “Staff at the North Shore Birth Center on the campus of Beverly Hospital say they've seen their last patient. The center was the only stand-alone midwife-led birth center currently delivering babies in Eastern Massachusetts. Beth Israel Lahey Health had announced plans in May to close the center, citing staffing shortages. In a statement, the president of Beverly Hospital said the center remains open to provide ‘established patients with any post-partum care they might need, and for the provision of routine gynecological services.’ But internal emails from September that were shared with GBH News show staff were directed to not make any appointments after Oct. 11.”

— “Woburn, Massachusetts, police officer accused of planning, participating in Charlottesville, Virginia, riot on leave,” by WCVB: “A Woburn police officer is on paid leave, accused of inappropriate conduct in connection with a 2017 white supremacist rally that left one person dead and dozens of others injured in Charlottesville, Virginia, Mayor Scott Galvin and Police Chief Robert F. Rufo Jr. said. Rufo said he recently learned that Officer John Donnelly allegedly participated in and was active in the planning of the Unite the Right rally.”

— “Massachusetts is losing taxpayers at 4th highest rate: Tax Foundation report,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “Massachusetts is the highest outward migration state in New England, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation that uses IRS data to track taxpayer movement. Across the country, Massachusetts is now ranked the fourth highest state for losing taxpayers. The top three states are New York, California and Illinois, according to the report.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

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 Boston Globe’s Victoria McGrane, Natasha Silva and Pierce J. Haley. Happy belated to Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who celebrated Thursday.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to former Playbook helper extraordinaire Anne Brandes, Alexis Krieg of the Omidyar Network, Stat’s Rick Berke, Darby Bukowski and Jim St. George who celebrate Saturday, and to Sunday birthday-ers state Rep. David Linsky, Steve Roche, Daily Hampshire Gazette alum Mike Connors, Andrew Zimbalist and Ron Jordan.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.

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