Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Baker's 2024 outlook

Monday, November 21, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Baker's 2024 outlook

Presented by

WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES — Don’t expect to see Gov. Charlie Baker on your presidential ballot in two years. Do expect he’ll be “involved” in 2024 in some other way.

Baker quashed the recent presidential buzz surrounding him when he capped off a week of rare national media interviews by telling WCVB’s “On the Record” that he’s “not going to be a candidate in 2024.”

“If I was looking at this point in my career to continue to engage in public service, I think [my wife] Lauren and I, and Karyn Polito, the lieutenant governor, and her husband, Steve, would have run for another term,” Baker said. “I certainly plan to be involved in 2024, but I think the likelihood I would be on the ballot in 2024 is pretty small.”

Baker keeps hinting at some greater involvement in national politics as he prepares to leave office. But he hasn’t said much about his plans beyond pontificating on his party's underperformance in the midterms and being more vocal in his opposition to former President Donald Trump.

There are plenty of things Baker could do: Baker has relationships with several potential 2024 hopefuls, including outgoing Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The nation’s most popular governor could serve as a surrogate for his candidate of choice. Or he could connect non-Trump candidates to his deep-pocketed donors in Massachusetts.

He could also turn his attention down the ballot. Baker, who’s active in the Republican Governors Association, could take on a leading role with its fundraising program . Or he could get more involved in Massachusetts Majority, the super PAC with ties to his donors that plays in local and statewide races.

Behind-the-scenes work now could help Baker build key relationships if he decides to run for higher office in the future. Baker told WCVB he’s “not going to rule out ever running for anything.”

FWIW, Baker continues to dance around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republicans’ leading contender to take on Trump. Baker continued to limit his criticism of DeSantis flying 49 migrants to Martha's Vineyard in September. And he wouldn’t answer a direct question on whether he’d back the popular Florida governor for president.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Baker did say — again — that he doesn’t think Jim Lyons should remain chair of the MassGOP.

But Lyons, who still hasn’t said whether he’s running again, appears focused on a different leadership fight — Ron Kaufman’s reelection bid for treasurer of the Republican National Committee.

Lyons sent a letter to RNC members blaming Kaufman, Massachusetts' RNC national committeeman, for Republicans’ losses in congressional races here and asking them to “consider someone else” for the job. Lyons, who's tried to oust Kaufman as treasurer before, didn't respond to a request for comment. Kaufman declined to comment on the letter, which was signed by just 19 of the nearly 80 MassGOP state committee members and doesn’t acknowledge Lyons’ role in recruiting and supporting losing congressional candidates in the last two cycles.

Speaking of Republican rifts, Lyons also didn’t join the majority of RNC members in signing onto a letter endorsing Ronna McDaniel for another term as chair as she faces a potential challenge.

TODAY — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends the Boston EMS recruit graduation at 11 a.m. at Faneuil Hall, joins Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark to announce ARPA grants to expand the early childhood workforce at 12:30 p.m. at Horizons for Homeless Children in Roxbury, and attends the annual trellis lighting at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park at 5:30 p.m. Former Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone receives Tufts University’s presidential medal at noon.

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

A message from Delta Dental of Massachusetts:

Did you know the key to good health is right under your nose? Delta Dental of Massachusetts is helping communities across the state improve their oral health and understand that a healthy smile is a powerful thing. Your mouth is the window to better overall health and happiness – open wide and let your dentist help protect you from health conditions like depression and cardiovascular disease. Discover the connection between oral and overall health at ExpressYourHealthMA.org.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Baker pardons Amiraults in controversial daycare sex abuse case,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday pardoned Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave, who were convicted of sexually abusing children in a day care center in the 1980s, in a famous case that has been widely criticized for its lack of evidence and for allegations that child witnesses were improperly pressured into making accusations.”

— “UMass President Marty Meehan says millionaire tax a sign voters want more money for public education,” by Jon Keller, WBZ: “The former congressman said he's worried because ‘transportation, local aid, K-12 education — all of those things have been more of a priority in this Commonwealth over the last two or three decades than public higher education.’"

FROM THE HUB

— “Wu announces $60 million affordable housing program, previews push for rent stabilization,” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Friday the city will direct $60 million of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to affordable housing in the city, by making 150 city-owned lots available for developers and by funding financial assistance programs. Wu told Boston Public Radio more than 300 homes for income-restricted buyers would be able to be built on those lots."

— “New special education report raises questions about bias against Boston’s Black and Latino boys,” by James Vaznis, Boston Globe.

— “The story behind Boston’s ‘bleak’ City Hall Plaza and its new facelift, ” by Danny McDonald, Katie Mogg and Jeremiah Manion, Boston Globe.

TRANSITION TIME

— MEET AND GREET: Attorney General-elect Andrea Campbell will make her first official visit to her soon-to-be office to meet with bureau chiefs and staff. She’ll also sit down with Attorney General Maura Healey , the governor-elect, to discuss the transition one-on-one, a Campbell spokesperson said. The tour and meeting are closed to press.

— “With political and policy differences, relationship between Wu and Healey may be more complicated than it seems,” by Emma Platoff and Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Indeed, from the outside, it looks like the perfect partnership: Come January, the two most powerful political leaders in the state will be liberal, barrier-breaking Harvard women, attorneys who grew up outside Massachusetts but built their public service careers here. Both [Michelle] Wu and [Maura] Healey are vocal advocates for abortion rights, environmental justice, and affordable housing. … They’ve remained cordial publicly, but come January, policy differences could emerge more prominently: ”

— “Healey announces transition committee chairs,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “Gov.-elect Maura Healey, whose campaign often addressed issues more with broad brushstrokes than detailed policy prescriptions, announced six transition policy committees on Friday that will be tasked with ‘translating the campaign’s vision into plans.’ The committees will be led by 15 co-chairs, including several well-known names from the worlds of education, business, and environmental policy. Healey announced that Danielle Cerny will serve as transition director and coordinate the work of the committees."

Other big names include:

— Gina McCarthy, a former White House climate adviser and past EPA administrator, and Lizzi Weyant, deputy executive director for public affairs and advocacy at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, who are co-chairing the “climate readiness, resiliency and adaptation" committee.

— Monica Tibbits-Nutt, executive director of the 128 Business Council and a former MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board member, and Tom Glynn, a former MBTA general manager and Massport CEO, who are leading the “how we get around” committee.

— Michael Curry, president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and Aisha Miller, a former Cabinet member under Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and vice president of Related Beal, a development firm, who co-chair the “safe and healthy communities for all ages” committee.

— “Worcester Superintendent Rachel Monárrez appointed to Maura Healey’s transition team,” by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive.

POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Florida paid company $1.5 million to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard,” by Samantha J. Gross and Mike Damiano, Boston Globe: “A Midwest charter flight company quoted a price of $153,000 to fly roughly 50 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard as part of the now-infamous migrant relocation carried out by the state of Florida in September. And yet, Florida has paid more than $1.56 million to an in-state aviation company overseeing the job, raising the question of what happened to the remaining money. … The documents made it apparent that Florida had also paid Vertol for flights that have not yet happened.”

— “Baker seeks more funds amid influx of refugees,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Gov. Charlie Baker is seeking more state money for temporary housing to help deal with a surge of migrants arriving in the state. On Friday, Baker filed a $139 million supplemental budget proposal that specifically calls for expanding the state’s emergency shelter system to help deal with a recent uptick in migrant arrivals and an already strained housing market.”

DAY IN COURT

— “Great Barrington man is lead plaintiff in suit against the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for installing COVID spyware on smartphones without owner consent or knowledge,” by Heather Bellow, Berkshire Eagle: “A town resident is a lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the state Department of Public Health that alleges the agency worked with Google to secretly auto-install COVID-19 contact tracing applications on the smartphones of more than a million people without their permission or knowledge. … The suit, brought on behalf of all affected Android users, says that when the DPH made its contact tracing software application available in April 2021, few Massachusetts residents installed it, so the agency automatically and secretly installed the app on phones and tablets.”

— “Mass. police surveillance case could go to Supreme Court,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “The ACLU is asking the US Supreme Court to consider a Massachusetts case that could set limits on the police’s ability to conduct long-term camera surveillance without obtaining a search warrant."

A message from Delta Dental of Massachusetts:

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “U.S. Rep. Richard Neal seeks common goals as GOP takes slim House majority, ” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal is moving on from the ‘best job in Congress’ as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee under a new, but thin, Republican majority. … He said he will resist Republican efforts to extend the 2017 tax cuts because they benefited only the wealthy. But he’s very interested in reinstating the expanded child tax credits and would be willing to back tax credits for research and development.”

— More: “Congressman Richard Neal discusses new Democratic leadership in the House,” by Kate Wilkinson and Nick DeGray, WWLP

— “Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls on FDA to bolster access to abortion pills,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Fighting for expanded reproductive care access, Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner on Friday to eliminate barriers surrounding medication abortion prescriptions.”

FROM THE 413

— “FEMA grants $5 million to National Guard for COVID work at Holyoke Soldiers Home, elsewhere: $1M to Baystate,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “FEMA will grant the Massachusetts National Guard more than $5 million for the cost of providing medical staff and setting up temporary hospitals to handle COVID patients between March and September 2020. That includes, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency news release Friday, the Guard’s response to the Holyoke Soldiers Home where a COVID outbreak in early 2020 cost 84 elderly veterans their lives.”

GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our “Future Pulse” newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE .

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “'Officer shuffle': Some ousted cops find jobs at new departments in Mass.,” by Walter Wuthmann, WBUR: “WBUR found more than a dozen current Massachusetts police officers who were previously fired or resigned from another department after a misconduct investigation. That includes a police officer in Erving who was fired from the Massachusetts State Police after he was caught repeatedly driving drunk, a Rehoboth officer who left the Seekonk force after he was accused of domestic violence and a Berlin police officer who lost his job in nearby Shrewsbury after allegedly posting vulgar messages on Facebook under someone else’s name."

— "‘This was about right versus wrong’: Ex-state board head speaks after jury finds former governor wrongly fired her," by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: "A day after then-governor Deval Patrick fired her in 2014 as the head of the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board, Saundra Edwards was afraid to leave her house. ... She learned that Patrick terminated her for allegedly pressuring a hearing officer to classify Patrick’s brother-in-law, Bernard Sigh, as a sex offender. ... Edwards filed a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging she was wrongly fired and retaliated against, and has fought for eight years to clear her name."

— “Eversource seeks 43 percent rate hike for eastern Mass. electric customers,” by Laura Crimaldi and Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: “In proposals filed with the state Department of Utilities, Eversource said Friday that it would increase the basic service rate for customers whose electricity is procured by Eversource on their behalf by 43 percent in the eastern part of the state and 42 percent in the western part of the state.”

— “Hoping to deliver at a Massachusetts birth center? Good luck,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “With the scheduled closure of North Shore Birth Center on December 1, Massachusetts will have only one operating birth center, Seven Sisters Midwifery & Community Birth Center in Northampton. … The North Shore Birth Center is only the latest in a spate of closures of birth centers, midwifery practices, and maternity wards in the state.”

THE NATIONAL TAKE

— Published on the eve of today’s sports betting license application deadline: “Cigars, Booze, Money: How a Lobbying Blitz Made Sports Betting Ubiquitous,” by Eric Lipton and Kenneth P. Vogel, New York Times: “If you had to pick a moment when the campaign to convince states to legalize sports betting started taking shape, you might choose the day in 2014 when a lobbyist named Jeremy Kudon heard a radio ad about how people could win a ‘boatload of money’ through fantasy sports. … Mr. Kudon and his clients assembled an all-star team of lawyers and former government officials, including Martha Coakley, who had been the attorney general of Massachusetts. In testimony to and conversations with state officials, Ms. Coakley and other lobbyists cited arguments made by the industry-bankrolled studies and legal memos.”

— “Voters who backed GOP governors helped keep the Senate blue,” by Lisa Kashinsky and Jessica Piper, POLITICO: “Democrats have ticket-splitters to thank for maintaining their hold on the Senate. New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan trampled her Republican rival, even as the state’s Republican governor, Chris Sununu, did the same to his opponent. In Nevada, voters helped Democrats seal the Senate majority by reelecting Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto even as they tossed out the sitting Democratic governor. And in Georgia, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s razor-thin race is heading into a December runoff after GOP Gov. Brian Kemp coasted to reelection. ... [Yet] a POLITICO analysis of the results shows that ticket-splitting in those races declined to the lowest point of any midterm since at least 1990.”

A message from Delta Dental of Massachusetts:

Delta Dental of Massachusetts connects with communities statewide to highlight the importance of oral health. Your oral health is a key predictor of overall health — with direct links to diabetes, heart disease, mental health, and other medical conditions. So, start the new year right, remind your loved ones – and yourself – to show your mouth some love. Get back to the dentist and remember to practice at-home preventive oral health habits like brushing and flossing regularly. Because the key to good health is right under your nose. Discover the connection between oral and overall health at ExpressYourHealthMA.org.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at an Armenian Assembly of America event on Capitol Hill honoring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Armenian Caucus: Rep. Jim McGovern, Rachel Kaprielian, a former state representative, registrar of motor vehicles and secretary of labor and workforce development; Anthony and Nancy Barsamian, John River, Greg Bilezikian, Sam and Lucine Kapreilian, Mary Jo Bazarian Murray and Farm Aid’s Carolyn Mugar. The Cambridge-based Noubar and Anna Afeyan Foundation provided some funding.

TRANSITIONS — Sunil Kumar will be the first president of color of Tufts University . Kumar is provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. David Muradian, Matt Martinelli, Michael Lipson and Timothy Cronin.

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 .

Follow us on Twitter