Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A meeting of the Democratic minds

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A meeting of the Democratic minds

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TALKING THE TALK — The devil, as House Speaker Ron Mariano likes to say, is in the details.

And as top Democrats acclimate to a new era of unilateral control on Beacon Hill, the details they were willing to share after their first leadership meeting were, unsurprisingly, few.

Free community college has emerged as an early priority for both Gov. Maura Healey and Senate President Karen Spilka. But neither wanted to get into the differences between their proposals — Spilka wants to eliminate tuition and fees, Healey would limit cost-savings to those over age 25 without college degrees — after yesterday's meeting. "We'll begin the work on sitting down together ... and see what we can arrive at," Healey said.

Then there’s tax relief, which Healey and Spilka want in some fashion and which Mariano remains noncommittal on. But the trio avoided any public disagreement — Healey and Mariano both said they’re waiting for the consensus revenue forecast for the next fiscal year before making any decisions.

Mariano wants to discuss changes to Chapter 62F, the tax-cap law triggered last year that resulted in roughly $3 billion being sent back to taxpayers. But Healey deflected on the matter by noting it's only "Day Four" of her nascent administration.

From left: House Speaker Ron Mariano, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Gov. Maura Healey and Senate President Karen Spilka after a leadership meeting on Jan. 9, 2023. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

Missing from the roughly 90-minute closed-door confab were top Republicans who were accustomed to having a seat at the leadership meeting table under GOP Gov. Charlie Baker.

“We thought it was important for this, the first meeting, that it just be a meeting among the four of us,” said Healey, who was also joined by Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “We have known each other and worked together, but in different capacities over the last many years. And I think it was appropriate for this initial meeting, as we sit down and talk about the future and what we all want to accomplish together, for us to sit together. I certainly look forward to continued conversation, communication with minority leadership.”

The Republicans are looking forward to that, too. "Regular, bipartisan leadership meetings have been one of the distinguishing hallmarks of a state government that operates in a collaborative way,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said in a statement. “They have served us well during very challenging times, and are as important now as ever. … I stand ready to do whatever is necessary to facilitate that continuity."

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The sweetest detail of yesterday's meeting? The cookie Mariano ate as he spoke to reporters: oatmeal, from Metro Catering — "healthy!" he said.

TODAY — Healey and Driscoll visit UMass Dartmouth at 10:30 a.m. to learn more about the school’s work on climate sustainability.

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

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— UNDER REVIEW: A special legislative committee will hold public hearings Friday on two contested state representative seats. House Speaker Ron Mariano has delayed seating Democratic state Reps.-elect Kristin Kassner and Margaret Scarsdale until the committee completes its review of the recounts in their races and legal challenges from their Republican opponents. GOP state Rep. Lenny Mirra has continued representing the 2nd Essex District as the committee conducts its work. But the 1st Middlesex seat, for which Scarsdale edged Republican Andrew Shepherd by seven votes, is vacant.

Scarsdale has accused Shepherd of “election denialism" and Mariano said he’s worried about feeding into that by not seating the certified winners. “But my other concern," the speaker said yesterday, "was [the Republicans] both have legal options…which they were not able to exhaust.”

Mirra told The Daily News of Newburyport's Christian M. Wade that he hopes the committee will either certify the results in his favor or go for a special election — though Mariano said he'd be "shocked" by the latter.

— “Top lawmakers weigh in on Healey's housing, community college plans after first meeting,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “Gov. Maura Healey's plan to add a housing secretary to her Cabinet got a stamp of approval Monday from state Senate President Karen Spilka, who said the move would help the new governor drill in on one of the state's most pressing issues.”

— “Poll: Mass. residents want to keep controversial tax cap law intact,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “A majority of Massachusetts residents want Beacon Hill lawmakers and new Gov. Maura Healey to keep a controversial tax cap law intact, which last year delivered almost $3 billion in excess state revenues back to taxpayers but scrambled more permanent relief, a new Republican-aligned poll found. Nearly 63% of respondents want to keep Chapter 62F ‘as is,’ according to the poll released Monday from the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, which queried 750 people from Jan. 3-4. The poll has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points. … But the Fiscal Alliance Foundation poll did not ask respondents whether they support modifications to Chapter 62F.”

— “AG's report reveals uptick in lender complaints,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “A state loan assistance program under the attorney general’s office fielded an ‘unprecedented’ number of complaints over the past year from student borrowers about deceptive lender repayment policies. A recent report by the AG Ombudsman’s Student Loan Assistance Unit said Massachusetts student loan borrowers filed 1,207 complaints and requests for assistance between July 2021 and June 30, 2022. Most of the correspondence involved complaints against college loan servers.”

— “Critics worry new state proposal will worsen student achievement gaps,” by Adria Watson, Boston Globe: “A new state proposal aimed at tackling student learning losses has triggered criticism among education board members and advocates who worry the plan lacks urgency and ultimately will worsen achievement gaps. The plan, called a path to recovery, would set up individualized goals for schools and districts to return to their 2019 achievement levels. It would allow districts and schools with the steepest declines in MCAS scores a longer recovery time — up to four years — to hit the targets.”

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today .

PARTY POLITICS

— PAST DUE: Unpaid bills appear to be piling up for the MassGOP amid a legal battle over the party's finances. Invoices and emails obtained by Playbook show the party owed more than $33,000 as of late December for mailers for congressional candidate Dean Tran and state representative candidate Andrew Shepherd. MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons, according to the email, said the bills would be paid before the Jan. 31 leadership election.

Now Stirm Group is threatening to sue the MassGOP over $52,467 the private investigations firm says it's owed for opposition research into then-Democratic nominee for governor Maura Healey . The group claims that Lyons requested "limited opposition research" into Healey — including unsubstantiated allegations about her personal life — in early October but never paid for the services and tried to pass the firm off to an unnamed associate, according to a letter from attorney George J. Nader of Riley & Dever from late December. An OCPF search shows no payments to the group since 2021.

The letter was shared with state committee members Monday by the party treasurer, who Lyons is suing over access to the party's bank account. It was first reported by the Herald’s Howie Carr and obtained by Playbook. A Stirm Group spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the letter and said the firm does not "publicly discuss or disclose our client's business dealings." Lyons didn’t respond to a request for comment.

PROPAGANDA: A message from NextEra Energy:

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston Police say they received, ignored 12 ICE immigration detainer requests,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The Boston Police Department says it received and ignored 12 federal requests to detain suspected illegal immigrants last year under the Hub’s sanctuary-city law. Every year, the BPD is tasked with putting out a report on how well it followed the city’s Trust Act, an ordinance that forbids city agencies from cooperating with certain requests from federal immigration-enforcement officials."

— “Kevin Hayden sworn in for first full term as Suffolk DA,” by Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe: "As district attorney, Hayden has made guns his hallmark issue, and at his swearing-in, he touted his office’s work in that regard. For instance, he assigned two prosecutors to fast-track nonfatal shootings and other gun crimes to a grand jury for quicker indictments. He also created the Boston First Program to focus on firearm violence, gun trafficking, and unsolved shootings."

DATELINE D.C.

— PASSING THE GAVEL: Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) will lead the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, taking over from Democratic Rep. Richard Neal, my POLITICO colleagues report . Neal, now the ranking member, said in a statement that leading the committee “is an awesome responsibility, and I congratulate Jason on his selection as the new chairman. We have worked together for years on some of the most consequential issues, and I look forward to continuing the committee’s tradition of rising above politics to do what’s best for the American people.”

— FROM BAKER TO SANTOS: Former MassGOP communications director and Baker administration alum Naysa Woomer is now communications director for scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who reportedly falsified major pieces of his biography . According to Legistorm, Santos has also hired Rafaello Carone as a legislative aide. Carone's firm, Liberty & Justice Consulting, consulted on Dean Tran's congressional campaign, according to FEC records.

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FROM THE 413

— "Sheffield wants to ban 5G wireless until health questions are resolved. Will the town be able to stop it?" by Heather Bellow, Berkshire Eagle: "A group of residents and activists are trying to block 5G wireless systems from installation in town until research deems emissions from the newer technology safe for people as well as flora and fauna. They say current federal safety standards for exposure are outdated and don’t apply to the higher 5G — or fifth-generation — levels of radio frequency radiation. But the town might not legally be able to stop what the federal government allows the telecommunications industry to do."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Former mayor proposes term limits for Attleboro's top office,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle: “Former mayor Paul Heroux asked the city council in his last communication on Tuesday to submit a non-binding ballot question to the voters that would increase the number of years in a term for a mayor and limit the mayor to three terms. The new term would be expanded from two years to four.”

PROPAGANDA: A message from NextEra Energy:

NextEra Energy is the first company committed to reaching Real Zero™, as in 100% clean energy. We’re not just offsetting carbon emissions — we’re eliminating them.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden at the Celtics game after his inauguration to a full term.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Chris Buchanan, Samantha Hooper and Jonathan D. Sarna.

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