Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Walsh checks his options

Thursday, February 2, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Walsh checks his options

WALSH WATCH — Is Marty Walsh following Charlie Baker in leaving public service for a high-paying sports-executive gig? Maybe.

The labor secretary is under consideration to lead the NHL Players Association , my POLITICO colleagues and I report . It’s a surprising development that somehow makes sense given Walsh’s union background and love of hockey. He also has darker ties to the sport. Walsh, a lifelong Bruins fan, has spoken of how being thrown out of a game in the 1990s for being too drunk led him to seek help for his alcohol abuse.

Leading the players' group is a far more lucrative gig than public service. Walsh makes $235,600 as labor secretary. The current NHLPA executive director reportedly makes about $3 million .

And if Walsh is looking for an out from the Biden administration, his electoral options at home appear limited right now. He declined to run against now-Gov. Maura Healey, and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey say they’re running for reelection in 2024 and 2026, respectively. If they don’t, expect crowded primaries for their seats.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh | AP

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. How many days of freedom is a kidney worth? Or is asking that wrong to begin with?

Those are the questions being raised by a contentious bill filed by Democratic state Reps. Carlos González and Judith García that would allow people in prison to shave time off their sentences by donating organs or bone marrow.

The bill has sparked national scrutiny and ominous headlines . But there’s more to the story: There’s no law in Massachusetts blocking incarcerated people from donating organs, but there isn’t any standard for it either, the bill-filers say. Their legislation would create that — and let donors take anywhere from 60 days to one year off their sentences. The exact number would be decided by a five-member committee.

González says the bill is actually about equity. Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to have comorbidities, like heart or liver disease, that can cause organ failure. And the need for organs far outweighs the number of people willing or able to donate.

But prisoners-rights advocates, including Prisoners Legal Services, are sounding alarms about "the potential for coercion." So is Michael Cox of prison-abolition group Black and Pink Massachusetts, who told Playbook he was "appalled" by the bill. Most incarcerated people “would jump at the opportunity to earn even a single day off the sentence,” Cox said, adding that even he would've considered it when he was incarcerated.

Progressive activists have assailed the bill online, directing their ire primarily toward García, who drew attention to the legislation by tweeting about it even though González said he’s the one who wrote it.

“We filed this legislation in response to those who expressed frustration with the scarcity of information on donating an organ or bone marrow to a loved one while incarcerated,” García, a first-term representative, said in her first statement to press on the bill. “High incarceration rates mean depriving non-incarcerated family members of life-saving treatment and depriving incarcerated individuals of the opportunity to save a loved one’s life. Addressing this inequity was always the goal of this legislation.”

It seems unlikely this bill will go anywhere fast, if anywhere at all, given the backlash and early criticism from House Speaker Ron Mariano, who told reporters on Wednesday that it sounds like “kind of an extreme way to get your sentence reduced.”

But González sees hope in all the attention the bill has received — good and bad. Both he and García say they’re open to working with advocates and colleagues to amend the bill, including taking out the provision to reduce sentences.

“The important part of this bill is not to give them an incentive [to donate], but to create a policy to be able to do so,” González said.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey attends a Groundhog Day event at 10 a.m. in Lincoln, joins transportation officials for a Red Line ride from Park Street to South Station at 12:30 p.m., tours the MBTA’s Operations Control Center at 1 p.m. and holds a media availability there at 1:40 p.m.

Tips? Scoops? Think Tom Brady’s retired for real this time? He seems to be, at least according to his dad . Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— CHANGING OF THE 2ND ESSEX GUARD: Representatives voted largely on party lines Wednesday to seat Democrat Kristin Kassner , ending GOP state Rep. Lenny Mirra ’s challenges to his one-vote recount loss and his decade of service in the House. Republican amendments that would have ordered either further review or a new election failed. Kassner told the Boston Herald she’ll be sworn in on Friday .

With Kassner’s victory, female Democrats have now flipped three seats across the Merrimack Valley and North Shore that had been held by Republicans. State Reps. Margaret Scarsdale and Dawne Shand turned the other two blue. Shand credited the wins in part to the North Shore Committee of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, which has been ramping up efforts in the region since 2017. Shand is MWPC’s board president.

— “More than a year after Mass. COVID-19 emergency officially ended, state House lawmakers return to in-person voting,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Six hundred and forty-one days after former governor Charlie Baker terminated the COVID-19 state of emergency and rescinded most pandemic-related restrictions, Massachusetts House members will finally return to voting in person. The House voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt new rules for the legislative session, which formally began last month. The proposal did away with an emergency rule that allowed legislators to vote on and debate bills from their homes, offices, or wherever else they chose during formal sessions. House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano said the House also will drop its vaccine requirement, which had kept a handful of representatives from entering the chamber.”

— “Shall not be infringed: lawmakers file to prevent state from sharing gun data,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “A pair of Republican lawmakers have co-sponsored emergency legislation aimed at preventing the state from sharing decades of gun sale and transfer data online and which had gun rights groups up in arms recently. … Last week, the Herald learned gun rights groups Gun Owners Action League and Commonwealth Second Amendment had complained to the state after it published nearly 20 years of firearms data in downloadable spreadsheets.”

— “DiZoglio talks transparency with North Shore Chamber,” by Caroline Enos, Salem News: “During the pandemic, the state overspent by $2.6 billion in the Department of Employment Assistance through overpayments and fraudulent payments of unemployment requests, [Auditor Diana] DiZoglio said. Legislators also weren’t able to see that data while voting on the state budget at the time, making them miss a chance to address this problem, she said. ‘I’m not just looking at the lack of transparency in trust funds, for example, regarding financial resources, but also looking at the breakdown of state agencies and procedures to find out why this happened,’ she said.”

— DATELINE, SWAMPSCOTT: “I-Team: State Police ends security post outside former Gov. Baker's house,” by Cheryl Fiandaca, WBZ: “Two days after the I-Team raised questions about state troopers on overtime guarding former Governor Charlie Baker's home, the State Police ended the post. For nearly two weeks after he left office, the I-Team found state troopers parked outside Baker's Swampscott home from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Baker left office on January 4 but the state continued to provide security at his home, except for during the overnight hours. The cost to taxpayers topped more than $25,000.”

— IT PAYS TO BE THE BOSS (OR A COMMITTEE CHAIR): State House News Service’s Chris Lisinski and Sam Doran take a deep dive into lawmakers’ pay and the various stipends that boost their salaries. House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka will both see their total pay surge above $200,000 this year, for instance. But their base pay, like other lawmakers, is $73,654.

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “The national COVID-19 public health emergency will end in May but some of its provisions may survive in Mass.,” by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts providers and health officials are still sorting through the effects of ending the emergency, as state laws, state decisions about Medicaid, and other federal decisions come into play.”

FROM THE HUB

— “City commission issues its first fines under Boston Residents Jobs Policy,” by Chris Burrell, GBH News: “A Boston commission charged with enforcing a decades-old city diversity hiring policy issued its first fines Wednesday, penalizing two construction companies a combined $20,700 for failing to file the number of hours that Boston residents, women and people of color have worked on recent projects. Wednesday’s vote to sanction the two contractors marks the first time the Boston Employment Commission has fined a construction company for violating the city’s Residents Jobs Policy.”

— “Boston city employees get free Bluebikes membership, part of T pass covered by new city benefits,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe.

PARTY POLITICS

— BACK IN ACTION: Former MassGOP political director John Milligan is poised to return as the party’s new executive director, pending approval from its executive committee. Amy Carnevale tapped Milligan for the gig less than 24 hours after being elected party chair.

DAY IN COURT

— “SJC to hear ACLU lawsuit against Hampden District Attorney’s Office over evidence handling,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “The state’s highest court has elected to hear a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union over allegations the Hampden District Attorney’s Office has neglected to turn over evidence on bad cops to criminal defense attorneys. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, also alleges prosecutors have failed to adequately investigate allegations of excessive force by Springfield police following a report by the U.S. Department of Justice a year earlier excoriating the former narcotics unit, which has since been disbanded.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— IN SELECT COMPANY: Reps. Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton have landed spots on the high-profile Select Committee on China, a new panel formed to assess the military, economic and technological challenges posed by China, including, apparently, TikTok .

Also of note: Rep. Lori Trahan is moving up Democrats' ranks in the House. She's been named one of Democratic Whip Katherine Clark 's senior whips and a member of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) regional leadership council.

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FROM THE 413

— “UMass search panel names 2 chancellor finalists,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Two higher education leaders from the Midwest are finalists to succeed Kumble R. Subbaswamy as chancellor at the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts. In an email to the campus community Wednesday, search committee Chairman Victor Woolridge announced that Javier Reyes, interim chancellor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Paul Tikalsky, dean of The College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology at Oklahoma State University, have been selected as finalists.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Schools closed for fourth straight day in Woburn despite $40K fine for teachers,” by WCVB: “Classes are canceled for the fourth straight day in Woburn amid a teachers strike in the Massachusetts city, despite the fact the teachers union will be fined $40,000 for remaining on the picket line. … In addition, the $40,000 fine will continue to increase by $5,000 each day the strike continues.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at the State House: Former Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George .

SPOTTED — at Carrie Nation after Wednesday's session: House Speaker Ron Mariano , state Sen. Pavel Payano and state Reps. Dawne Shand, Manny Cruz, Shirley Arriaga, Aaron Saunders, Francisco Paulino, John Lawn, Ed Coppinger and John Mahoney.

TRANSITIONS — State assistant attorney general Nancy Rothstein is now administrative magistrate at MassDPH.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Abraham Todd, Anisha Chakrabarti , former deputy communications director to former Gov. Charlie Baker; Sen. Elizabeth Warren alum and the Energy Department’s Cassidy Ballard ; and Matt Keswick.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: REACHING THE END OF THE LYONS — Host Lisa Kashinsky recaps the MassGOP's leadership shakeup. Hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela talk with MassINC CEO Joe Kriesberg , former president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, about the so-called MBTA Communities law. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud .

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