Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: It's Healey's MBTA now

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: It's Healey's MBTA now

BY LISA KASHINSKY , SOPHIE GARDNER AND KELLY GARRITY

INTO THE (ORANGE) LINE OF FIRE — Rarely, in recent memory, has someone been so optimistic about the MBTA.

But there was incoming general manager Phillip Eng , standing yesterday outside Riverside station with Gov. Maura Healey, her top transportation officials and a press corps dedicated to covering every one of the MBTA’s mishaps, declaring that the T is the “best transit system in the world.”

Eng has no choice but to believe that, as he prepares to take on perhaps the most thankless job in eastern Massachusetts. If the former Long Island Rail Road president doesn’t help Healey deliver a functioning MBTA in the near future, his new boss could pay the political price in a way her predecessor never had to.

“This is probably the most important appointment I’ve had to make since I became the governor, and I say that knowing how desperate the public is for leadership and a turnaround,” Healey said. "I recognize that I will be measured everyday on how things are going. And it's not to say there won't be challenges and bumps along the way. But this is a long time in the making in terms of some of the lack of investment ... and people have been doing the best they can, but this is a different day."

So far, top Democrats and transit workers are greeting Eng with cautious optimism. Rep. Seth Moulton called Eng’s hire “promising.” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she was “really thrilled” by Healey’s pick. The Carmen’s Union is “initially optimistic.”

But that could change if they don’t see quick progress from Healey’s $470,000-a-year investment (that’s Eng’s base salary). “Things are so bad, I expect to see some positive changes by next week,” Moulton, who called the T an "epic mess" in a new memo outlining his ideas for improving rail transit statewide, told Playbook.

And advocates are divided on what the new GM should tackle first:

— TransitMatters' Jarred Johnson wants “a plan to restore subway and bus service” with aggressive hiring, more productive diversions and “radical transparency about the funding needed to make the T work again.”

— A Better City CEO Richard Dimino and former MBTA GM Tom Glynn both want to see increased safety precautions.

— T workers want Eng to steer clear of the budget cuts and privatization they say “have dramatically failed the MBTA.”

Eng pledged “meaningful, measurable steps being taken and progress being made in short order.” But he also declined to say what he’d tackle first, throwing out a diplomatic “everything is a No. 1 priority” as he works to get up to speed.

Phillip Eng talks to evening rush hour commuters at Penn Station in April 2018, in New York. He's now running the MBTA. | AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Voters are casting ballots today in the special preliminary election for Salem mayor after Kim Driscoll was elected lieutenant governor in November.

The contest doubles as a referendum on her leadership. Driscoll’s longtime chief of staff, Dominick Pangallo, is among the five candidates vying to replace her . The LG’s endorsed him, fundraised for him and tapped into her statewide email list on his behalf. It would be a stinging rebuke if Pangallo isn’t one of the two candidates to advance to the May 16 special election.

Pangallo’s rivals include another former Salem mayor, Neil Harrington; the city’s acting mayor, Robert “Bob” McCarthy; former Driscoll mayoral rival Steve Dibble; and Stacia Kraft, a grassroots organizer who’s campaigned against Driscoll’s housing policies.

TODAY — Healey and Driscoll testify on their tax-relief package at 11 a.m. at the State House. Driscoll receives the Youth Build’s Champion Award at 10 a.m. at the State House and attends Jane Doe Inc.’s virtual “Real Talk” event at 6 p.m. Rep. Stephen Lynch holds a virtual roundtable on banking policy proposals at 10 a.m. Wu visits Fenway Park at 10:45 a.m. and speaks at a women veterans’ roundtable at 6 p.m. in West Roxbury.

Tips? Scoops? Comebacks to NYC’s slander campaign against Boston ? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com , kgarrity@politico.com and sgardner@politico.com .

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “DiZoglio says top lawmakers’ arguments are an ‘excuse’ not to be audited,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “State Auditor Diana DiZoglio dismissed top lawmakers’ claims that she lacks the authority to audit the Legislature on Monday, days after House Speaker Ron Mariano said he wouldn’t comply with her probe. ‘We’ve already started the process of conducting the audit,’ DiZoglio said in an interview on Boston Public Radio.”

— “Urgency Over Housing Secretary Up Against Beacon Hill Time,” by Sam Drysdale, State House News Service (paywall): “The process for reorganizing the bureaucratic structure of state government does not follow a bill's typical path through the Legislature, and instead is tied to a compressed schedule for consideration. The committee has 10 days after the public hearing to report on the plan, and the Legislature then has 60 days to approve or disapprove of the proposal. Unlike a typical bill, the measure is also not subject to amendment. If the branches don't act on it within those 60 days, then Healey's plan would take effect, as was the case with some of former Gov. Charlie Baker's reorganization plans.”

ROE FALLOUT

— JOINING FORCES: Kim Driscoll is joining 21 of her fellow Democratic lieutenant governors in forming the “Reproductive Freedom Coalition” to protect and expand access to reproductive care. The initiative is being led by Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.

“At a time when access to reproductive health care is increasingly under attack, I am proud to stand with Lieutenant Governors across the country to fight for affordable, accessible abortion and health care for all,” Driscoll said in a statement.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Eng will be one of highest-paid transit execs in country,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Eng, who is starting his new job April 10, received a five-year contract with a base salary of $470,000 a year plus an ‘annual retention payment’ of $30,000, according to the contract. His base salary will increase 1.5 percent on September 1, 2024, and each year thereafter.”

— “Long Island commuter advocate weighs in on new MBTA general manager,” by Mike Beaudet, Gail Waterhouse and Kevin Rothstein, WCVB: “Eng, an engineer and transportation executive, was president from 2018-22 of the Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter rail system in North America. ‘I give him a C,’ said Peter Haynes, president of the Long Island Rail Road Commuters Campaign, an advocacy group representing commuters on Long Island. ‘He wasn't the worst at all, but I don't see any dramatic improvements.’"

— “New MBTA boss Phil Eng rides out slow zones, rider frustrations,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “‘It moves at an interesting pace,’ Eng, the incoming general manager of the MBTA, said after his ride up the Green Line’s D branch from Riverside to Park Street on Monday afternoon — a stretch that, according to the T’s new dashboard, contains more than 15 stretches with speed restrictions. He declared, ‘We will fix that.’”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “With Elizabeth Warren running again, where does that leave the state’s ambitious young politicians?” by Jess Bidgood and Tal Kopan, Boston Globe: “[The] question facing today’s younger and ambitious members of Congress, including Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Jake Auchincloss, Seth Moulton, and Lori Trahan, is just how long they want to wait to rise through the ranks, particularly in a political environment that increasingly rewards celebrity and virality over self-restraint. It’s one they may be asking themselves as Senator Elizabeth Warren, 73, said on Monday that she will run for reelection in 2024, as had been widely expected.”

FROM THE 413

— “Western Massachusetts gets $1 million to entice tourists to winter attractions,” by Jim Kinney, MassLive: “Tourism boosters for all of western Massachusetts will share in $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to promote attractions in 'shoulder season' — November through April — over the next two years.”

— “New policy will spell out that Amherst Common flagpoles are for government speech,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Pamela Nolan Young, the director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, recently sent a memo to the Town Council about adopting a policy that will strengthen the current practice for flying flags and take into account the U.S. Supreme Court decision, and a $2.1 million settlement, involving the city of Boston following its denial of a Christian group’s request to fly a flag at City Hall.”

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THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Does Bourne need to comply with the MBTA's housing mandate? A look at how that would work,” by Paul Gately, Cape Cod Times: “As local officials try to determine if Bourne is officially a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) community member or not, the Planning Department is working with the Cape Cod Commission to try and comply with the state agency's multi-family housing mandate.”

— “Movement to change state flag image coming to Ipswich, Swampscott,” by Paul Leighton, Salem News: “Voters in two North Shore towns will be asked to support a movement to change the Massachusetts flag and seal, which many people say is an offensive symbol of white supremacy and the historical oppression of Indigenous people. Resolutions supporting a change will be on the annual Town Meeting warrants in Ipswich on May 9 and in Swampscott on May 15.”

— “Robert Kraft launches $25 million campaign to fight antisemitism,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe.

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— “Christie sees a lane in the GOP primary: Trump destroyer,” by Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: “[Former New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie was cagey about whether he is actually running for president again. But if he is — he’s said a decision could come in 45 to 60 days — he spelled out a clear lane for himself as [former President Donald] Trump’s critic in chief. Christie doesn’t see one in what is shaping up to be the 2024 Republican field.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — The Boston Globe has officially launched its New Hampshire expansion with reporters Amanda Gokee and Steven Porter .

— Aaron Bernstein will become director of the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May. He previously led the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY — to Laura Driscoll and Liz Johnson , who celebrated Monday.

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