Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: 10 years later, Boston owns the finish line

Monday, April 17, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: 10 years later, Boston owns the finish line

BY MIA MCCARTHY , KELLY GARRITY AND SOPHIE GARDNER

Runners approach the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022. | Charles Krupa/AP Photo

BOYLSTON-BOUND — Happy Marathon Day. Kids are out of school, government offices are closed, you may have slept in and Boston is channeling the energy of a massive block party. Even if you’re not watching the race in real-time, there’s no escaping the vibe — or, for some politicos, the itch to run.

State Sen. Lydia Edwards is hitting the pavement in Hopkinton for the second time this morning. State Sen. William Brownsberger and Benchmark Strategy’s Joe Rull are both tackling the course for the third time.

Edwards feels a “special kind of pride” doing the notoriously hilly 26.2-mile course from Hopkinton to Boylston because it threads through her district, she told Playbook.

Rull, a Southie native and former top adviser to former Mayor Marty Walsh, said it’s “the fans and the camaraderie and it's your home turf.”

This year, of course, has a special gnawing feeling to it. We’re 10 years out from the attack that tried to stain our cultural phenomenon — when two pressure cooker bombs killed three and injured hundreds more near the marathon’s finish line.

Former Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley, who used to do the marathon every other year while in office, ran the race the year after the bombing. “I did even number years, because odd number years were campaign years,” he told Playbook.

“[The 2014 race was] the only time that I cried crossing the finish line,” O’Malley told Playbook. “It was just so emotional.”

Remembering the tragedy this year is “one more thing that’s special about the day,” Brownsberger said. Edwards is grateful to be a part of it, she told us, knowing many victims of the attack may not be able to run again.

“How can you quit when you're thinking of people like the Richard family that just haven't quit?” Rull said, referring to 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the blast.

O’Malley’s not running this year — but keep an eye on him in 2024.

“I will probably be out there next year,” he said.

Sure, other cities have (*cough* copycat *cough*) marathons. But this one is ours. We look forward to it every year, almost as much as the runners look forward to turning down Boylston.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS — Good luck to Edwards and Brownsberger, Rull, Rachel Glazer of Needham, and to all the runners today. And congrats to the pups who walked yesterday in honor of Spencer , the marathon’s official dog, who died earlier this year.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey visits MEMA’s marathon command center at 8 a.m. in Framingham and crowns the men’s marathon winner at 10 a.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the Patriots’ Day Parade at 9 a.m. at City Hall Plaza and crowns the women’s champion at 12:30 p.m.

Programming note: We’re excited to be in your inbox this week while Lisa is out. Email us with your tips, scoops, schedules, birthdays, budget amendments or Celtics playoff predictions: kgarrity@politico.com , sgardner@politico.com , mmccarthy@politico.com.

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 .

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “How Mass. leaders remembered the Boston Marathon bombings on the 10th anniversary,” Abby Patkin, Boston.com: “Past and present elected officials and leaders around Massachusetts are sharing their thoughts on the 10th anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, reflecting on one of the city’s darkest days, as well as the legacy of resilience and strength that followed.”

— “Stand-alone housing secretariat moves forward,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Magazine: “Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to create a new Cabinet-level post on housing got the green light from the Senate on Thursday, bringing the administration one step closer to an adjustment it says will help address the state’s severe housing production and affordability crisis.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston should hire a rat ‘czar,’ council president says,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston could follow New York City’s lead in appointing a rat czar, a high-paying job that would focus on eradicating rodents. This rat bureau chief would oversee all aspects of the city’s pest-control operations, working closely with municipal departments, residents and civic organizations “to hopefully one day eliminate rats in Boston,” said Council President Ed Flynn, who made the recommendation.”

— “How and where to watch the 2023 Boston Marathon,” by Meghan Smith, GBH News: “On Monday, April 17, runners from all over the world will descend on Boston to run the historic Boston Marathon from Hopkinton to Copley Square. Whether you want to tune in from home or find a spot to cheer on the athletes, here’s what you need to know.”

— “Demo work to start on dilapidated South Attleboro commuter rail station,” By George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle: “Demolition work at the South Attleboro commuter rail station is expected to begin Monday, according to a letter received by the city council from the MBTA. The work is expected to continue through June, according to the MBTA’s South Attleboro Station Accessibility Improvement Project Team.”

DAY IN COURT

Packages of Mifepristone tablets are displayed at a family planning clinic on April 13, 2023. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

— “Clinicians offering abortion in Mass. resist limits on abortion pill,” Martha Bebinger, WBUR: “Hospitals and clinics that perform most of the abortions in Massachusetts say they will disregard restrictions on use of the abortion pill mifepristone, detailed in a federal appeals court decision late Wednesday.”

FROM THE 413

— “Amherst Reparation Assembly launches anonymous survey,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Amherst residents’ attitudes about race and reparations are being collected through an anonymous survey, the first time the African Heritage Reparation Assembly is aiming to get input from a large segment of the community in advance of making specific recommendations for how past racial harms should be healed by the town.”

GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World , will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat .

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Video: Attorney general releases footage of 2020 uprising at ICE detention center,” by Arthur Hirsch, New Bedford Light: “The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office [last] week released video recordings made on May 1, 2020, when 25 detainees at the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center run by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office at the department campus in North Dartmouth staged an uprising that left several people with minor injuries and eventually led to the center closing about a year later.”

— “A decade after the Marathon bombing, reflection and renewal,” by Mark Arsenault and Hanna Krueger, Globe staff, Boston Globe: “It was a perfect spring afternoon 10 years ago when two young men dropped homemade bombs amid the Marathon throng and history swerved. Five lives were lost; many more, changed. A new story for an old town, built of sorrow and resolve, with still no finish line in sight.”

— “Easthampton School Committee cancels Friday meeting after finalist withdraws,” by Luis Fieldman, MassLive: “Easthampton school officials were forced to scrap a meeting on Friday after the latest candidate offered the job of superintendent withdrew her name. On Monday, the School Committee extended an offer to Dr. Erica Faginski-Stark, a former Ludlow director of curriculum and instruction, after contract negotiations failed with the first candidate offered the job, Dr. Vito Perrone.”

— “Investigation: Southbridge councilor Daou violated town charter in November incidents,” by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette: “An independent investigation surrounding a Nov. 30 incident where At-Large Town Councilor Joseph E. Daou was accused of berating and making threatening comments toward a town employee at Town Hall concluded that Daou violated the town charter and town visitor's code of conduct.”

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis thanks the audience following an address at a New Hampshire Republican Party dinner on April 14, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. | Charles Krupa/AP Photo

— “DeSantis bucks his robot reputation in New Hampshire,” by Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: “[Ron] DeSantis might have a big enough reputation that he can skip over the small rooms other presidential contenders have to work. But he’s trying to walk the walk in this small state that prides itself on putting politicians through the retail-politics wringer.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Gov. Maura Healey getting a shout-out on “Saturday Night Live.”

TRANSITIONS — Ethan W. Lasser and Richard C. Nylander have been appointed to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.

IN MEMORIAM — In attendance at Sunday's memorial for former Rep. John Olver at UMass Amherst: Rep. Jim McGovern, former Rep. Chet Atkins, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, state Sens. Jo Comerford and Marc Pacheco ; former state Sens. Ben Downing, Stephen Brewer and Adam Hinds ; state Reps. Mindy Domb, Natalie Blais, Susannah Whipps and David Linsky ; former state Rep. Ellen Story , former state House Speaker Charlie Flaherty, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, Peter Larkin and Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle . Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey appeared via video.

WEEKEND WEDDING — Keith Drucker, chief of staff to state Sen. Paul Feeney, married Abby Oliver on Saturday. The couple lives in the North End, and are both originally from Attleboro. Pic .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Bruce Ayers , Dean Lieberman, Tom Hunt , Glossier’s Susan Effler, Mark Leicester and Christine Boncore .

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