Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook:

Thursday, April 20, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook:

BY MIA MCCARTHY , KELLY GARRITY AND SOPHIE GARDNER

GREEN NEW WHEELS — Everyone’s eyeing electric vehicles these days, from the White House to the Treasury Department to Playbook readers (thanks for the emails!).

Massachusetts’ all-Democratic congressional delegation loves to tout its climate cred. They want to electrify public transit and they’re champions for the Green New Deal — today, Sen. Ed Markey will host a press conference in D.C. celebrating the resolution’s four-year anniversary. But when it comes to electrifying their own rides, most still tap the gas.

Markey hits the road in a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid while Sen. Elizabeth Warren drives a Ford Escape. She looked for an EV after ditching her old hybrid, but none have had adequate room for her beloved golden retriever Bailey, she told Playbook. “Bailey was central to picking out the most recent car, but I think that's where we're all headed.”

Rep. Stephen Lynch, who wants to build a fleet of electric postal trucks, said his next car will be electric. Rep. Jim McGovern drives his father’s Jeep. (He told Playbook that he’s considering switching to an EV but he’s waiting for approval from his better half.) Rep. Seth Moulton leases a hybrid Volvo XC60, but “much prefers to take the Amtrak or other public transit options when available,” his spokesperson, Michael Suchecki, told Playbook.

For the record: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sports a sleek electric Ford Mustang Mach-E . (And although Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll cruise around in Ford Expeditions, Energy & Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper and climate chief Melissa Hoffer drive EVs, Healey’s office said.)

Rep. Lori Trahan was the sole member of the Massachusetts delegation who told us they drive electric, sporting a Polestar EV she bought last year. The rest of the delegation didn’t respond to Playbook’s queries.

When will lawmakers make the switch? Hopefully at least by 2030, the year when the Bay State will need a whopping 750,000 EVs on the road to meet its goal . In 2021, the state only had around 30,000. And they’ll need to make inroads with a lot of consumers who are still hesitant, or who simply don’t have it in the budget. Evaporating federal incentives won’t help.

Warren remains upbeat. “Now that more and more people are starting to drive EVs — or have their toes right on the line to buy them as soon as the prices come down a little — then the demand for the infrastructure will shoot through the roof,” she said.

But before lawmakers make any electrifying decisions about buying an EV, some are waiting for their current chariots to die — just like, probably, many of their constituents.

“I’m just waiting for it to not be useful anymore,” McGovern said of his dad’s Jeep. “We can only own one car at a time.”

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.

TODAY — . Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attends the Women's Leadership Initiative launch event at Massasoit Community College at 8:30 a.m. Sen. Ed Markey holds a press conference at noon in D.C. to reintroduce the Green New Deal resolution. Rep. Seth Moulton holds a town hall at 6 p.m. in Beverly.

Programming note: We’ll be in your inbox for one more day this week — send us your tips, scoops or commiserate over last night's Bruins game: kgarrity@politico.com , sgardner@politico.com , mmccarthy@politico.com and follow us on Twitter: @Reporter_Mia , @sophie_gardnerJ , @KellyGarrity3.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— ENDORSEMENT ALERT: South End Democrat John Moran is unveiling new endorsements from Sen. Nick Collins and Rep. Chris Worrell in his bid to fill former Rep. Jon Santiago’s seat in the 9th Suffolk district. Moran is largely expected to win the seat, after his primary opponent, Amparo "Chary" Ortiz, suspended her campaign.

— “ Healey Touts ‘A Ton More Money’ For Municipal Climate Planning,” by Sam Drysdale, State House News Service (paywall): “This Earth Week, the Healey administration is revamping what it calls the state's ‘flagship climate resilience program’ by planning to help 30 cities and towns upgrade their climate resiliency plans through an equity lens. The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, provides grants to municipalities to complete climate change vulnerability assessments and develop ‘action-oriented’ resiliency plans that are specific to their community.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Black running groups call for change after police were called to their Boston Marathon cheer section,” by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: “Newton Police have characterized the response as a respectful effort to keep runners and spectators safe after receiving complaints, but members of the running clubs say it was heavy-handed, disproportionate to police response elsewhere along the marathon route, and the result of systemic racism.”

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

— NEW THIS AM: Boston City Councilor Frank Baker will not seek reelection this year, according to a statement this morning. The District 3 councilor called his six terms serving on the council “one of the greatest honors of my life.”

“I cannot fulfill my obligation in any other way than 100% committed to the duty of this role,” Baker said. “For an assortment of reasons, now is the right time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life, with my family.”

— ENDORSEMENT ALERT: City Councilor Kenzie Bok endorsed Henry Santana for an At-Large seat on Boston City Council on Wednesday. Santana is the director of civic organizing for Mayor Michelle Wu.

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Blue Line shutdowns coming as MBTA aims to eliminate slow zones by November, GM says,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said Wednesday the slow zones on the Blue Line could take another seven months to eliminate and will require weeknight shutdowns on parts of the line. Once considered the most reliable T subway line, now 43 percent of the Blue Line’s tracks — 5.37 miles — currently have defects, according to the T’s slow zone tracker.”

— “JetBlue to end flights to New York from Worcester airport,” by Tréa Lavery, MassLive: “JetBlue will stop offering flights from Worcester to New York City this summer in favor of its new service to two destinations in Florida. Currently, JetBlue offers daily flights between Worcester and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, as well as between Worcester and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.”

— “ Federal transit oversight agency warns MBTA about worker safety, orders immediate changes ,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “Federal transportation regulators are sounding alarm bells again over safety incidents at the MBTA, including one in which a worker was seriously injured, and ordered the agency to immediately change its protocols and training before an employee gets killed.”

— “Scores turn out for MBTA job fair held in Mattapan,” by Tanisha Bhat, Bay State Banner: “Oswaldo Cubilette is at a crossroads in his career … Last Saturday, Cubilette joined dozens of other job-seekers at a mobile job recruitment event held by the MBTA at Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan. The event — called ‘HR on the Go’ — included a customized MBTA bus with interview stations and computers inside to make the application process smoother for prospective T employees.”

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ON THE STUMP

“The Kennedy campaign the Kennedys don’t want to see,” by Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: “John F. Kennedy harnessed the nation’s ambition in his moonshot speech in Houston. Robert F. Kennedy channeled its grief after his brother’s assassination two years later. Ted Kennedy quoted from 'Ulysses' in defense of the liberal movement at Madison Square Garden. And then, on Wednesday, came Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the family’s black sheep — rallying government conspiracy theorists, vaccine skeptics and Republicans from across the country as he launched his quixotic campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.”

DELEGATION

— “Moulton to hold town hall in Beverly,” by Paul Leighton, The Salem News: “U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, will hold a public town hall meeting at the Beverly Council on Aging on Thursday, April 20, at 6 p.m.”

FROM THE 413

— “An Easthampton superintendent search and the transgender post that got in the way,” by Luis Fieldman, MassLive: “Easthampton school officials were poised to accept a new superintendent last week after negotiations fell through in a highly controversial fashion with the first candidate. Then high school students got a hold of Facebook posts.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Massachusetts Guardsman Jack Teixeira’s intelligence unit has lost its mission after alleged Pentagon leak,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The Air Force’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, at Otis Air National Guard Base is no longer performing its assigned intelligence mission, an Air Force spokesperson has confirmed.”

— “AG finds Methuen violated open meeting law,” by Will Broaddus, The Berkshire Eagle-Tribune: “The Attorney General’s office recently found that the City Council both did and did not violate Open Meeting Law on December 5, 2022. The split decision addressed two complaints filed by Sidney Harris, one of which stated that the council meeting on that date was not fully accessible to the public, while the second held that part of the meeting was inaudible due to glitches with the sound system.”

— “Schools request $3.4 million more,” by Ethan Forman, Gloucester Daily Times: “Increasing costs of staffing, special education, transportation and the need for program improvements are behind a proposed $3.4 million increase in the Gloucester Public Schools fiscal 2024 operating budget, according to Superintendent Ben Lummis.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Dan Hunt , Jessie Zimmerer , David Beauregard , Colin Reed and Rob McLaughlin , director of legislative affairs for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

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