Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Directionally challenged Dems

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Directionally challenged Dems

KERRIGAN TAKES CHARGE — Democrats control every statewide and federal office in Massachusetts. They rule with supermajorities in both state legislative chambers. They even grew their hold over the House this session.

What’s left, then, for the state Democratic Party to do? Besides help flip the last three Senate seats blue.

It’s a top-of-mind question for Democrats — and particularly for progressives evaluating how to best push their priorities — as the state party starts a new chapter with Steve Kerrigan as chair.

Democratic State Committee members did their duty last night, ushering in Gov. Maura Healey’s pick for the party’s top job with none of the overt drama that’s come to dominate their Republican counterparts’ machinations.

Kerrigan pledged to make MassDems the “gold standard” for state Democratic parties across the country. But that means different things to different people.

For Rep. Ayanna Pressley, that’s doubling down on the ground game. “We’re already winning when it comes to the issues,” she told reporters yesterday. “Now we have to make sure that we win on the ground.”

For other Democrats, it’s boosting turnout among younger voters, increasing multilingual outreach, getting more involved in contested down-ballot races (the party doesn’t play in primaries) and continuing to export top political talent. Some Democrats also want to hold elected officials more accountable to the party’s more progressive platform.

Kerrigan sees the party’s purpose as a mix of several of those. “Massachusetts has two great exports: cranberries and political activists,” he quipped in an interview after his election. The party will be “active” in President Joe Biden’s just-launched reelection campaign and in Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, he said.

But Kerrigan, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2014 and whose loss alongside Martha Coakley ushered in eight years of Republican executive rule, vowed not to grow complacent with having Democrats back in full control of Beacon Hill. “Energizing and being a resource to active Democrats and to those that they support and help elect is critically important and never something you can take your foot off the gas on,” he said.

Steve Kerrigan at a campaign event in 2014. | AP

Kerrigan takes the reins as Democratic voter enrollment in the state continues to decline, falling to just under 29 percent of registered voters from nearly 36 percent a decade ago. The percentage of unenrolled voters continues to rise — up to 61 percent as of the last official count in February — driven in part by automatic voter registration .

“I do want to have the conversation with young voters and with voters of all ages about the value, the intrinsic value, of being a member of the Democratic Party,” Kerrigan said.

While Kerrigan’s election has been all but a done deal for months now, some Democrats privately grumbled that he didn’t reach out to them before Monday’s vote to ask for their support in a show of good faith. They also expressed concern that Kerrigan, who intends to keep his day job as president and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, will only be a part-time chair.

Kerrigan said he’s called “several hundred” state committee members already and that he’s “going to keep calling them because I want to hear from them. This is their party, not my party. And I want to make sure that they understand they have my ear and that I’ll be their voice when need be.”

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TODAY — Healey speaks at MassBio’s conference at 9:30 a.m. at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge and later visits local businesses in Fall River with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll . Driscoll and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attend the grand opening of mixed-use housing at Mattapan Station at 10:30 a.m. Wu visits the Mildred Avenue Community Center at 11:40 a.m. Healey and Wu speak at the National Association of Corporate Directors New England’s Director of the Year Dinner at 5:45 p.m. at the Westin Boston Seaport.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— DEBATING 'THE WILL OF THE VOTERS’: House lawmakers voted over Republican objections yesterday to exempt money from the new millionaires tax from the revenue calculations that trigger Chapter 62F rebates. GOP state Rep. Kim Ferguson argued that separating the surtax revenue would “upend” what voters wanted when they passed the tax-cap law in the 1980s.

But Democratic state Rep. Mark Cusack , co-chair of the Revenue Committee, argued that voters didn’t seem to mind when legislators rewrote the state’s cannabis laws, which were initially passed by ballot initiative. The House budget debate continues today.

FROM THE HUB

— "Poll finds big safety concerns among Boston public school parents," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "Amid growing concerns over violence in Boston schools, a new [MassINC] poll finds that more than two-thirds of parents of Boston Public Schools students are worried about their children’s safety in school and three-quarters would support a return of police to the city’s schools."

— ENDORSEMENT CORNER: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is backing John Moran for 9th Suffolk state representative. Moran is the sole candidate left in the special election after Amparo "Chary" Ortiz suspended her campaign.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Healey names Patrick Lavin, transit consultant who worked on MBTA safety report, new MassDOT safety chief,” by Taylor Dolven, Samantha J. Gross and Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “After a slower-than-expected start, Governor Maura Healey has in short order shaken up the senior ranks of the beleaguered Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The governor’s latest move came on Monday with the hiring of Patrick Lavin, a seasoned transportation executive, to the new post of MassDOT chief safety officer. Lavin is a consultant who worked on a scathing 2019 report about the MBTA’s safety procedures. He also served as chief safety officer for the transit system in Washington, D.C., and as a safety director for New York City Transit.”

Healey pledged to hire a transportation safety chief within 60 days of her inauguration. It took her 109. That’s in part, she previously told Playbook, because she wanted the MBTA’s new general manager, Phillip Eng , who started earlier this month, to have a say in the hire. Lavin will report to Eng and Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca .

— “Governor Healey vows to make MBTA managers work and live near the transit system they oversee,” by Andrea Estes and Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey on Monday vowed to crack down on senior MBTA managers who live hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the transit system they oversee, calling it ‘outrageous’ that some leaders are working remotely in a time of crisis. ‘You will see quick action on our team’s part in response to this,’ Healey told reporters at the State House.”

— FREEING THE T: As Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Ed Markey renew their federal push for fare-free public transportation , Mayor Michelle Wu is working on expanding Boston's free-bus pilot program. Boston has already set aside $2 million of the $8 million in ARPA money Wu committed to the program for a potential expansion. And Wu told WBUR’s “Radio Boston” yesterday that her team is “working very closely” with Cambridge to free up the Route 1 bus, a key connector between the two cities. Such a move would require MBTA approval.

— “MBTA schedules slow zone work on Red Line,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “The T has identified track defects on all the subway lines — 69 on the Blue Line, 75 on the Red Line, 24 on the Orange Line, and a still-undetermined number on the Green Line.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “Mass. delegation members take court reform proposal on the road,” by Roberto Scalese, WBUR: “Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and a coterie of advocates for issues ranging from abortion to gun control to LGBTQ+ rights, took part in the tour's inaugural event in Copley Square. They spoke standing in front of a bus that will carry them along a 20-city ‘Just Majority’ tour, pitching new legislation to expand the nation's top court and require its members to meet new, tougher ethical standards.”

— “Regional leaders huddle to discuss housing crisis,” by Christian M. Wade, Daily News of Newburyport: “Rep. Seth Moulton, whose office hosted the forum, said resolving the housing crisis would require new approaches, such as building homes near public transit, dismantling exclusionary local zoning, and improving cooperation between the government and the private sector.”

BIDEN TIME

— STAFFING UP: Biden is still filling out his team for his reelection campaign. And it could include longtime Sen. Elizabeth Warren adviser Roger Lau, who's now deputy executive director of the Democratic National Committee, my colleagues Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Christopher Cadelago report.

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FROM THE 413

— “How Easthampton superintendent hire was handled helped spur School Committee resignation,” by Emily Thurlow, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Shannon Dunham announced more than a week ago that she was resigning from her role on the School Committee to give herself time to recover from a medical procedure. While her statement via social media certainly was true, Dunham has since added that it was not the only reason she decided to walk away from the committee.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Over 100,000 Mass. residents could see thousands taken out of their tax refunds,” by Hannah Reale, GBH News: “After years of forgiveness efforts slowly whittled down that sum, the department is now trying to get $719 million back from taxpayers on this year’s tax refunds. The 112,000 claimants owe, on average, $6,400 to the federal and state government. Any tax refunds that would be given to a claimant will instead be put toward paying down their debt to the unemployment overpayments.”

— “Could Air National Guard intelligence wing closure be permanent?” by Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times: “Airman Jack Teixeira wasn’t the only Massachusetts Air National Guardsman affected by his alleged leak of classified documents. A Cape-specific and nationwide investigation into the leak, how it happened and how to prevent future leaks are ongoing in its wake. But the Cape unit has taken a direct hit. The U.S. Air Force temporarily closed down the 102nd intelligence wing at Joint Base Cape Cod on April 14. It was the unit Teixeira belonged to.”

— “Satanic Temple’s ‘SatanCon’ in Boston set to be ‘largest satanic gathering in history’,” by Dave Eisenstadter, MassLive.

— “Worcester City Council to consider $1,300 annual stipend for police officers wearing body cameras,” by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive.

— “Somerset fired the Council on Aging director. A lawsuit claims this broke Open Meeting Law,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News.

— “Bristol County House of Corrections disturbance 'seconds away' from hostage situation, sheriff says,” by WBZ News.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Baker administration EEA Secretary Beth Card is joining Smith, Costello & Crawford as a senior policy adviser on May 1. Card’s priors include the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and MassDEP.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Paul Frost, former Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, Garrett Quinn, Tom Springer, Mariah Philips and Dimara Coulouras.

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