Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey's pride: Mass. LGBTQ protections

Monday, June 12, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey's pride: Mass. LGBTQ protections

‘WELCOME, DISNEY’ — Gov. Maura Healey’s latest sales pitch for Massachusetts: legal protections for LGBTQ people.

State legislatures across the country have proposed more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills this year (a record, according to the Human Rights Campaign ). They include restrictions on gender-affirming care and bans on books and drag performances.

Massachusetts, meanwhile, has charted a different course: codifying access to gender-affirming care as part of last year’s response to the Dobbs decision; electing Healey as the state’s first openly lesbian governor; and hosting a drag show on the State House steps last week and inviting the performers to the floor of the Senate chamber.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, center, center, poses for a photograph with drag performers during a Pride Month Celebration, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, on the steps of the Statehouse, in Boston. | AP

Some two dozen bills on Beacon Hill would further expand LGBTQ protections and medical care, including measures that would improve access to HIV-prevention medication and teach LGBTQ history in schools. Just two bills filed this session have been flagged by advocacy groups like the ACLU as potentially harmful for LGBTQ people, but both appear to be more broadly focused on parents’ rights in education and neither are likely to advance.

“There are people all across this country looking to us who need a safe haven ,” Healey, who is also one of the first two openly lesbian governors elected in the nation, said at last week’s flag raising. “We are open for business in Massachusetts.”

Healey is increasingly touting Massachusetts’ liberal record on social issues to attract people to a state that’s losing residents to places with lower taxes and living costs. While her early efforts to make the state more “competitive” focused on business-friendly tax cuts, she’s now adding abortion and LGBTQ rights to her pitch as red states impose more restrictions on both.

“I say: Welcome, Disney,” Healey quipped last week — a dig at GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s been locked in a legal battle with the entertainment giant since Disney objected to a law limiting discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools.

Healey took her message to the streets on Saturday, jogging through Boston’s Pride parade in rainbow Converse kicks and a "Vote" t-shirt, hugging spectators and snapping selfies with drag performers. She later vowed in front of a crowd on the Boston Common to “fight” for their civil rights.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, center, marches in the Pride parade, Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Boston. | AP

“A state like ours is able to welcome some of the people who are no longer safe in their own state,” Grace Moreno, the executive director of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, told Playbook. “We have such opportunities for employment and for entrepreneurship.”

Massachusetts’ laws also appeal to young people who “view LGBTQ equity as non-negotiable,” state Sen. Julian Cyr, an openly gay Truro Democrat, said.

But there’s still the cost-of-living conundrum. Cyr said the state has “lost a number of LGBTQ spaces, especially LGBTQ bars” as owners grapple with high costs and workers deal with housing shortages.

Still, Moreno argued, the “earning potential here is higher — so it kind of balances itself out.”

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The Legislature’s LGBTQ caucus continues to grow, between state Rep. John Moran’s swearing-in last week and state Senate President Pro Tempore Will Brownsberger coming out as bisexual.

“Pride means self-knowledge and self-acceptance,” Brownsberger wrote in a Sunday post on his website that was republished by CommonWealth Magazine . “When my parents passed away a couple of years ago, I finally did the personal work to understand, accept, embrace, and name the breadth of love and desire that is part of who I am.”

TODAY — Healey attends the Women Veterans Recognition Day ceremony at noon at the State House, speaks at the World Innovation Forum at 1 p.m. at the Westin Boston Seaport and huddles with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and legislative leaders at 2 p.m. in the Senate president’s office. Driscoll speaks at a MA Association of REALTORS event at 11:15 a.m. at the State House.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) participate in a Senate Project forum moderated by Fox News’ Bret Baier at 11 a.m. at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.

Tips? Scoops? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com .

TRUMPACHUSETTS

— INDICTMENT UNSEALED: “Trump vows to stay in the race even if convicted,” by Alex Isenstadt, POLITICO: “Donald Trump vowed Saturday to continue running for president even if he were to be convicted as part of the 37-count federal felony indictment that was issued against him [last] week. … Trump is not legally prohibited from running for president from prison or as a convicted felon. But such a bid would nevertheless provide a massive stress test for the country’s political and legal systems.”

As Republicans send mixed messages about the charges against the party’s polling leader for president, Bay State Democrats haven’t said much at all. Reps. Lori Trahan and Seth Moulton issued statements calling Trump’s handling of the classified documents irresponsible, but that's about it.

— VIEW FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: “New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu says he doesn't see Trump indictment as ‘political,’” by Caitlin Yilek, CBS News.

— “‘I just love that guy’: In New Hampshire, first-in-the-nation voters not swayed by latest Trump indictment,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe.

— CEASE AND DESIST: Trump also responded to his latest indictment by posting a hype video Saturday that a Matt Damon monologue from “Air” as the narration. Damon and Ben Affleck ’s production company, Artists Equity, was not amused: “We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement,” a spokesperson told Axios’ Alex Thompson .

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

— "Business leaders fret over $2.5 billion blunder," by Christian M. Wade, Daily News of Newburyport: "The state’s business leaders are urging Beacon Hill not to pass the cost of a $2.5 billion blunder with the state’s unemployment trust fund onto employers as they try to figure out how to repay the federal loans."

— “Decriminalize magic mushrooms, say Democrats who have filed bills to loosen psilocybin law in Massachusetts,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Six communities in Massachusetts have already directed their police departments to not make arrests for possession of psilocybin, a move that effectively decriminalizes the use of the drug. Advocates now argue the lawmakers should pass bills [set for Tuesday hearings] from a pair of Democrats that decriminalize so-called magic mushrooms on a statewide level.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Wu Signals Help for Battered Office Buildings,” by Steve Adams, Banker and Tradesman: “In an interview with Banker & Tradesman, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the administration is in talks with several office landlords about city subsidies to help pay for [converting neglected offices into housing].”

— “Boston police received 47 drink spiking reports in first six months of 2023,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “That comes as lawmakers on Beacon Hill are sorting through legislative responses to what has been described as an ‘alarming’ situation after 116 reports came into the Boston Police Department last year.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “MBTA ridership hits highest level since pandemic began,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: " Total ridership reached 68 percent of pre-pandemic levels in March, led by commuter rail (80 percent of pre-pandemic levels), bus (79 percent), and ferry (64 percent). Ridership on the subway system was 59 percent of pre-pandemic levels in March."

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “In Holyoke, buildings bought for cannabis industry sit idle as buzz fades,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “[Real-estate broker Rebecca] Rivera said her phone is ringing today with investors looking to convert space for residential use, not cannabis. [Kevin] Jennings said what he’s seeing is a lot of buildings snatched up in the early days of cannabis expansion coming back on the market.”

GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE .

FROM THE 413

— “Ludlow book policy, copied ‘from Google,’ is proposed amid a national wave of bans,” by Luis Fieldman, MassLive: “The policy itself has come under question since the School Committee member who introduced it in May says he found it with a Google search and apparently copied it from the Central Bucks School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Joao Dias, a first-term member of the Ludlow School Committee, said he found the policy with an internet search and did not have an attorney vet it.”

— “A Lee teacher is resigning after student artwork displayed swastikas, saying he no longer feels safe at the school,” by Scott Stafford, Berkshire Eagle.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “In Quincy’s Squantum, an age-old distrust of Boston and unanswered questions about Long Island Bridge,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “The prospect of reopening the bridge has rankled some in Squantum, which historically has served as the only road access point to Long Island.”

— "Human trafficking victims getting help with visas," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Massachusetts law enforcement officials are increasingly helping victims of labor and sexual trafficking apply for a special immigrant visas, which advocates say is crucial to finding housing, work and getting their lives back."

— “Before he was one of America’s most notorious killers, ‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski was a Harvard student,” by Nick Stoico, Boston Globe.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at Club Café post-Pride parade: Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll , fist-pumping away.

ALSO SPOTTED — at the White House on Saturday for a Pride event: state Rep. Samantha Montaño and Eva Scapicchio. Tweet .

AND SPOTTED — at the 6th annual North End Cornhole Classic on Sunday: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu , Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca , state Sen. Lydia Edwards , state Reps. Mike Moran, Aaron Michlewitz, Mike Day, David Muradian, Priscila Sousa, David Biele, Dave Rogers, Mark Cusack , Maghan Kilcoyne and Montaño ; Boston City Councilors Gabriela Coletta and Ruthzee Louijeune ; Council candidate Sharon Durkan , Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden and incoming BHA Administrator Kenzie Bok .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Tri Tran of Rosie’s Place, Campbell Curry-Ledbetter, Brianna Millor, Allison DeAngelis and Peter Francis. Happy belated to Greta Van Susteren , who celebrated Sunday.

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