Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey's new housing play

Thursday, June 22, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey's new housing play

NEW DEVELOPMENT IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT — Gov. Maura Healey is rolling out a five-year, $14 billion capital investment plan today with a new program aimed at boosting housing production as its centerpiece.

The $97 million-per-year HousingWorks program borrows its name and design from the infrastructure grant program MassWorks. But instead of funds for resurfacing roads and upgrading sewer systems, HousingWorks would provide grants specifically for housing production, preservation and rehabilitation, with the goal of creating 200 to 300 new units of affordable housing per year.

“Local officials, they needed a separate fund that wasn’t competing with all the other economic development projects,” Healey’s housing secretary, Ed Augustus, told Playbook in an exclusive interview three weeks into his new gig.

“Having this separate bucket of money just for housing production, I think it really helps communities,” the former Worcester city manager said.

Augustus called HousingWorks just one “tool in the toolbox” for addressing the state’s housing crisis. The administration’s capital plan would also pour tens of millions of dollars a year into housing acquisition and rehabilitation, and into preserving the state’s existing public housing stock.

But Augustus wouldn’t weigh in on some of the other proposals being floated to boost housing production and accessibility. Augustus declined to share his personal views on rent control. He wouldn’t talk about legislative proposals to bring back “Chapter 257” eviction protections for renters. And he stopped short of a full-throated endorsement of the Senate's push to increase funding for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit , saying non-specifically that “anything that gives us more tools to help more of these projects get off the ground is very much welcomed.”

Here are more excerpts from Playbook’s chat with Augustus, edited for length and clarity:

From left: Housing Secretary Ed Augustus, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Gov. Maura Healey at the Massachusetts State House on June 1, 2023. | Joshua Qualls/Gov. Maura Healey's press office

What is the split for the administration when it comes to focusing on affordable housing versus market-rate housing?

I’m not going to give a kind of percentage. We need more housing of all types across the spectrum. We know affordable, deeply affordable, [housing] is a critical need. In many of our communities we need to be focused on creating that type of housing. But we know in many of our Gateway Cities, they really feel like they need market-rate units. So the goal is creating more housing of all types, but we are particularly sensitive to the needs and the urgency of affordable and deeply affordable housing units.

Some housing advocates in Worcester criticized the redevelopment of the Canal District you oversaw for having few new apartments for lower-income residents. Is there anything you hope to do differently in your new role in light of that?

We need to look back at 2013, 2014, when I first became city manager, and what the situation was then. We had a lot of vacant parcels, buildings that were dilapidated or empty. And we worked very diligently to try to get as many of those turned into housing of all different types.

We created the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and put $15 million of ARPA funds in it, and proposed inclusionary zoning. You need to keep working with the circumstances that you're confronted with and you change as the circumstances change.

Do you have any targets that you want to hit by the end of the year for boosting housing production or increasing affordable units?

I'm looking at all of the different programs that we have, the different opportunities that we have in front of us, like this capital improvement plan, like the upcoming [housing] bond bill. And [I'm] saying to the team here: What else can we be doing? How do we tweak things that exist? How do we add new things to the mix?

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Healey's capital improvement plan covers everything from reducing carbon emissions to replacing the Cape Cod bridges. Take a look.

TODAY — Healey highlights her new housing program at 10:15 a.m. in Hyannis and makes several stops on Martha’s Vineyard. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll participates in a roundtable on gender-affirming care at 10 a.m. at the State House and joins former Acting Gov. Jane Swift at the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women’s 25th anniversary gala at 6:30 p.m. in Randolph.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley and colleagues introduce “abortion justice legislation” at 10 a.m. at the U.S. Capitol. Former Gov. Charlie Baker headlines a fundraiser for the MassGOP at 6 p.m. at the Lenox Hotel in Boston.

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

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2024 WATCH

— SELLING DESANTIS: Never Back Down founder Ken Cuccinelli pitched potential donors, GOP activists and state lawmakers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire during two Boston-area meetings yesterday, as the pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC works to build its $100 million field operation across the early and Super Tuesday primary states.

Cuccinelli said his message to more than a dozen donors and activists assembled at the Boston Newton Marriott — with the help of former congressional candidate and auto-parts magnate Rick Green — was “very favorably received.”

Beyond open checkbooks, Cuccinelli told Playbook the PAC wants to have both paid staff and volunteers in Massachusetts as it looks to capitalize on the state’s “unique” proximity to New Hampshire and its likely spot in the Super Tuesday lineup. It's an unusual move for a PAC. But Never Back Down has already taken on several tasks typically carried out by campaigns, from knocking on doors to securing endorsements for DeSantis in early nominating states including New Hampshire.

DeSantis returns to the Granite State on Tuesday in a split screen with polling frontrunner former President Donald Trump , who will be in Concord to headline a New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women event. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also kicks off another New Hampshire swing that day.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— STOPGAP: Gov. Maura Healey filed a nearly $6.7 billion interim budget to keep the state running through July as lawmakers remain locked in negotiations over the fiscal year 2024 spending plan.

— DRIVING THE DAY: Business groups are pressuring Democratic legislative leaders to act on legislation that would classify app-based drivers as independent contractors, the latest move in the long-running gig-worker fight. Read the letter to House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka .

— “Sex ed gets an update in state’s new curriculum framework,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Abstinence is a word that appears frequently in the state’s current curriculum framework for health education, which was released nearly 25 years ago in 1999. … Gov. Maura Healey unveiled an updated health and physical education curriculum framework on Wednesday that also mentions abstinence, but with more neutral language presenting it as one of several options for pursuing ‘healthy sexual behavior.’”

— "Healey created a nonprofit to bankroll her transition into office. But, the donors are secret, and so is how much they gave her," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "In May, it helped pay for Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, and two dozen of Healey’s senior staff and Cabinet members to attend a two-day retreat at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in Cambridge, where they could 'align on expectations' and get to know one another, according to an ethics disclosure Healey filed."

— “Applying for license under new driver’s license law? AG, RMV warn of scams, fraud,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald.

— “Non-citizens and 16 year olds voting? Maybe in Massachusetts,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald.

FROM THE HUB

— “At Shattuck Hospital, a proposal for 400-plus units of supportive housing,” by Danny McDonald and Sean Cotter, Boston Globe: “In one of the state’s most ambitious efforts to combat the ongoing opioid and homelessness crises in Greater Boston, officials on Wednesday announced plans to put more than 400 units of supportive housing at Shattuck Hospital in Boston’s Franklin Park.”

— “Police, veterans cuts were not my fault, Boston city councilor in charge of budget says,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald.

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THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund is endorsing Sharon Durkan in the special election for District 8 Boston city councilor.

— ENDORSEMENT WARS: Unions are split in the race to replace outgoing City Councilor Frank Baker in District 3, the Dorchester Reporter’s Gintautas Dumcius reports. And labor lawyer Matt Patton is picking up support from former Lt. Gov. Tim Murray , who's holding a fundraiser for Patton next week.

— “What increased AAPI representation in Mass. politics means to local city councilors,” by Nicole Garcia, GBH News.

DAY IN COURT

— “Pentagon documents leak suspect Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to federal charges,” by Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press: “Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal felony charges. … Handcuffed and wearing orange jail garb, Teixeira smiled at family seated in the gallery at the start of the hearing. … Teixeira’s family said in a statement Wednesday that they ‘remain committed as ever’ to supporting him.”

WARREN REPORT

— “Sherrod Brown strikes banking deal with Tim Scott, Elizabeth Warren and J.D. Vance,” by Eleanor Mueller and Zachary Warmbrodt, POLITICO: “The Senate Banking Committee in a bipartisan vote Wednesday agreed to ratchet up penalties for the executives of failed lenders, increase oversight of the Federal Reserve and restrict megabank takeovers, in Washington’s most significant response yet to this year’s banking turmoil.”

— “Orrin Hatch, Elizabeth Warren, Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton team up to fight endometriosis,” by Scott D. Pierce, Salt Lake Tribune.

THE PRESSLEY PARTY

— "Pressley seeks to decriminalize abortion through new legislation," by Cheyanne M. Daniels, The Hill: "Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) on Thursday introduced new abortion legislation to protect patients and providers from criminalization by making care more readily accessible and removing systemic barriers to it, as well as calling for federal investments in abortion care. ... The bill calls for coverage of travel and accrued costs, such as lost wages, and boosts federal spending in abortion training, research, outreach and doula care."

FROM THE 413

— “POST Commission moves to decertify suspended Springfield Police Officer Gregg Bigda, but saga is not over yet,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican.

— “‘It’s a smack in the face to the residents’: Some Springfield councilors call for further tax relief in city’s next budget,” by Jonah Snowden, Springfield Republican.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “‘A truly surreal experience’: Reversal of Roe leaves some hesitant to travel outside of Mass. while pregnant,” by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts provides some of the strongest protections for abortion rights of any state — but that shield falls when people venture beyond the state’s borders. As other states introduce ever-stricter abortion bans, pregnant residents in Massachusetts have reason to fear health consequences if they travel and have a miscarriage in a restrictive state.”

— “State ups the ante on watershed protection rules for Cape Cod,” by Heather McCarron, Cape Cod Times: “After months of deliberation and public comment, the state is formally raising the stakes on watershed protection rules for Cape Cod, which ultimately means thousands of property owners will need to upgrade or replace septic systems and cesspools."

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Mike Fadel has been named executive director-treasurer of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. He previously was field and organizing director.

— Former Democratic nominee for governor Jay Gonzalez will be the next president of Curry College. More from the Boston Globe .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Sen. Elizabeth Warren , who is 74; state Rep. Tram Nguyen, state Rep. Kay Khan, Matt Sheaff , senior communications adviser to Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, and Brendan Concannon .

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