Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Keeping T progress on track

Monday, June 5, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Keeping T progress on track

CHUGGING ALONG — Gov. Maura Healey’s top MBTA officials are warning it could take a year for riders to see major service improvements. But first the T has to come up with an adequate safety plan for its workers — by today .

First of all, progress is happening at the T. Since Phillip Eng took over as general manager on April 10, the overall number of subway slow zones is down. The T also struck a deal with the carmen’s union to start bus drivers as full-time employees as part of its push to accelerate hiring.

Yet in that same time, the MBTA drew two lawsuits from riders injured at its stations. One man died last month after falling under a moving Green Line train . Another was struck and killed by a Commuter Rail train the day Eng started. A Blue Line track worker was hospitalized days later, the latest in a series of safety issues that prompted federal transit officials in mid-April to request a worker-protection plan from the T. Officials submitted that on May 5.

Now Eng — and therefore Healey’s — commitment to more transparency at the T is coming into question after top brass chose not to publicly disclose a letter from the Federal Transit Administration asking them to resubmit the worker-safety plan, which was deemed “insufficient” for taking too long to implement changes. If the redraft due today doesn’t pass muster, T workers could be “prohibited” from accessing track areas.

Eng explained the “back-and-forth” as part of the “normal process” with the FTA during a weekend appearance on WCVB’s “On the Record," and said he expects a "positive response" to the retooled report. And in the bigger picture, it’s unreasonable to think Healey’s team could turn around a transit system long in decline overnight.

But they might not have a year, either — at least when it comes to managing public opinion. While the transit troubles that transpired under former Gov. Charlie Baker’s watch never seemed to dent his popularity, his high approval ratings were also buoyed by other factors including a strong economy, veteran pollster David Paleologos told Playbook. Healey is facing a different set of circumstances.

“By the end of this year, I think you’ll have closer scrutiny in terms of whether there are signs that things are moving in the right direction,” Paleologos said. “If people see buses and trains on time, if they see professionalism, if they don’t see crime on buses and subways, I think [Healey] stands to benefit from that.”

Former state transportation secretary Jim Aloisi suggested that T leaders set some metrics by which to measure their success, from reducing slow zones to increasing service frequency.

Clear goals "would be a serious improvement in terms of setting rider expectations, media expectations and also keeping people’s feet to the fire," Aloisi told Playbook. FWIW, the Red Line rider said he's already seen some slow-zone reductions on his commute.

The MBTA logo outside Wellington Station in Medford. | AP

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Speaking of pending reports, keep an eye out for May’s tax-revenue readout and how it might affect the Senate tax-relief plan that could come as soon as this week.

TODAY — Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll participate in an Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company anniversary celebration at 1:30 p.m. on the Boston Common and huddle with legislative leaders at 2:30 p.m. in the governor’s office; a media availability follows. Sen. Ed Markey holds a youth mental health summit with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy at 11:30 a.m. at BU. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu makes a life sciences jobs announcement at 11 a.m. and attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony for MassBIO at noon, both at the BCEC. AG Andrea Campbell testifies in support of legislation on electric ratepayer protections at 1 p.m. at the State House.

Tips? Scoops? Revenue previews? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “As lawmakers weigh solutions for child care emergency, some wonder: Why not help political candidates, too?” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Amid promises to tackle the worsening shortage of available and affordable child care, state leaders are again being pressed to allow Massachusetts political candidates to use campaign funds to help cover ballooning child care costs while they run for office. The change, supporters argue, could help remove a hurdle for working parents, including women, to run for office, including for seats in a Legislature that’s disproportionately male. Nearly 30 states allow candidates to use campaign funds for child care, as does the federal election system.”

— “Healey said error was ‘avoidable’ after state wrongly used $2.5 billion in federal money to pay jobless claims,” by Matt Stout and Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey said Friday she is hoping Massachusetts can avoid having to reimburse the national government for $2.5 billion in federal money the state wrongly used to fund jobless benefits under her predecessor, a mistake she called ‘avoidable.’ … The goal of talks with federal labor officials is to ‘resolve it without any impact to the Commonwealth or to employers,’ Healey said.”

— “Cops accused of child rape, road rage suspended by state law enforcement regulators,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Law enforcement regulators suspended the policing licenses of a former deputy chief in Hopkinton accused of raping a teenage girl and a Hingham officer accused of pulling a gun and yelling racial slurs at a person in an apparent road rage incident, according to records released Friday.”

— “'We must take each one of these seriously': Police, schools, face uptick in threats,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “On Beacon Hill, lawmakers have filed numerous bills in recent years to toughen the state’s penalties for swatting, but they have failed to gain traction. State Sen. Barry Finegold, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, is among those who want to see the penalties for swatting beefed up. He said the crime should be a felony.”

FROM THE HUB

— “North End restaurant owners drop lawsuit against Boston mayor,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Four North End restaurant owners dropped their lawsuit against Mayor Michelle Wu, retracting claims that she showed anti-Italian discrimination when singling out their neighborhood for last year’s $7,500 outdoor dining fee. … [Their attorney] added that his client did not provide specifics on why he chose not to pursue the case, but said it was likely because ‘he was the only one fighting.’”

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WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET

— WATCH: Andrea Campbell on WBZ's "Keller @ Large" discussing the search for a director for the police accountability unit she’s looking to stand up in the attorney general’s office, and what changes need to be made to online gambling .

ROLLINS REPORT

— “Rachael Rollins’s resignation comes as progressive prosecutors face national backlash,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “Now, weeks after Rollins’s resignation in the wake of two explosive federal watchdog reports, legal experts say her departure may not have any direct impact on the movement she championed, even as it comes at a pivotal time: A number of progressive prosecutors across the country have been removed, impeached, resigned, and, in at least one case, indicted on criminal charges.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “New records show the close calls on MBTA tracks that prompted federal safety demands,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “In April, a lineman was injured by a 2,000-pound weight on the Blue Line. The next day, a Green Line operator ignored a signal and didn’t stop for contractors working between Boylston and Arlington stations. In an earlier incident, workers gathered without permission on Orange Line tracks being used by a nearby test train, putting themselves in potential danger.”

— “Could private investment help fix the T?” by Bob Seay, GBH News: “It appears Phil Eng, the T’s new general manager thinks so. … And the new Chair of the MBTA Board Tom Glynn suggested efforts are being made to involve the private sector in helping the T cope with the financial challenges it faces.”

PARTY POLITICS

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MassDems raised a record $380,000 at the party’s annual Roosevelt Dinner last Thursday in Boston, a spokesperson said. It's a financial boost for the party, which had drained its coffers to less than $100,000 in cash on hand between its state and federal campaign accounts after last year's election, as it heads into another special legislative election and then 2024.

FROM THE DELEGATION

— "Congressional staff of Mass. lawmakers skews whiter than average, data analysis shows," by Tal Kopan and Jorja Siemons, Boston Globe: "At a time of increasing scrutiny of diversity in hiring, nearly half of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, including a majority of its House lawmakers, has a whiter staff than the chamber’s average Democratic office, with some not meeting the diversity level of the state as a whole, a Globe data analysis has found. ... Representatives Bill Keating and Jake Auchincloss have the least diverse staffs overall, including all-white senior leadership."

FROM THE 413

— “Northampton council OK’s $132.3M budget, with police dominating discussion,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “A majority of the City Council on Thursday backed a $132.3 million budget for fiscal 2024, but not before significant debate about whether the Police Department should get more money to create so-called student police positions to counter both turnover of full-time officers and the growing use of overtime. … [T]he 60-member department that had its budget cut by 10% three years ago.”

— “State report names 13 sites for potential new Springfield courthouse,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Amid years of concerns over environmental workplace conditions at the Roderick Ireland Courthouse, the agency in charge of financing all of the state’s construction projects released a report seemingly trending towards demolishing it.”

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THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “‘Are you guys going to shoot me?’ Police encounters with mentally ill people increasingly turn deadly,” by Dugan Arnett and Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “A Globe analysis of police confrontations since 2016 shows that the majority of those shot by police in Massachusetts — 51 out of 88 — were people in the throes of a mental health crisis or who had been diagnosed with mental illness. That rate has risen significantly in the years since a 2016 Spotlight Team report, ‘The desperate and the dead, ’ on police shootings of people with mental illness.”

— “Compass Medical board president says closure was a ‘necessity’ after operations ‘collapsed’,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald.

— “Abington man opens class action against now-closed Compass Medical,” by Caitlyn Kelleher, Patriot Ledger.

— ICYMI: POLITICO’s Lauren Egan and Eli Stokols on how Boston-based Tatte Bakery & Cafe has become the new “it” spot for White House staffers and reporters in D.C.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Anna Meiler and Tiffany Chan have been named weekend morning anchors on WBZ .

— Mass. Playbook guest host Sophie Gardner is taking over POLITICO's Women Rule newsletter .

— Dave Swanson is now chief of staff to the president of MGH. He previously was Sen. Cindy Friedman's chief of staff.

— Liz Berman , Friedman's legislative and budget director, is now the senator's chief of staff.

— Adam Webster is now advising Revere City Councilor Steven Morabito's campaign for mayor.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Auditor Diana DiZoglio, state Rep. Kevin Honan and Aaron Moser.

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