Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Mum's the word

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Mum's the word

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW — Ah, June. The weather is getting warmer. The days are growing longer. And Beacon Hill’s already taciturn Big Three are getting even quieter as their deputies hash out big bills behind closed doors.

Top Democrats huddled for the second time in as many weeks yesterday — a rare doubleheader for Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano with the budget in negotiations and tax relief headed down the same path.

But the only new information reporters gleaned was the likely date of this year’s sales-tax holiday weekend: Aug. 12-13.

Here's how the rest of the brief Q&A went:

Healey will get to name her first Supreme Judicial Court justice with the upcoming retirement of Justice Elspeth Cypher. What will she be looking for in a replacement?

“The very best person that we can find,” Healey said.

Will there be a budget by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1?

“The [conferees] are trading proposals. There’s been some basic agreements on some of the easier stuff. And we’re sending over a response to the Senate,” Mariano said.

Mariano voted against in-state public college tuition for some undocumented immigrants, a key component of the Senate’s budget plan, in the past. Has his position changed?

“I’m a different person today,” Mariano said. “So I’ll reevaluate it and take a look at it.”

Senators left a cut to the short-term capital gains tax rate out of the tax-relief package they plan to vote on Thursday. Would the governor sign a tax bill without one of her major proposals?

“I'm heartened by both bills and we'll just see what comes out of conference committee,” Healey said.

Riveting stuff.

Now, there are reasons for the reticence: The Big Three can’t publicly tip their hands while negotiations are ongoing — or, rather, they won’t, unless it gives them some leverage. And there’s little incentive for the current trio to play up any disagreements among the Democrats who run Beacon Hill.

At least we can look through the 71 amendments senators filed to their $586 million tax plan while we wait for some action.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The governor will have more to say on a different topic today: she's announcing a "nation-leading" financing initiative to accelerate the development of decarbonized affordable housing at 11:30 a.m. at the State House alongside Driscoll and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

TODAY — Driscoll speaks at the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau tourism conference at 9 a.m. at UMass Lowell, attends a Local Government Advisory Commission meeting at 1 p.m. at the State House and is honored alongside Jacquetta Van Zandt at Emerge Massachusetts’ Women of the Year awards at 6 p.m. AG Andrea Campbell keynotes the 2023 Health Equity Trends Summit at 8:15 a.m. at UMass Boston and testifies on a bill to eliminating health insurance waiting periods at 1 p.m. at the State House . Wu attends a Fenway coffee hour at 9:30 a.m. and testifies in support of H. 147 at 11 a.m. at the State House.

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

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR: One thing that Democrats aren't eyeing as they aim to market Massachusetts — expanding the sales-tax holiday.

Asked whether she’d be open to suspending the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax for more than two days in the name of making the Bay State more "competitive," Gov. Maura Healey answered by listing all the other reasons people should come to Massachusetts. "No, we're not there yet," Senate President Karen Spilka chimed in.

— “SJC justice to retire early, giving Healey first chance to name member of state’s highest court,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “[Justice Elspeth] Cypher, 64, will be the first Charlie Baker-era justice to step down from the seven-seat bench, doing so nearly five years shy of the mandatory retirement age of 70. Baker, a Republican and Healey’s predecessor, was the first modern Massachusetts governor to name the entire SJC during his two terms in office. If all of Baker’s SJC selections had served until that mandatory retirement age, it would have prevented Healey from having any influence over the high court’s makeup during her first term. … Cypher will officially retire on Jan. 12.”

— "In race to beat debt limit deal, state doled out $80m in unspent COVID highway funds," by Tal Kopan and Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: "Clawing back unspent and uncommitted COVID-era funds was a critical part of an agreement between President Biden and Republicans to avert a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt, and Massachusetts was at risk of losing more than half its allocation of flexible highway funds from a 2020 COVID relief package."

— “Local activists urge Legislature to form commission to study threats of nuclear weapons, climate change,” by James Pentland, Greenfield Recorder.

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Melrose state Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian has endorsed City Council President Jen Grigoraitis for mayor. Grigoraitis is among those vying to succeed Mayor Paul Brodeur, who is not seeking reelection.

— Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will endorse Sharon Durkan in the special election for District 8 city councilor at what Durkan's campaign says will be a "small gathering" at the Kelleher Rose Garden at 8 a.m.

TRUMPACHUSETTS

POLITICO Illustration

— DAY IN COURT: Donald Trump is due in court today on federal charges stemming from his handling of classified documents. The former president may be on trial in multiple criminal cases as he mounts his bid to regain the White House in 2024. Read POLITICO's up-to-the-minute tracker on the status of each case, the key players and the legal risks.

— More: “Trump drew one of his favorite judges. Here’s how she could help his case,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein, POLITICO.

— And more: “Trump tells Howie Carr he’s pleading ‘not guilty,’ calls indictment a ‘disgrace’,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald.

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “Biden campaign touts bipartisanship, but progressives worry about more compromise,” by Jim Puzzanghera, Boston Globe: “Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said she believes Biden is still committed to progressive ideals. ‘The president is navigating really tricky waters and I think he’s doing it pretty well,’ she said. But asked if she’s worried he’ll move too far to the center to strike more deals, Warren said, ‘Not at the moment [but] always keep an eye out.’”

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FROM THE 413

— “Holyoke City Councilor Wilmer Puello-Mota rejects plea offer in Rhode Island child porn case,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “The state of Rhode Island’s charges against him – possession of child pornography and later forgery, counterfeiting and obstruction of the judicial system – now move toward trial. A trial calendar meeting will take place July 25, according to court records updated Monday.”

— “Easthampton School Committee selects experienced superintendent to lead district on interim basis,” by Emily Thurlow, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “[T]he School Committee unanimously voted Monday night to offer a one-year interim superintendent job to the current leader of the Quaboag Regional School District who once oversaw the Worcester Public Schools for six years … [after a] failed spring search to find a permanent superintendent that made national news.”

— “Blogger sues Northwestern DA for withholding names of cops accused of misbehavior,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “An independent journalist from Framingham has sued the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office for withholding the names of police officers linked to questionable actions, according to a lawsuit filed in Suffolk District Court. Andrew Quemere, author of ‘The Mass Dump’ newsletter, has been tangling with Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan’s office for years over publishing the names of officers accused of crimes and other misconduct.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Over a thousand patients have been ‘stuck’ in hospital beds as discharge problems persist,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: “Over the past year, an average of 1,200 people were stuck in Massachusetts hospital beds each day because workers could not find a place to discharge them, a new report says, in the latest sign that hospitals continue to struggle with overcrowding even as the COVID pandemic has ebbed."

— "Health disparities among communities of color cost Massachusetts $5.9 billion a year," by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: "Health disparities experienced by communities of color cost Massachusetts about $5.9 billion a year, with a quarter of the economic burden associated with avoidable healthcare spending and another quarter due to lost labor productivity, according to a report released this morning."

— “‘I don’t think the town should be promoting it’: Two Billerica officials criticized for opposing Pride Month resolutions,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “For years, resolutions supporting Billerica’s LGBTQ community have sailed through the town’s Select Board. … But during a meeting late last month, the discussion took a divisive turn."

— “Pride event at Burlington middle school becomes ‘day of intolerance’ as students destroy decorations, principal says,” by John R. Ellement and Nick Stoico, Boston Globe: “Burlington officials are facing calls to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts after an LGBTQ+ Pride celebration at a middle school this month was disrupted by students who tore down rainbow decorations and chanted that their pronouns were ‘U.S.A.’”

— "Mass. fails to prepare educators on how to teach reading in an evidence-based manner, new report shows," by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe.

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

— "Matos campaign says poll shows her leading RI race for Congress," by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "The congressional campaign of Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos released a polling memo Monday showing her with a double-digit lead in the crowded Democratic primary to replace David Cicilline, even as many voters are still deciding who to support. ... As campaigns often do, Matos’s team declined to release the entire survey, only sharing a polling memo that summarized the results."

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Gray Milkowski is now deputy communications director for Senate President Karen Spilka.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Catherine McLaughlin, Liam Byrne and Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe.

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