Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: MassGOP settles in campaign finance case

Friday, September 29, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: MassGOP settles in campaign finance case

NEW: CASE PARTIALLY CLOSED — MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale has signed a settlement agreement with Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office over alleged campaign finance violations under the party’s prior leadership that also involved a sitting state senator and his wife.

The state Republican Party will pay $15,000 over three months as part of the agreement, the MassGOP and Campbell's office confirmed to Playbook. The first $5,000 installment is due by Sunday to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The settlement means the MassGOP’s involvement in the alleged transgressions is being resolved as a civil matter.

The settlement is the first to go public of several being negotiated by Campbell’s office over alleged campaign finance violations by former MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons, GOP state Sen. Ryan Fattman, Worcester County Register of Probate Stephanie Fattman and others. The Boston Globe first reported Campbell’s office was negotiating settlements. Campbell’s office declined comment on the status of the other negotiations.

It’s been two years and two attorney generals since state campaign finance regulators first referred to prosecutors evidence that Lyons, the Fattmans and four others may have violated several campaign finance laws during the 2020 election.

Campaign finance regulators allege that in fall 2020, Ryan Fattman’s campaign committee made a series of “impermissible” contributions totaling $137,045 to the MassGOP that were “directed to be used for the benefit” of his wife’s campaign, according to allegations spelled out in the state party’s settlement agreement. The donations were “structured to appear as contributions to the MassGOP to avoid the $100 committee-to-committee contribution limit."

The settlement resolves the last of the legal matters the MassGOP was facing when Carnevale took over in late January. “I inherited a party that was under grand jury investigation for campaign finance violations [and] involved in multiple lawsuits,” Carnevale said in a statement. “This week’s settlement, and the earlier resolution of four inherited lawsuits, allows the party to focus on the future.”

But it’s still another financial hit for the cash-strapped party that’s trying to claw its way out of at least $116,000 of debt. The party is now leaning on presidential candidates to help as the bills keep piling up, including legal fees from a fresh round of lawsuits. That includes two from Lyons, who is seeking back pay from when he was chair and who is again challenging treasurer Patrick Crowley over how the party’s finances were handled last year. The state committee narrowly voted to end Lyons’ first lawsuit against Crowley after he was ousted as chair.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tax relief is on to the governor. The suspended head of the Cannabis Control Commission is suing the state treasurer. And the federal government continues to teeter on the brink of a shutdown. Let’s get to it.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks at Claudine Gay ’s inauguration as Harvard president at 2 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces digital equity investments at 10:30 a.m. in Mattapan. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m.

THIS WEEKEND — Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Auditor Diana DiZoglio is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Senate President Karen Spilka is on NBC10 Boston’s “At Issue” on Sunday.

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

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

ON TO THE GOVERNOR — Gov. Maura Healey ’s long-sought tax-relief package is back on her desk after lawmakers' compromise deal cleared the Senate in a 38-1 vote yesterday. Progressive state Sen. Jamie Eldridge was the sole “nay.” Healey has until Oct. 8 to act on the legislation.

At the same time, senators pumped the brakes on the overrides of Healey’s budget vetoes that the House initiated on Wednesday. It’s unclear when they’ll take them up , the State House News Service’s Alison Kuznitz reports.

— “Education Secretary Tutwiler wants to develop strategy around mental health support in schools,” by Niki Griswold, Boston Globe: “Similar to the updated health, physical, and sex education framework the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved last week, the mental and behavioral health framework would be a set of guidelines and recommendations for how schools and teachers could teach about mental health in all grades.”

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Mass. Cannabis Commission chair sues state treasurer over suspension,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “Shannon O'Brien, the suspended chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, filed a lawsuit Thursday against state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, alleging that Goldberg ‘willfully side-stepped both Massachusetts law and any process at all’ in removing O'Brien from her post. … Goldberg spoke to the reasoning behind the suspension for the first time earlier Thursday, before the lawsuit was filed. ‘Several serious allegations were made by a Commissioner and CCC staff about the Chair’s behavior and the CCC initiated an investigation, hiring an outside law firm,’ Goldberg said in a statement.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston councilors can’t agree on taking down Mass and Cass tents,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A majority of the Boston City Council expressed concerns or outright opposition to the mayor’s proposed anti-encampment ordinance for Mass and Cass during a Thursday hearing, placing Michelle Wu’s plan for the troubled area in jeopardy. While most councilors agreed that the tents should be taken down, the opposition ranged from doubts about whether an ordinance to remove them was necessary to the legalities of a measure some felt criminalizes homelessness to skepticism about an approach that was characterized as putting housing before treatment.”

— “Mass. Convention Center Authority re-bid fails to draw new developers,” by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: “This spring, the agency relaunched a call for proposals to develop more than six acres of land near the South Boston convention center. But it revealed Tuesday that it ended up with the same two development teams it had started with. The lack of new competitors marks the latest twist in what has turned into one of Boston’s stranger development sagas in recent years.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

The Commonwealth is still reeling from the incompetence of Governor Charlie Baker's HACKS at the MBTA - how credible is ANY endorsement? Maybe Charlie Baker should DUCK!

— “Top T infrastructure official says Green Line extension ‘didn’t meet construction standard’,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “The MBTA’s top infrastructure official told board members Thursday that the Green Line extension ‘didn’t meet construction standard,’ seeming to offer an explanation for why narrowing tracks are forcing trains to creep at a walking pace on the newest stretch of subway to open in the Boston area since 1987.”

— “MBTA announces new climate office to reduce its environmental footprint,” by Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez, WBUR.

Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here .

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “‘I want them to succeed’: Mass. school district lacks resources to support migrant students,” by Niki Griswold, Boston Globe: “The wave of new arrivals has also placed a strain on the resources, staff, and infrastructure in school districts across the state. Some districts are struggling, such as West Springfield, which now has more than 270 migrant or refugee students, many of whom need extensive academic and social emotional support. In the past three months alone, nearly 60 migrant students enrolled.”

DATELINE D.C.

POLITICO PROVIDED A LIST OF IMPACTS DUE TO THE MAGA GOP INABILITY TO PASS A BUDGET & CAUSE A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN:

Food stamps, free lunch, airplane inspections: What’s hit when the government shuts down

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/23/government-shutdowns-can-wreak-more-havoc-than-you-think-00117725?nname=massachusetts-playbook&nid=0000014f-704c-d54c-a1ff-fb6da68f0000&nrid=0000015d-dd7d-d8ea-abff-ddff29130000&nlid=630384

BRACING FOR IMPACT — Federal agencies are drawing up furlough plans and state officials are calculating added costs as the federal government hurtles toward a shutdown on Sunday. As many as 29,000 federal employees in Massachusetts could be furloughed or go without pay, according to estimates from various federal offices. Gov. Maura Healey ’s administration says it’s working with state agencies to “mitigate short-term impacts” — including for the roughly 3,300 state employees whose paychecks are federally funded.

Beacon Hill lawmakers are also keeping a wary eye on their federal counterparts. “We would certainly prefer that [federal lawmakers] come to some agreement,” House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz told reporters on Wednesday. But “if there was a prolonged shutdown, you may have to see the state pick up some of the pieces on that. Hopefully not.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Ayanna Pressley is among the progressives calling on President Joe Biden to pause student loan payments set to resume on Sunday in the event of a shutdown. But the Biden administration says it’s moving ahead with plans to restart collections regardless of whether the federal government is open for business, POLITICO’s Michael Stratford reports.

— “Are student loan servicers ready for payments to resume? ‘Deeply worried’ Mass. lawmakers seek update,” by John L. Micek, MassLive.

FROM THE 413

The Commonwealth is still reeling from the incompetence of Governor Charlie Baker's HACKS at the MBTA - how credible is ANY endorsement? Maybe Charlie Baker should DUCK!

BAKER’S BLESSING — Former Gov. Charlie Baker and former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito endorsed Jose Delgado , their former western Massachusetts director, to serve on the Springfield City Council.

But Springfield politicos are really waiting to see if Baker and Polito wade into the city’s mayoral race between incumbent Domenic Sarno and City Councilor Justin Hurst. Sarno, a Democrat, backed the Republicans’ 2018 reelection bid. The Baker-aligned Massachusetts Majority super PAC then spent money on Sarno’s 2019 reelection bid. More from Western Mass Politics and Insight .

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Former Methuen police chief Solomon and officer Fountain indicted on criminal charges,” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “After years of allegations and investigations, former Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon and former Methuen Police Officer Sean Fountain were indicted by a statewide grand jury Thursday. The indictments are the result of a joint investigation by Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker, and ‘arise from Solomon’s deployment of part-time intermittent officers into full-time positions in circumvention of the Civil Service laws and his subsequent efforts to deceive others into believing that part-time intermittent officer Sean Fountain had graduated from a police academy when he had not.'"

PAYWALL

TRY THIS:
https://www.msn.com/.../former-methuen-police.../ar-AA1hq1aH

— “2,745 confirmed cases and 28 deaths in a week. See the latest COVID-19 data from Mass.,” by Boston Globe staff.

— “By end of 2022-23 school year, over 1,000 Brockton students were homeless,” by Christopher Butler, Brockton Enterprise.

PAYWALL!

TRYTHIS: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheBrocktonHub/posts/7003878509663264/

— “Former Boston police commissioner releases report on Uxbridge school dysfunction,” by Jeff A. Chamer, Telegram & Gazette.

— “Banned book read-in, free library mark Salem's place in national book-banning convo,” by Dustin Luca, Salem News.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Tommy Vitolo, Cassie Moreno, Tyler O’Day, David Nather, Yael Langer and British Consul General to New England Peter Abbott .

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Tom Mahoney , Joe Rull , SVP at Benchmark Strategies; Greg Mecher, Arielle Picheny Dufour, Phillip Martin, Paul Guercio, Michael T. Giordano and former state Rep. Liz Malia , who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Ethan Case, Kim Isleib and Jon Niedzielski .

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: GIVE ME A (TAX) BREAK — WBUR’s Todd Wallack joins to talk public housing vacancies. Hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith peruse the latest, and disparate, presidential primary polls. Smith and host Lisa Kashinsky talk tax relief. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud .

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .

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