Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A lot of PACtivity

Thursday, November 2, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A lot of PACtivity

Presented by

YOU DON’T SEE THAT EVERY CYCLE — It’s not just Boston anymore. Super PACs are proliferating in municipal races across the state.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: 1866 Action Fund is rolling out eight endorsements in city council and school committee elections across the state.

The PAC launched in February with a goal of electing Black candidates in down-ballot races. Now it’s preparing to put money behind media campaigns for Haverhill City Council candidate Katrina Hobbs Everett and School Committee hopeful Yonnie Collins; Quincy City Councilor Ian Cain; Springfield City Council candidate Willie Naylor; Somerville City Councilor Willie Burnley Jr.; Brockton City Council candidate Gary Keith Sr. and school committee candidates Caroline Hunter in Cambridge and Jamie Hodges in Brockton.

The support comes as PACs ramp up their spending in races from Boston to Springfield with Election Day around the corner.

PACS are flooding the Hub's City Council races with cash. Forward Boston, which is being bankrolled in large part by New Balance chairman and GOP donor Jim Davis, has spent more than $100,000 on digital advertising and text banking to boost newcomers Jose Ruiz in District 5, William King in District 6, John FitzGerald in District 3 and at-large hopeful Bridget Nee-Walsh, as well as incumbent Councilors Erin Murphy and Council President Ed Flynn.

Meanwhile, a union-backed PAC aligned with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is promoting three of her endorsed candidates: Enrique Pepén in District 5, Ben Weber in District 6 and at-large candidate Henry Santana. Bold Boston PAC spent $93,432 between Oct. 24 and 31 — the vast majority of it on mailers supporting Santana.

Opposing PACs are also duking it out in Worcester’s mayoral and council races. The Worcester Working Families PAC, which is backing more progressive candidates, has spent $11,146 since August on behalf of nearly a dozen candidates — and in opposition to others, including incumbent Mayor Joe Petty.

On the other side is Progress Worcester PAC — an effort backed by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, its leader, former Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, and others with ties to the business group — that has spent $21,511 since late July backing Petty and a handful of council candidates.

"Broadly speaking we don’t see a lot of PACs in municipal elections — certainly not in Worcester. When we had that election for [state] Senate [last year], that was the first time we saw some real PAC action in a while. And that’s now carried over into this cycle," said Kate Norton, who worked for Petty during his Senate race against Robyn Kennedy but is no longer with him. In that election, Massachusetts Women for Progress spent thousands of dollars to boost Kennedy, who ultimately won the seat vacated by Harriette Chandler.

Now, PACs are back for another round “because it’s worked,“ Cara Berg Powers, who chairs both Massachusetts Women for Progress and Worcester Working Families, told Playbook. “We actually did have a big impact," she said, "whether it was us personally or just the raising of the attention."

Springfield is also seeing a rise in PAC action. The Hispanic Latinos Leaders Now PAC emerged late in the mayoral primary, flush with cash from home-care executive Cesar Ruiz and with a stated goal of putting more Hispanic and Latino candidates in office.

The PAC backed state Rep. Orlando Ramos in a hotly contested race against incumbent Mayor Domenic Sarno and City Councilors Justin Hurst and Jesse Lederman. It also boosted Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara late in their preliminary elections.

Ramos, Arroyo and Lara all lost. But the PAC continues to back Springfield City Council candidates and has spent more than $10,000 to support Chicopee City Councilor Delmarina López, who’s challenging incumbent John Vieau for mayor.

It’s all setting a precedent for further PAC play going forward, Springfield Democratic consultant Tony Cignoli told Playbook. “There's an understanding that the game has changed greatly,” Cignoli said.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Thinking of starting a PAC? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey is at the Greentown Labs Climatetech Summit at 9:30 a.m. in Somerville, a Climate Jobs Massachusetts event at 10:30 a.m., announces legislation to rename the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission at 11 a.m. at the State House, keynotes the Massachusetts Investor Conference at 12:30 p.m. at the BCEC and swears in judges at 2 p.m. at the State House. Wu provides an update on Mass and Cass at 11 a.m.

A message from Conservation Law Foundation:

Conservation Law Foundation is separating fact from fiction when it comes to the role of bioenergy in cutting climate-damaging pollution and transforming our economy to one built on clean energy. The economic, environmental, and public health of our communities and businesses demand that we invest in energy efficiency and clean energy sources while moving with caution and care on bioenergy resources.

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

IN THE CLEAR — Gov. Maura Healey is clear to cap the emergency shelter system at 7,500 families after a Superior Court judge rejected a nonprofit civil-rights group’s attempt to stop the state from limiting the program.

Lawyers for Civil Rights was seeking a temporary injunction to stop Healey from instituting the capacity limit and waitlist for families, arguing that administration officials hadn’t followed proper procedure.

Judge Debra Squires-Lee not only disagreed, but backed the state’s argument that Healey is acting within the bounds of the funds she’s been given by the Legislature. “As much as I wish that I possessed the power to ensure that all families who need housing have it … I am persuaded that it would be inappropriate to order the [state] to continue providing emergency shelter it does not have the resources appropriated by the Legislature to fund,” Squires-Lee wrote in her decision.

LCR said it’s “evaluating next steps for the litigation” and that the “ball is squarely in the Legislature’s court to respond to this humanitarian crisis.” A spokesperson for Healey’s housing office said “[we] believe an appropriate outcome was reached.” More from the Boston Globe and WBUR .

The state continues to hover just under its self-imposed limit for the shelter program, with 7,388 families in the system on Wednesday. But the new intake system for migrant and homeless families, which includes four categories for shelter prioritization, is already in use.

BTW, Squires-Lee was an early supporter of Healey, hosting a cocktail fundraiser for her back in 2014, the State House News Service reports .

— “Mass. residents say they support right-to-shelter law, sort of,” by Gin Dumcius, CommonWealth Beacon: “Massachusetts residents are strongly in favor of the state’s unique right-to-shelter law, but there is significantly less support for the law being used to provide emergency housing for migrants, according to a new CommonWealth Beacon poll.”

— “Media blitz pressures Mass. Gov. Healey, lawmakers on spending for migrants,” by John L. Micek, MassLive: “[The conservative-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has] launched an ad blitz aimed at pressuring officials to turn off the tap of state funding.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston City Council pushing for parking meter benefit districts to boost transportation projects,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “The Boston City Council is pushing for the creation of parking benefit districts, a concept that reinvests metered parking fees back into a neighborhood for a wide range of transportation-related improvements.”

— "City clears final tents from the ‘Mass. and Cass’ homeless encampment," by Maggie Scales and Chris Serres, Boston Globe.

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are backing Malden Mayor Gary Christenson for reelection, adding to their slate of municipal endorsements. Christenson faces Lissette Alvarado .

— “Hurst mayoral campaign accused of voter fraud based on video appearing to show cash for votes outside City Hall,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Video footage shows a man associated with Springfield mayoral candidate Justin Hurst handing cash to people outside City Hall last weekend. City officials claim in sworn affidavits that the distribution of $10 bills, clearly visible in the building’s surveillance footage, represents voter fraud. … In an interview Wednesday, Hurst flatly denied that anyone in his campaign paid for votes, accusing the Sarno administration of dirty politics in the waning days of the election season.”

— "Justin Hurst to speak on ‘false accusations’ at press conference Thursday," by MassLive Staff: "Members of the public and the media have been invited to the 11 a.m. press conference, which will be held at 1746 Parker St."

A message from Conservation Law Foundation:

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “The MBTA just eliminated one of its longest-lasting slow zones,” by Daniel Kool, Boston Globe: “First identified by work crews before Labor Day in 2022, data show, it was ‘being removed’ as of Wednesday morning, T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said, but not before adding hours to riders’ commutes over the course of nearly 14 months.”

— “As New Bedford area awaits South Coast Rail line, skeptics fret over costs, ridership and slow speeds,” by Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez, WBUR

FROM THE DELEGATION

IT'S ON — Rep. Lori Trahan is ramping up her campaign to co-chair the House Democratic Caucus' messaging arm. And she's sweetening her pitch by sending her colleagues s'mores from Sweet Lydia's in Lowell. Trahan is running against Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado for the seat Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) stepped down from ahead of launching his presidential campaign. Rep. Jake Auchincloss had floated a trial balloon for the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee post, but later passed on running for it.

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “As state changes cannabis regulations, why some South Shore officials are crying foul,” by Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger: “Some city and town officials are worried that new regulations issued by the state Cannabis Control Commission, which regulates the marijuana industry in Massachusetts, will take a significant bite out of their revenues. The new rules include restrictions on ‘community impact fees’ that cities and towns charge cannabis stores. The fees are intended to cover municipal costs generated by marijuana stores, such as overtime for public safety employees and traffic studies.”

PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW .

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Salem State student killed in shooting,” by Paul Leighton, The Salem News: “ A Salem State University student was shot and killed in Salem early Wednesday morning, according to authorities. Salem police received a 911 call at approximately 1:24 a.m. for a report of a shooting in the area of 22 Forest Ave. Officers responding to the location found 18-year-old Carl Hens Beliard inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to Salem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.” More from MassLive .

MEANWHILE IN MAINE

POTUS INCOMING — President Joe Biden and the first lady will travel to Lewiston on Friday to pay their respects to the 18 people killed and 13 others injured in last week’s shootings in Maine.

A message from Conservation Law Foundation:

Conservation Law Foundation is working to fight climate change and secure a livable and healthy future for all New Englanders. We know New England needs to end its reliance on fossil fuels, and that presents a pressing question: What role will bioenergy play in the region’s energy system as we move toward 2050? The fossil fuel industry is leaning hard on selling biofuels such as renewable natural gas as viable options to meet state mandates for cutting climate-damaging emissions. On the face of it, alternative fuels sound good. But what’s beneath the surface is more of the same climate-damaging fuels. We don’t have time or resources to waste on costly and ineffective solutions. Conservation Law Foundation is sorting fact from fiction. Bioenergy’s role in New England’s clean energy future is a limited and targeted one.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — New England Power Generators Association has named Bruce Anderson as SVP and general counsel.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Sofia Vilar and Amy Finkelstein .

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: LIGHT THE BEACON — Hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela mark the launch of Commonwealth Beacon by discussing new polling and bringing on Commonwealth Beacon reporter Gin Dumcius for the latest on the migrant shelter crisis. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and SoundCloud .

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 .

Follow us on Twitter