Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey talks Year One

Friday, December 15, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey talks Year One

YEAR IN REVIEW — Maura Healey doesn’t miss driving as much as she thought she would. In fact, she sold her car.

“I’m too busy. I’m on the go, right? There’s no time to drive anywhere,” the governor laughed as she leaned back against the cream-colored couch in her ceremonial office. “I find other moments just for contemplation.”

Healey is winding down from a whirlwind first year in office in which she signed a $1 billion package of tax-code changes into law, created a standalone housing secretariat and lowered the cost of college for tens of thousands of students.

But the shelter crisis gripping the state threatens to overshadow those wins and others, as the Healey administration struggles to keep up with the demand for emergency services being fueled by a surge in migration and a shortage of housing. Days after securing an extra $250 million to help prop up the overburdened shelter system, Healey isn’t ruling out returning to the Legislature for more money later this fiscal year — especially if Congress doesn’t pitch in. “We’ll see,” she told Playbook. “It’ll depend on the numbers in the system.”

At the same time, Healey is preparing to turn her attention more outside of Massachusetts next year as the 2024 election cycle ramps up. She’s got a new role helping elect women governors through the Democratic Governors Association (and is already backing outgoing Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig for governor of New Hampshire).

And she’s got a potentially even higher-profile role to play as a surrogate for Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. Healey joined the president for his fundraising swing here last week. And she said she intends to get involved with the write-in effort Biden's allies are waging on his behalf in New Hampshire, where the president passed on the participating in that state's primary amid a spat over the order of the nominating calendar.

“Democracy is on the line. And I'm not being hyperbolic,” Healey said, in an echo of Biden’s own campaign-trail warnings about the stakes of the 2024 election. “I will campaign hard on [Biden’s] behalf.”

Playbook sat down with Healey Thursday for a wide-ranging conversation on her first 11 months in office, from her biggest accomplishment (the tax-relief package), to the one thing she didn’t get done (her housing bond bill, the “Affordable Homes Act,” which she wants the Legislature to move on “as soon as possible”). We also talked about her top priority for 2024 (“housing, housing, housing”), and her new year’s resolution: re-recording her greeting at Logan Airport.

Here are excerpts from our conversation , edited and condensed for length and clarity:

Gov. Maura Healey reflects on her first year in office. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

You say rent control should be up to local communities, but they can’t act without the Legislature’s approval. Do you recommend lawmakers approve the home-rule petitions that cities and towns have submitted?

What I recommend is that we act on the Affordable Homes Act. The way through this is by creating more housing. If we create more supply, rents are going to go down, prices are going to go down. That’s also why we put out as part of that proposal things like ADUs. One of the quickest ways to exponentially increase housing is by allowing accessory dwelling units.

So rent control itself isn’t the solution?

I understand that so many people can't afford rent right now. … And it’s a supply issue. The focus really needs to be on sparking production, new starts, preservation, renovation, rehabilitation, that’s where my energy — that’s where our administration — is going to focus.

Do you believe your administration has been more transparent than the previous administration?

I continue to produce my calendar. I continue to produce information requested — I think so. Both the LG and I, our style is to make ourselves available. (Healey is no longer releasing her out-of-state travel in advance, in a break from her predecessor).

Do you have any regrets about opening up the state Senate seat Republicans were able to flip ?

I’m really proud to have appointed [former Sen.] Anne Gobi as rural affairs director. The need was there. Elections are elections.

Given the state’s fiscal picture, do you anticipate having to either level-fund your next budget or make any cuts from this fiscal year’s spending levels?

The fundamentals [stabilization fund, bond rating] are strong. Are we seeing a dip in revenue? We are. But we’re monitoring that and we’ll manage that through the budget process. And [we’ll] take what steps are necessary to account for it.

What do you think of the new Celtics team?

Love it. I’m pumped for the Celtics. And that we have more women’s sports coming to Massachusetts.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . We’ve reached the last Playbook of the year.

This team has grown and changed a lot over the past 12 months, so we just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all involved — and thank you to our readers for starting your days with us! Happy holidays. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Jan. 2.

In the meantime, we’ll be working our way through this list of Massachusetts-centric Hallmark Christmas movies . Tell us your favorite for a chance to be featured in Playbook when we return! lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com .

Until next year! | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

TODAY — Healey attends the dignified arrival for Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher at 3:15 p.m. in Chicopee. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speak at a press conference on the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party (Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse would like a word about that , BTW) at 9 a.m. at Faneuil Hall.

Wu attends the Dudley Town Common tree lighting at 5:15 p.m. and the Eastie’s Elves toy drive at 6:15 p.m. Rep. Jim McGovern addresses The New England Council at 8:30 a.m. at Suffolk University.

THIS WEEKEND — Rep. Stephen Lynch is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Secretary of State Bill Galvin is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Boston zoning report author Sara Bronin is on “At Issue” at 5 a.m. Sunday on NBC10 and noon on NECN.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Mass. House passes bill requiring employers to give time off for voting on Election Day,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “The House passed legislation Thursday that requires employers to provide their workers ‘sufficient time’ off to vote in person on Election Day in state or municipal elections, an effort to expand a roughly 100-year-old state law that covers some of the Massachusetts’ oldest industries. In a rare December movement, Beacon Hill representatives quickly moved the bill out of the House’s budget writing committee, where it had sat for a month and half, and onto the floor where it passed on a voice vote during a sparsely attended informal session.”

— “Top Senators Saddened By Colleague's Remarks,” by Alison Kuznitz, State House News Service (paywall): “Top Senate leaders who are Jewish say they're disappointed and saddened by a colleague's remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict that seemed to invoke antisemitic tropes. Sen. Liz Miranda ... who said she's ‘against antisemitism,’ noted that Jewish people have ‘amassed a lot of political and financial power’ while also enduring the Holocaust and being constantly marginalized in the United States. Miranda, in a statement to the News Service Thursday, sought to clarify her comments, saying that ‘intention and impact are two very different things.’”

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

ENDORSEMENT CORNER — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are already endorsing in the race to replace state Sen. Susan Moran (D-Falmouth). The duo is backing state Rep. Dylan Fernandes , a Democrat who worked for Healey when she was attorney general and remains close to her. Republican state Rep. Matt Muratore is also eyeing the seat. Another Republican, Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae , is already running for it.

PARDON THE INTERRUPTION — Demonstrators from the group Climate Defiance interrupted Thursday night’s MassDems holiday fundraiser at the Omni Parker House to call on Healey to end new fossil fuel projects, unfurling their banner as she took the microphone, according to the group, an attendee and a video shared with Playbook.

Climate Defiance members similarly disrupted a fundraiser that Healey attended on Nantucket over the summer. Representatives for MassDems and Healey didn't respond to requests for comment.

A few blocks away , hundreds of protesters blocked the intersection of State and Congress streets to demand that Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey support a cease-fire in Gaza.

PRESSLEY VS. KRAFT — As the political class chatters about the possibility of Josh Kraft challenging Rep. Ayanna Pressley next year, a poll hit phones in her district this week testing out the hypothetical matchup, according to screenshots shared with Playbook. It remains unclear who’s behind it.

CASH DASH — As former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley heads to Boston today for a fundraiser for her presidential campaign, one of her rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has rolled out a national finance team with some familiar Massachusetts faces: Brian Shortsleeve , who managed the MBTA under former Gov. Charlie Baker ; former congressional candidate and auto-parts magnate Rick Green ; Howard Cox and Chris Egan .

FROM THE HUB

— “What to know about Mayor Wu’s ‘Electeds of Color’ holiday party and why it’s caused such a stir,” by Jeremy C. Fox, The Boston Globe: “On Tuesday, an email went out from Wu’s office to the full City Council, inviting them to an annual ‘Electeds of Color Holiday Party’ at the Parkman House, the city-owned mansion on Beacon Hill. … The mistake made headlines and generated criticism for the party’s exclusion of white elected officials, but Wu and others said the ‘Electeds of Color’ party is a longstanding tradition and just one of multiple holiday celebrations.”

— “Hundreds of BPS jobs on the line as federal funds run out,” by James Vaznis, The Boston Globe.

— “The Interview: Legendary Philanthropist and Ad Man Jack Connors,” by Jonathan Soroff, Boston Magazine.

FROM THE DELEGATION

— “Five years in, Rep. Ayanna Pressley reflects on Congress experience,” by Paris Alston, GBH News.

— “Sens. Warren, Markey grill student loan servicers amid ‘painful’ transition for borrowers,” by John L. Micek, MassLive.

— “Pressley introduces legislation to fight book bans,” by Cheyanne M. Daniels, The Hill.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Massachusetts Teachers board under fire for cease-fire ‘genocidal war’ resolution: ‘Antisemitic dog-whistling’,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The Massachusetts Teachers Association’s leaders are facing heat after the MTA board called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, and said Israel’s government is carrying out a ‘genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza.’ Jewish groups are slamming the MTA Board of Directors for the motion that supports a cease-fire, and a local teachers union is urging the MTA Board of Directors to retract its ‘antisemitic dog-whistling’ statement.”

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Hilary Braseth will be executive director of OpenSecrets. She most recently was a public service fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

— Gloria Larson is interim ED of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority .

— Colin Booth has joined Granite Post, a new, “pro-democracy” local news outlet in New Hampshire run by COURIER, as a politics reporter. He previously ran comms for NHDP.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Lynn Mayor Tom McGee, Hannah Sinrich, Keith Moon, Jule Pattison-Gordon and Christopher D. Matthews .

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Boston Globe alum and The Washington Post’s Liz Goodwin, Ryan McCollum, Susan Estrich, Beth Fairservis and Charlotte DuHamel , who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Joe Kaplan, Coley Walsh, Catherine Sanderson and Zachary Gavel .

AND HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY — to a lot of Playbookers: Dion Irish, Emily Williams, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Abby Charpentier, former state Sen. Harriette Chandler, Maureen McInerney, Megan Johnson, Meaghan Callahan, Kalen O’Hare, Richard Purcell, Jakhari Watson, Judith Souweine, Scott Spencer, Koray Rosati, Joe Beebee, Scott Campanella and John Guilfoil.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT : THE CAMPUS AND THE CONGRESS — WBUR’s Max Larkin joins hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela to talk through antisemitism on college campuses and the fallout from last week’s congressional hearing on the topic. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and SoundCloud .

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