Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: MassGOP moves toward syzygy

Monday, April 8, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: MassGOP moves toward syzygy

Presented by

THE ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM — MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale walked away from a marathon party meeting this weekend having successfully consolidated power on the State Committee but having lost a key ally and powerful liaison to the Republican National Committee.

In a stunning upset, State Committee members narrowly rejected Ron Kaufman’s bid for another term as Republican national committeeman on Saturday on a 37-35 vote. Brad Wyatt, a longtime activist with Tea Party roots, will now assume the role in July, after the national party convention in Milwaukee that Kaufman is in charge of planning. Kaufman will remain general chair of the convention unless he’s removed by newly minted RNC Chair Michael Whatley, according to a person familiar with the national party’s processes.

“I’m still national committeeman until the gavel comes down” on the last night of the convention, Kaufman told Playbook after the vote.

But it will soon be the end of an era for Kaufman — a former RNC treasurer and longtime power player in Republican circles who has for years split his time between his native Quincy and Washington, D.C. — as well as for the MassGOP.

“He is ‘Mr. RNC,’” said Janet Fogarty, Kaufman’s counterpart on the national committee, who was easily reelected to her post on Saturday. “He’s very powerful on a national level. … [And] many don’t realize what he does behind the scenes for our state party.”

Kaufman said he was encouraged to seek another term by the “team down in Mar-a-Lago” — a pointed nod to the party’s continued standard-bearer, former President Donald Trump. But Kaufman was disliked by allies of former state party Chair Jim Lyons — the two had feuded in the past — and was viewed by some as being too “establishment.”

And Wyatt won over members with his pitch to increase the party’s technological savvy and make its messaging on core issues more effective. He’s also no stranger to upsets — in 2012, the longtime Boylston resident helped organize the slate of Rep. Ron Paul backers that surprised supporters of former Gov. Mitt Romney in post-presidential primary delegate elections. (Wyatt went on to lose a state legislative race in 2014).

Otherwise, it was a good day for Carnevale . In the first meeting of the newly elected State Committee, Carnevale easily won a vote that could have led to her ouster as chair. She was re-ratified 47-25 and will continue to serve out her term that ends in January.

MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale outside Saturday's State Committee meeting in Burlington. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

And over the course of the eight-plus hour — but relatively tame, by this deeply divided committee’s standards — confab, Carnevale saw supporter Judy Crocker selected as the committee’s vice chair. Lyons’ allies lost contests for treasurer, assistant treasurer, secretary and assistant secretary (in another sign of generational change, the MassGOP's new secretary is 19-year-old Amanda Peterson, who managed Peter Durant’s state Senate campaign). And Carnevale’s supporters were able to muster enough votes to change the party’s bylaws to eliminate the provision that calls for the chair to be re-ratified mid-term.

“It’s a sign from the members that they are endorsing my message of unity,” Carnevale told Playbook.

But Carnevale’s detractors are undeterred. Former gubernatorial nominee and past state Rep. Geoff Diehl and his wife, KathyJo Boss, left the meeting saying Wyatt’s win is “a big step in the right direction” for the state party.

And Todd Taylor, another Lyons ally, called it an “exceptional day” between Wyatt’s election and compromises on the bylaws — such as stopping a change from being put forward that would have added 10 seats to the State Committee and increasing transparency with the party’s finances, a long-running source of conflict.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Make sure you’ve got your eclipse glasses handy — a partial solar eclipse will be viewable across the state starting a little after 2 p.m. Boston.com’s got your viewing guide .

A composite image of the 2017 eclipse, taken in Oregon. | Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey celebrates National Robotics Week with visits to North Andover High at 10:30 a.m. and MassRobotics at 1:45 p.m., the latter with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll . House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark tours the SMOC Child Care Center she secured $900,000 in federal funding for at 9:30 a.m. and marks the 75th anniversary of the Framingham Heart Study at 10:30 a.m. at Nevins Hall. Rep. Lori Trahan hosts a roundtable on keeping local hospitals open at 11 a.m. at Lawrence General Hospital.

Tips? Scoops? Eclipse pics (safety first!)? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com .

A message from NextEra Energy:

With a presence in 49 states, NextEra Energy is one of the nation’s largest capital investors in infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and generating millions of dollars in new tax revenue for communities across the U.S. We generate more electricity from the wind and sun than anyone in the world as we work toward securing America’s energy independence and security with clean and emission-free low-cost energy.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

MONEY MATTERS — Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues is hoping the supplemental spending plan currently in conference committee will create a “glidepath” toward making the migrant and shelter crisis a “sustainable budget issue going forward.”

If the Senate gets its way, the governor would start seeing a decline each month in how much she can skim off a state savings account to pay for the emergency shelter system that currently costs $75 million a month to operate. “We don’t shut the spigot off overnight, we do it over the next 15 months,” Rodrigues said on WCVB’s “On the Record.” That gives the Healey administration “the time and the warning that that’s all the money you’re going to get — manage it."

Rodrigues also weighed in on another policy tied up in the supp: reinstituting an expired pandemic-era provision that allowed restaurants to sell cocktails to-go.

“I personally do not support cocktails to go. We have cocktails to go, it’s called package stores,” Rodrigues said. The House version of the bill called for making to-go cocktails permanent, but the Senate didn’t include the proposal. Rodrigues does, however, support expanded outdoor dining — another lapsed provision tied up in negotiations.

And Rodrigues made clear that one month of tax-revenue turnaround won’t fix the state’s fiscal woes. While tax collections came in above benchmark in March for the first time in eight months, “there will still be some reductions in accounts,” Rodrigues said. “There will be needs to make sure we balance the budget, and if it means reductions in some discretionary accounts…” he trailed off.

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Housing families in state-funded shelters in Mass. can cost taxpayers $300 a night,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Nightly rates to house homeless families in hotels and motels can run nearly $300, with agencies often baking in the cost of food and supportive services into the bill they hand to the state, according to contracts reviewed by the Herald. … Nearly 3,900 families were sheltered in hotels and motels as of Thursday, with just over 3,000 at sites where providers were offering services and 836 at locations supported by the National Guard, according to state data.”

MORE — “Massachusetts housing department approved four no-bid contracts for migrant shelter crisis,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Massachusetts’ statewide housing agency inked at least four no-bid contracts in the past year to stand up services at state-run emergency shelters amid an influx of migrants, including a $6.8 million deal with a Cape Cod cab company to provide free transportation to shelter residents.”

— “Sheriff, ICE officials, trade jabs over migrant arrests,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune.

— “‘Every bed we’ve had has been full’: City shelters are housing rising numbers of individual migrants,” by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe.

Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more .

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston reports $6.35M in unpaid property taxes as Mayor Wu pushes commercial rate increase,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Projected budgetary woes in Boston that led Mayor Michelle Wu to roll out a proposal to increase property taxes on businesses beyond the state limit are not driven by unpaid real estate taxes, given city data that shows a 99% collection rate.”

Wu called the move "proactive" because the city is “limited by state law as to how we can generate revenues," she said on WBZ's "Keller @ Large."

“If we do nothing and the commercial values up, residential property taxes will go up, very significantly. I cannot have that happen,” Wu said. “We are already seeing people pushed to the brink of a housing crisis with affordability."

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

NEW THIS AM — State Sen. Liz Miranda , Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon , Revere City Councilor Marc Silvestri , Chelsea City Councilor Roberto Jiménez Rivera and Winthrop Town Council Vice President Hannah Belcher are endorsing Allison Cartwright for Suffolk County Supreme Judicial Court clerk, citing her decades of legal experience and growing the longtime attorney’s diverse coalition of early backers.

DAY IN COURT

— “R.I. judge issues a ruling in case of fugitive former Holyoke councilor, now thought to be in Russia,” by John Pantalone, Springfield Republican: “Against a backdrop of reports that the fugitive facing felony charges in Rhode Island has fled the country — and joined the Russian military, a Superior Court judge granted a motion Friday in [Wilmer] Puello-Mota’s original child pornography case. The ruling gives permission to the prosecutor to depose the victim in that case.”

— “Bridgewater dad who says B-R violated his First Amendment rights appeals to Supreme Court,” by Cody Shepard, The Enterprise.

A message from NextEra Energy:

FROM THE DELEGATION

IN MEMORIAM — “William Delahunt, former congressman and Norfolk DA, mourned at funeral in Dorchester,” by Laura Crimaldi, The Boston Globe.

SPOTTED paying their respects at the funeral Mass — former climate envoy John Kerry , U.S. Ambassador Vicki Kennedy , special envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III , former Sen. Paul Kirk , Sen. Ed Markey, Reps. Jim McGovern, Stephen Lynch, Bill Keating and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); former Gov. Mike Dukakis and John Dukakis ; former AG Frank Bellotti , AG Andrea Campbell , House Speaker Ron Mariano , Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch , former House Speaker Charles Flaherty , former Treasurer Shannon O’Brien and WCVB alum Janet Wu .

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Hillary Clinton Returns to Wellesley, but the Homecoming Is More Complicated,” by Jenna Russell, the New York Times: “Hillary Clinton returned on Saturday to her alma mater, Wellesley College, to celebrate the opening of a new research and study center that bears her name. … But as Mrs. Clinton moderated a panel on ‘democracy at a crossroads’ at the new center’s inaugural summit, a group of student protesters outside chanted and raised signs objecting to her presence.”

SPOTTED with Clinton — Auditor Diana DiZoglio ( pic ). Gov. Maura Healey and her partner, Joanna Lydgate (pic ).

— “Airman who self-immolated in Gaza protest grew up in secretive religious community on Cape Cod,” by Elizabeth Koh, The Boston Globe.

— “Early success in Greenfield prompts statewide launch of Family Treatment Court,” by Domenic Poli, Greenfield Recorder.

SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW .

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

R.I. — “Looks like US Representative Magaziner will have a Republican challenger,” by Dan McGowan, The Boston Globe: “Steve Corvi, a 56-year-old adjunct history professor who bought a home in Warwick in 2022, said he plans to formally kick off his campaign next Saturday at Rocky Point at 3 p.m."

N.H. — A Republican state representative and former cop previously threatened to kill his fellow police officers and rape his chief’s wife and children, all while under investigation for an “inappropriate relationship” with a teenager, according to internal investigation documents reported on by InDepthNH . The lawmaker, Jonathan Stone , has endorsed Republican former Sen. Kelly Ayotte for governor and she posted a photo with him last month at his gun shop. Ayotte’s campaign didn't respond to a request for comment.

VT. — “Man arrested for setting fire outside Bernie Sanders’ Vermont office,” by Kelly Garrity, POLITICO.

A message from NextEra Energy:

Leading America with safe, reliable and affordable clean energy

The need for reliable, low-cost clean energy in America has never been greater – and NextEra Energy is ready to deliver it.

Millions of Americans depend on us to power their lives in good weather and bad. By investing in resilient, storm-tested infrastructure and harnessing innovative technology, we’re keeping reliability high and bills low.

We are also working toward securing America’s energy independence and security with clean and emission-free low-cost energy. We’ve virtually eliminated foreign oil from our power plants and, today, generate more electricity from the wind and sun than anyone in the world – while continuing lead in battery storage technology.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Rep. Stephen Lynch being awarded his 50-year service pin by the Ironworkers Local 7 in a Saturday ceremony. Pic .

SPOTTED at the MassGOP meeting — GOP U.S. Senate candidates John Deaton , Bob Antonellis and Aaron Packard at a pre-meeting breakfast. Candidate-in-waiting and Quincy City Council President Ian Cain taking photos with some fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Melissa Olesen of Sen. Ed Markey’s office, Maddie Beecher and Jackie Kessel .

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