Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Another odd ballot alliance

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Another odd ballot alliance

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will be off Wednesday for Juneteenth, but will be back in your inbox on Thursday.

MORE STRANGE BALLOT BEDFELLOWS — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s quest to audit the Legislature isn’t the only ballot initiative that’s pulling together an unlikely coalition.

Organizations on both sides of the aisle are coalescing behind an effort to thwart the Massachusetts Teachers Association-backed ballot question that would replace MCAS as a high school graduation requirement.

The unlikely alliance includes the right-leaning Pioneer Institute, the National Parents Union, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education and Democrats for Education Reform. Former Democratic state Rep. Marty Walz is involved, as is former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s former campaign manager, now-pollster Brian Wynne.

The collection of organizations and officials, all part of what’s officially known as the Committee to Preserve Educational Standards for K-12 Students, “represents a growing bipartisan and diverse coalition of organizations and people who oppose the repeal of the state’s high school graduation requirement,” the committee said in a statement.

Voters fills out ballots, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in the Massachusetts primary election at a polling place, in Attleboro, Mass. | Steven Senne/AP

The potential ballot question went 0-3 in attracting support from Beacon Hill’s Big Three. Gov. Maura Healey, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka all said they oppose getting rid of the test — at least without first having some other system in place to measure students’ success in school.

But MTA says the test “will remain in place as a diagnostic tool” under its proposed ballot question and argues that there IS another system in place: existing state standards. The teachers union-backed question has garnered support from voters. Advocates had already collected twice the number of signatures they needed to get through the second round of signature gathering more than two weeks before today’s deadline to local clerks.

“Our members have been adamant for years that the MCAS graduation requirement needs to be replaced because it has created an over-emphasis on the standardized exams across all grade levels,” MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy said in a statement released Monday. “The MCAS exams will remain in place as a diagnostic tool. But after the ballot question passes, we will replace the punitive graduation requirement with a renewed focus on our best-in-the-nation state standards and academic frameworks, which guide educators and schools.”

State Rep. Alice Peisch, the assistant majority leader who co-chaired the Legislature's Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions, told reporters last month that conversations were happening around finding a legislative solution to prevent the proposed ballot question from reaching voters. The MTA didn’t slam the door shut on that possibility, but in a press release Monday said it had “embraced plans” to proceed to the November ballot. Both sides of the fight are also currently awaiting decisions from the Supreme Judicial Court on requests they made to clarify the question’s title and description.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . HOME TO YOUR 2024 NBA CHAMPIONS!

The Celtics trounced the Dallas Mavericks Monday night, ending Boston's roughly five year championship drought (and a 16-year streak without a new banner for the C's to hoist to the Garden's rafters). Reactions poured in from some of the state's biggest sports names and from politicians all the way up to the White House .

New Hampshire State Rep. Joe Sweeney was quick to note that the extra cash players make for advancing to the finals would likely be subject to the state's so-called millionaire's tax (something Sweeney pointed out in a post on X wouldn't apply if they played in New Hampshire). That's the same logic former Celtic's forward Grant Williams used last year when he left the team to join Dallas last year — but only one of those teams walked away with a title Monday night (Williams has since been traded to Charlotte.).

GAS UP THE DUCK BOATS — The victory parade is expected to take place Friday — but first, the team heads to Miami for some fun, per The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn .

SPOTTED — at the game: Deaton for Senate merch.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey is on “Java with Jimmy” at 9 a.m., WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m., and swears in Ed Krippendorf Jr. and Sarah Kennedy as Associate Justices to the District Court at 1:30 p.m. at the State House. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll takes a walking tour of a town-owned housing development at 11 a.m. in Truro, participates in an LGBTQ+ business walk at noon and speaks at a new affordable, multifamily housing development at 1 p.m. in Provincetown. Attorney General Andrea Campbell convenes reproductive justice organizations for a gathering in Springfield. Campbell delivers opening remarks alongside her office’s Reproductive Justice Unit at 1 p.m. and is part of a fireside chat with activist Loretta Ross at 6 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour at 9:30 a.m. in Back Bay. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords joins Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano at a press conference to mark Gun Violence Awareness month and honor victims of gun violence at noon at the State House. Rep. Lori Trahan joins state and local officials for a ribbon cutting at 3:45 p.m. in Fitchburg. State Auditor Diana Di Zoglio visits High Expectations at 9:30 a.m. in Malden.

Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

BUDGET WATCH — Neither Senate President Karen Spilka nor House Speaker Ron Mariano have promised to bring a budget compromise to the floor before the clock runs out on the current fiscal year.

But Mariano suggested that negotiators could be close to an agreement. "They seem to be very advanced in the process,” he told reporters after huddling with Spilka and Gov. Maura Healey . “I know they were proposing different things on Saturday ... usually they're a little bit more under the gun before they start working Saturdays."

If the two chambers can hash out an agreement before July 1, it will be the first time in more than a decade that the state passes an on-time budget.

NO PRESSURE — Some of the governor's top legislative priorities are still tied up in the Legislature. But even with only a few weeks left before the end of formal session, Healey is keeping the public pressure on lawmakers to a minimum.

"I have no concerns," she told reporters Monday when asked if she was worried about the bills backing up. "Everybody's working hard."

A STATEWIDE BAN ON PLASTIC BAGS IN LONG OVERDUE! A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE USING THEY'RE RECYCLABLE BAGS TO STOP THE PLASTIC GLUT!

CLIMATE TALKS HEAT UP — Some legislation that is on the move: the two climate-related bills the Senate plans to vote on Thursday. A bill sponsored by Sen. Becca Rausch would implement a statewide ban on plastic bags across the commonwealth and would add a $0.10 fee for paper bags, $0.05 of which would go toward funding environmental protection initiatives. The other looks to modernize the state's electric grid, in part through an updated siting and permitting process for clean energy projects.

— “Gov. Maura Healey: Next State Police commander could be outsider,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “The next leader of the scandal-plagued State Police may come from the outside, said Gov. Maura Healey. Healey, speaking after a semi-regular leadership meeting with state House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka Monday, was responding to questions about whether or not the State Police as an institution is in need of outside intervention."

— “Legislators want new Hanscom report, calling first 'cavalier' on environmental impacts,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “A group of legislators who represent the region around Hanscom Field are calling on the state’s emergency and environmental affairs office to reject a report filed in support of expanding the airfield to include 17 new private jet hangars. In their letter, Reps. Simon Cataldo, Michelle Ciccolo, Carmine Gentile, Ken Gordon and Alice Peisch said the draft environmental impact report was “strikingly cavalier in its omissions” and has “bold unsupported statements.” They specifically questioned how the project proponents’ determined unmet demand for private jet hangars at Hanscom and the expansion’s potential impact on Massachusetts’ environmental goals.”

— “State uncovers $2M in welfare fraud,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “State investigators uncovered more than $2 million in welfare fraud in the most recent quarter, according to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office. The office’s Bureau of Special Investigations looked into more than 1,250 cases during the third quarter of the fiscal year, from Jan. 1 to March 31, and identified at least 241 instances of public assistance fraud, nearly 80% of it in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps.”

— “Other states eye Mass. millionaires tax — for windfall or wealth exodus,” by Walter Wuthmann, WBUR.

TESTING THE LIMITS — A group of state lawmakers is urging Gov. Maura Healey’ s administration to tweak the plan they laid out last week that would see the first migrant and homeless families exited from the state’s shelter system under the new 9-month limits as early as September.

In a letter sent to Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus yesterday, 16 lawmakers from both chambers implore the administration to reconsider its plan to begin removing families from the shelter system in late September.

“Families need time to prepare for transition, and we want to ensure that they receive the full range of benefits they are entitled to and for the entirety of the 9 months they are allotted under the supplemental budget,” the lawmakers wrote. Read the full letter here.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

— “UMass launches task force in wake of spring protests, will also review police activity,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes has announced the creation of a Campus Demonstration Policy Task Force and an independent review of police activity on campus following events this spring that lead to more than 100 arrests on campus amid protests and encampments against the war in Gaza.”

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston Public Schools student homelessness hits all-time high. Why has it gotten so bad?,” by Christopher Huffaker, The Boston Globe.

— “Current and former Boston Public Schools administrators allege ‘vindictive, racist, and sexist’ workplace culture,” by Deanna Pan, The Boston Globe: “An anonymous coalition of current and former Boston Public Schools employees has accused the district’s top administrators in a scathing new report of fostering a hostile work environment that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year in leadership churn and paid administrative leave. The 118-page report, which was made public at the Boston School Committee meeting Monday night, is based on conversations with more than 100 current and former BPS administrators, including school principals and central office managers, according to recently ousted principal Erica Herman, a member of the Coalition for Accountability and Justice, the group behind the allegations.”

ON THE MOVE — Hyde Park Rep. Rob Consalvo will carry Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’s home rule petition that would allow the city to temporarily shift more of the property tax burden onto commercial properties, per CommonWealth Beacon’s Gin Dumcius .

JOIN US ON 6/26 FOR A TALK ON AMERICA’S SUPPLY CHAIN : From the energy grid to defense factories, America’s critical sites and services are a national priority. Keeping them up and running means staying ahead of the threat and protecting the supply chains that feed into them. POLITICO will convene U.S. leaders from agencies, Congress and the industry on June 26 to discuss the latest challenges and solutions for protecting the supply lines into America’s critical infrastructure. REGISTER HERE .

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — State Sen. Nick Collins , Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn and state Rep. David Biele are endorsing John Powers in his campaign for Suffolk County clerk of civil courts.

SUPER SURROGATE — Healey hasn’t said much of anything about her frequent political foil, former President Donald Trump , being a convicted felon. But she’s on board with President Joe Biden ’s new campaign ad branding his rival as “a convicted criminal who’s only out for himself.”

“Every part of this ad is true,” Healey, a super-surrogate for Biden’s reelection campaign, said in a statement to Playbook. “Donald Trump is in this for himself, and Joe Biden is in it to deliver for the American people. The more people who understand the truth of what’s at stake, the more their choice will become clear in November.” More on the Biden campaign’s decision to dig in on Trump’s conviction from Lisa, Elena Schneider and Lauren Egan.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “These Mass. towns voted down funding their schools; they get another chance Tuesday,” by Juliet Schulman-Hall, MassLive: “The fate of whether the public schools in Uxbridge and Winchendon will close and lay off all their school staff members rests in the hands of voters who will decide at separate Tuesday evening meetings whether or not to pass the proposed school budgets. Both towns voted down their school budgets earlier in the season, and both are facing the prospect of their public schools shutting down on July 1 with no funding for staffing, programs or maintenance, according to Jacqueline Reis, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of elementary and Secondary Education.”

****MUST READ****

— “Steward Health Care executives are mired in trouble at home. In Malta, it’s much worse,” by Hanna Krueger, The Boston Globe.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — former POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook author Stephanie Murray has joined The Arizona Republic, where she’ll be covering national politics.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Steph Evans, Rick Cappellazzo, Sarah Anders, former Marlborough City Councilor Samantha Perlman and Ravi Simon.

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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