Wednesday, July 3, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: MassGOP cleanup continues

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook won’t publish Thursday and Friday for the Fourth of July but I’ll be back in your inbox Monday. In the meantime, you can reach me at kgarrrity@politico.com . Hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend!

MASS GOP has supported extremists and Jim Lyons
tactics were offensive, including bigoted robocalls. Supporting Donnie Palmer knowing about his anti-Asian comments was egregious. Maybe the loyalists have learned....doubtful. Although their numbers are slim, they still fail to inform themselves before obstructing as State Senator Ryan Fattman did recently with the CLIMATE BILL hysteria.
At what point will MASS GOP work to INFORM themselves of publicly available inform prior to OBSTRUCTION?

CHIPPING AWAY — One lawsuit down, a couple to go for the MassGOP.

The state Republican Party’s current leadership notched a win Tuesday when a Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit that former party Chair Jim Lyons filed last August alongside more than 20 state committee members.

Lyons brought the suit against the party, party Chair Amy Carnevale and party Treasurer Patrick Crowley, after legal bickering over an earlier lawsuit that Lyons brought against Crowley in 2022 that the party voted to end when new leadership took the helm. Lyons couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, a judge overseeing another lawsuit from Lyons against the party — this one for back pay he said he was owed after forgoing a salary for his role as head of the party during the pandemic — offered more good news for Carnevale and company.

Lyons requested for that money — totaling more than $90,000 — be set aside as the case plays out. But the district court judge in that case rejected the request, per a memo Carnevale shared with state committee members — and threw cold water on hope for a quick, favorable ruling for Lyons. The plaintiff, Justice Asha White wrote, “has not established a reasonable likelihood of success on the suit,” adding that the request to hold the funds aside was “excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary.”

New MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale addresses state committee members on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in Marlborough. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

Carnevale took a modest victory lap in an email to state committee members Tuesday evening. The decision to dismiss the Superior Court case “allows the Massachusetts Republican Party to continue its efforts to move the Republican Party forward with a focus on supporting candidates and winning elections,” Carnevale wrote. “Our goal should always be on bringing back a two-party government to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and litigation only serves to divert our party from that goal.”

The MassGOP might not be out of the red yet. Money’s flowing into the party’s coffers again. A more than $80,000 fundraising haul in June put the party’s state campaign finance account above $115,000 (the first time its hit three figures since 2022, according to state records . And it currently has $100,000 on hand in its federal account, per a party official.

But it could have to shell out at least some of those savings. Lawyers are in the process of disputing nearly $300,000 of the roughly $400,000 in unpaid receipts for media, including some supporting former state Rep. Geoff Diehl’s failed gubernatorial bid. But it has been steadily padding its coffers.

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Two dozen Democratic governors gathered on a call Monday to commiserate and share information amid the fallout from President Joe Biden ’s debate performance last week, POLITICO’s Elena Scheider confirmed Tuesday .

Gov. Maura Healey was on the call, a campaign spokesperson confirmed without providing more detail. The White House quickly moved to set up a hybrid meeting today with Democratic governors, but Healey’s campaign was mum on her plans to join. It’s safe to assume given her publicly blank schedule that Healey will be attending in some form or another (She is a campaign surrogate, after all.), but she’s not broadcasting her plans the way some other, higher-profile Biden surrogates like Gavin Newsom are .

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on “Java with Jimmy” at 9 a.m.

THIS WEEKEND — David Cash, regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” ]at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro and Sen. Michael Moore are on NBC10 Boston’s “@ Issue” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Watching the sausage get made on Beacon Hill,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “It's often said that laws are like sausages – it’s best not to see them getting made. But a proposal to change the way the state procures clean energy is worth keeping a close eye on, partly because the stakes are so high but also because a bit of scrutiny is likely to keep all parties honest. The proposal didn’t follow the traditional legislative route – getting filed as a bill, vetted in a hearing before a committee, and then moving on to the full Legislature. Instead, the Healey administration broached the idea earlier this year but actual language didn’t emerge publicly until a climate bill was reported out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee midway through June.”

— “After Karen Read trial, State Police expecting ‘additional scrutiny’,” by Sean Cotter and Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “The leader of the State Police said he expects his troopers to face increased scrutiny in their investigations as he further condemned the actions of Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator on the Karen Read case who was relieved of duty Monday night. … The State Police, which has faced multiple scandals in recent years, has been thrust back into the spotlight by Proctor’s testimony in the Read case, in which the Mansfield woman is accused of striking her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage and leaving him to die in a blizzard in January 2022.”

— “Healey administration awards $45M to extend broadband infrastructure,” by Namu Sampath, The Springfield Republican.

— “Healey: More housing for Lowell, state,” by Melanie Gilbert, The Lowell Sun.

FROM THE HUB

— “Boston ends needle collection program that gathered thousands of syringes daily,” by Jason Laughlin, The Boston Globe: “Since it launched in 2020, Boston’s Community Syringe Redemption Program has taken about five million dirty needles off the street and halved calls to the city for syringe cleanup. In exchange, the program provided small cash payments to those living with addiction, keeping some from turning to theft and prostitution, according to Addiction Response Resources, the small business that runs the program. As of last Friday, though, the needle exchange program is defunct. The city’s Public Health Commission no longer has the money for the initiative, said Pai En Yu, a spokesperson for the commission.”

— “After the fire, East Boston residents feel the gaps in city’s emergency response,” by Sarah Betancourt and Elena Eberwein, GBH News.

YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — State Rep. Sam Montaño is endorsing attorney Allison Cartwright for Suffolk Supreme Judicial Court clerk, the latest in a long list of Beacon Hill lawmakers who are playing in the race for the somewhat obscure post.

CARPET BAGGER KOCH SOCK PUPPET returning?

— “Ex-Mass. Sen. Scott Brown says he’s weighing comeback ‘sooner rather than later’,” by John L. Micek, MassLive.

DATELINE D.C.

This is being promoted by REPUBLICANS & CORPORATE MEDIA as a distraction from Donald tRump's DEMENTIA.
It's time for DEMS to stop being manipulated and consider the LIES & DELUSIONS tRump spewed during the DEBATE. Racism, HATE & LIES were analyzed by CNN - did anyone review the comments?

The Orange Turd couldn't remember who was president, the said JOE BRIDEN. Can't remember words. Saluted to AMAZING GRACE. Saluted PLANES. Wave to empty spaces - like the empty parking lot at NASCAR.
Why aren't we addressing tRump's DEMENTIA?

"Everywhere Donny went his dementia was sure to follow"

TRUMP'S DEMENTIA

— “Democrats begin attacking Biden’s performance and campaign,” by Jared Mitovich, POLITICO: “[O]n Tuesday, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) said he was doubtful that Biden just had a bad night during the debate, and he urged the president to consider how his place on the ticket impacts the fate of Democrats in the Congress. … Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) echoed Quigley’s sentiment during a later interview on CNN, calling it unhelpful for the campaign to dismiss voter concerns and adding that he thinks Biden should more aggressively confront worries about his age.”

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MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “At Fall River cultivation site, cannabis workers cast off their union,” by Katie Johnston, The Boston Globe.

COMMISSION COMMOTION — Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro will join legislators for a hearing next week on his report on the Cannabis Control Commission, his office confirmed, in response to a request from Rep. Daniel Donahue , who chairs the House Cannabis Policy Committee. Donahue quested Shapiro join the July 9 hearing in a letter Tuesday, after Shapiro pleaded with lawmakers to appoint a receiver to help steer the “rudderless” agency. More from the State House News Service.

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

— “In the Berkshires, an effort to corral climate change, one stream at a time,” by Erin Douglas, The Boston Globe.

FROM THE 413

— “Sabadosa bills bring pregnancy loss out of shadows,” by Emilee Klein, Greenfield Recorder: “Two bills presented by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa that passed last week will support families who have experienced pregnancy loss by adding paid pregnancy loss leave to the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law and establishing a public information campaign for awareness and treatment options for pregnancy loss. The two pieces of legislation are part of a larger maternal health omnibus bill that seeks to codify many professions and processes that occur before and after labor and delivery. The bill includes a pathway for certified professional midwives, updated regulations on birthing centers, and licensing and reimbursement for lactation consultants.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “State funding to increase paraprofessional positions in New Bedford, Fairhaven schools,” by Matthew Ferreira, The Standard-Times: “As the state and nation continues dealing with a labor shortage, the Healey-Driscoll administration hopes that giving out a total of $15.9 million will help boost various areas of the workforce across the state, according to a press release. While funds coming into some Massachusetts communities will be used to help industries like health care, CDL driving, and restaurants, the portion coming into SouthCoast will be dedicated to putting more people in paraprofessional positions at New Bedford and Fairhaven public schools, as well as helping existing paras become licensed teachers.”

— “Attleboro switches to two tax bills instead of four, and gets lots of blowback,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Jason Law has joined the state’s Executive Office of Education as press secretary and event coordinator. He previously worked as reporter and anchor, most recently at Boston 25 News

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Mark Cusack, Barbara Lee, president and founder of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, Kunal Botla, Maia Raynor, Maya Serkin and Ted Steinberg.

HAPPY LONG BIRTHWEEKEND — Thursday birthday-ers Chris Ingerson, Rachel Wells, Lanhee Chen, Will Ritter, Targeted Victory’s Ryan Williams, MassFiscal’s Laurie Belsito, the late Massachusetts governor and President Calvin Coolidge, who was born on July 4, 1872, and, of course, the United States of America; to Pat Beaudry , Christian Greve and Boston.com alum Chris Caesar , who celebrate Friday; to former state Sen. Richard Ross, state Sen. Jake Oliveira, Dave Eisenstadter and WBUR’s Cloe Axelson, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Bryan Bowman, Megan Wessenberg, Mike Rigas, Roselle Chartock, Melisse Morris, Vanessa Gatlin, Tim Murray and Northeastern’s Mike Ferrari , a Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill alum.

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