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Thursday, February 16, 2023
POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Framingham Dems’ abortion imbroglio
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Inauguration Day, round two
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propaganda: nuclear is not a solution!
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WHO RUN THE WORLD MASSACHUSETTS? GIRLS — Bill Galvin is about to be the last man standing among the state’s constitutional officers.
Women will hold five of those six top jobs once Andrea Campbell is sworn in as the first Black female attorney general, Diana DiZoglio takes over as auditor and Deb Goldberg begins another term as treasurer today.
Combine them with Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and that leaves Galvin as something of an outlier as he starts his historic eighth term as secretary of state. (Technically Galvin’s been the only man for a couple weeks now, since women were already serving as AG, treasurer and auditor when Healey replaced former Gov. Charlie Baker two weeks ago — but just go along with it).
This group of women's barrier-breaking ascents have been well-chronicled, so let's look at what Campbell and DiZoglio, the two newbies taking their oaths of office today, plan to do with their power.
Campbell wants to create an elder justice unit focused on increasing equal access to health care and protecting seniors from deceptive business practices and fraud. She also plans to create an office of gun safety enforcement and a reproductive justice unit. And she’s looking to strengthen the AG’s regional offices by hiring community engagement staff. She’ll hit on all of those and more in her inaugural address, according to an aide.
DiZoglio is planning a safety audit of the MBTA. She'll also work to incorporate her social justice and equity audit plan — a 17-point proposal to review everything from diversity in state contracts to affordable housing efforts — into the existing state agency audits her office is obligated to conduct.
And if her efforts overlap with Healey’s planned equity audit of agencies under the governor’s purview, DiZoglio says that’s all the better: “I love that the governor has a focus on equity as well,” DiZoglio told Playbook. “Any equity audits she does will be complementary to the work the auditor’s office will be doing.”
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Campbell, DiZoglio and Goldberg aren’t the only women being sworn in today.
Margaret Scarsdale will take her oath of office after waiting two weeks for the House to declare her the winner of the 1st Middlesex District state representative race.
Scarsdale thanked House lawmakers for their “expeditious” review of Republican Andrew Shepherd’s challenge to her 7-vote victory and said in a statement she's “eager” to get to work. Shepherd told Playbook he won’t contest the decision and will drop his still-pending court case. He also called Scarsdale to congratulate her.
A special legislative committee is still reviewing GOP state Rep. Lenny Mirra’s challenge to Democrat Kristin Kassner’s one-vote win in the 2nd Essex District. State House News Service’s Chris Lisinski and the Boston Globe’s Matt Stout have more on that.
State Reps. Patricia Haddad and Erika Uyterhoeven will also be sworn in by the governor this morning after missing the House’s opening session earlier this month.
TODAY — Healey swears in representatives-elect at 10:30 a.m. and Galvin at 11 a.m. in her office, attends Goldberg ’s inauguration at noon in the Senate chambers, joins Campbell ’s inauguration and post-inauguration reception at 12:30 p.m. and swears in DiZoglio at 6 p.m. at the former lawmaker’s alma mater, Methuen High. Campbell is sworn in at noon at the BCEC; Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attend.
Tips? Scoops? Missed me? Even if you didn't, email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .
PROPAGANDA: NUCLEAR IS NOT A SOLUTION! MASSACHUSETTS GOT RID OF PILGRIM IN PLYMOUTH & WHAT ABOUT THE WASTE?
A message from NextEra Energy:
Affordable, carbon-emissions free, reliable electricity from nuclear energy. Seabrook Station lowers consumer energy costs in Massachusetts and New England by providing a year-round, low-cost, baseload energy supply. And American-made nuclear energy supports hundreds of jobs across New England.
 | PARTY POLITICS |
— COURTING REPUBLICANS: While his party gears up for its end-of-month leadership election, MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons is gearing up for another lawsuit.
Lyons appears to be asking state committee members to sign onto a yet-to-be filed complaint against yet-to-be named defendants, according to an email and two-page “commitment to engage in civil litigation as party plaintiff” circulated to members over the weekend by Elizabeth Groot , the party’s executive assistant. It was obtained by Playbook and verified by four state committee members.
The would-be lawsuit “shall allege a concerted (conspiratorial) agreement on [sic] unlawfully interfere with the lawful operation” of the state committee. Those claims are based in part on information that surfaced from Lyons' lawsuit against state party treasurer Patrick Crowley over access to the MassGOP’s bank account, according to the typo-ridden document. And it would seek damages to be shared among the party and its city and town committees.
Groot, in the email to state committee members, said a “separate legal defense fund” was being set up, presumably to help raise money for the lawsuit. Lyons has faced criticism from some in the party for using its resources for legal matters. A legal defense fund gets around that, and isn’t subject to state campaign finance contribution limits.
Playbook asked two attorneys not affiliated with the MassGOP to review the document. They interpreted it as less legally binding given its ambiguity and more of an attempt on Lyons’ part to show support within the party for his legal fights ahead of the Jan. 31 leadership election. Lyons didn’t respond to a request for comment.
But one of his state committee allies, Amanda Orlando , told Playbook that the party has been “forced into courts” because “people won’t sit down in the same room” — a reference to state committee members skipping meetings to deny Lyons a quorum to conduct business.
Amy Carnevale, considered by many insiders to be Lyons’ main competition for party chair, told Playbook that she would call for an independent legal review of the case so people “can better understand the issues at hand and make an informed decision about any potential consequences of joining such an effort.”
— CommonWealth Magazine’s Shira Schoenberg has more on the candidates lining up to take on Lyons .
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
— “State legal aid agency seeks more oversight when DCF removes children from homes without court order,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “As the new legislative session opens, Representative Joan Meschino, a Hull Democrat, said she again plans to put a proposal before lawmakers to amend the [state law that allows child welfare workers to remove kids from their homes without a court order if they believe it’s necessary to protect them from potential harm]. The change would state that child welfare workers would only be permitted to take temporary custody of children facing potential harm — without a court order — in cases where there’s no time to go before a judge first.”
— “Lawmakers to revisit stalled tax cut proposals,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “House Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, has filed a proposal that includes a plan to overhaul the estate tax, which is charged to a decedent’s estate when their assets pass on to their beneficiaries. … Several lawmakers have filed proposals which, similar to [former Gov. Charlie] Baker’s plan, call for expanding the senior ‘circuit breaker’ tax credit to lower the overall income tax burden for more than 100,000 elderly, low-income homeowners. State Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, has filed a bill that calls for increasing the rent deduction cap for income tax filers from $3,000 to $4,000, which would provide tens of millions of dollars in relief for 881,000 taxpayers. Baker had pushed to raise the rent deduction cap to $5,000 a year.”
— “Tax cuts, energy policy top of mind for right-leaning groups at Boston meeting,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “Conservative advocacy groups and think tanks from across New England gathered for a summit in Boston Tuesday, positioning themselves as a counterpoint to left-leaning environmental activists and trading notes about the policy challenges they see. Representatives from the groups said they share similar goals — chief among them, preserving both the competitiveness of their states and the reliability of the region’s energy grid. But they say they face different political dynamics on the ground.”
PROPAGANDA: NUCLEAR IS NOT A SOLUTION WE JUST CLOSED PILGRIM IN PLYMOUTH & DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE RADIACTIVE WASTE! A message from NextEra Energy:
| BIDEN TIME |
— THERE’S ALWAYS A MASSACHUSETTS CONNECTION: Pat Moore, who’s about to become Andrea Campbell ’s first assistant attorney general, has been identified in reports as the lawyer who initially found classified documents when cleaning out President Joe Biden ’s office at the Penn Biden Center. Moore, a longtime Biden attorney who served as deputy counsel on his 2020 presidential campaign, was also deputy counsel to former Govs. Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker .
| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
— “Beverly company offered job to key witness in Jan. 6 investigation,” by Paul Leighton, Salem News: “Bradley Crate, the CEO of Red Curve Solutions on Conant Street, offered a job to former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson in the midst of her witness interviews with the House Select Committee investigating the attack, according to a transcript that the committee released last month.”
| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
— “Does Massachusetts underestimate its greenhouse gas emissions?” by Jon Lamson, Dig Boston: “While Massachusetts has mandated major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades, its greenhouse gas inventory may be underestimating the true level of emissions in the state. As government officials plan for the transition to a clean energy economy, climate advocates worry that these issues with the state’s inventory — largely centered around how the state calculates the carbon impact of its gas system — could lead to false solutions on the path to decarbonization.”
— “Brookline and Watertown are first to adopt new building code in Mass. that discourages fossil fuels,” by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe: “Brookline and Watertown last week became the first communities in the state to adopt a new building code discouraging the use of fossil fuels in new buildings, and 22 more cities and towns have signaled they intend to take similar action, in what climate advocates say is the first large-scale test of Massachusetts’ willingness to wean itself from gas and oil.”
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
— “Encore posts record-high gambling revenues,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “The Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett posted record-high gambling revenues in December, propelled by money spent at the facility’s gaming tables. The large haul at Encore, combined with fairly strong revenues at MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, yielded nearly $28.8 million in state tax revenues for December — $138,000 more than the previous record in March.”
— “Mental health boarding crisis continues,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association's report, which surveyed hospitals, found that some patients with severe psychiatric conditions who require ‘continuing care’ services from the state Department of Mental Health have been waiting for more than a year for specialized care. … The average length of stay awaiting transfer to a continuing care bed is 197 days — an increase from 161 days in 2021, according to the report's authors.”
— “Teachers union pays fine for defying order to halt strike,” by Mike LaBella, Eagle-Tribune: “Although students are back in the classroom and teachers have a new contract, there remained some unfinished business from the teacher strike that took place in October. Haverhill Education Association President Tim Briggs confirmed that his union recently sent a check for $110,000 to the state for having violated a contempt order issued by a judge.”
— “The ‘This is Fine’ comic turned 10. The Mass. artist behind it says it’s changed his life — for better or worse,” by Spencer Buell, Boston Globe: “Ten years ago this month, Easthampton artist K.C. Green, then 25, drew a comic strip of a dog sipping a cup of coffee while sitting in a burning room and telling himself, ‘This is fine.’ He didn’t know it at the time, but a snippet from the comic would later become an era-defining meme.”
— “XBB Subvariant Now 83% of All COVID Cases in New England. But Don't Be Alarmed,” by Marc Fortier and Mary Markos, NBC Boston.
| MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE |
— “NH Dems put Biden on blast,” by Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan, POLITICO: “The letter, like any missive between longtime friends, begins with pleasantries and a good amount of flattery. But the main message sent Tuesday afternoon by top New Hampshire Democrats to President Joe Biden is essentially, ‘what the hell are you thinking?’ In 933 agonized words, some of Biden’s most steadfast supporters in the state plead with him to rethink his proposal to shuffle the 2024 primary calendar by putting South Carolina at the front of the line.”
— “Leader of hate group charged with a civil rights violation for hanging racist banner over highway in New Hampshire,” by Travis Andersen and Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “New Hampshire authorities have filed a civil complaint against the leader of the neo-Nazi group NSC-131, a Pepperell, Mass., man who is also facing criminal charges in Boston for allegedly brawling with a counterprotester outside a drag queen story hour last summer, for allegedly hanging a racist banner on public property.”
PROPAGANDA: NUCLEAR IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE FORM OF ENERGY & WHAT TO DO WITH RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM PILGRIM IN PLYMOUTH?
A message from NextEra Energy:
Seabrook Station has provided Massachusetts with low-cost, clean, reliable energy for over 30 years, reducing carbon emissions regionally by approximately 4 million tons per year. Nuclear energy is Massachusetts’ most cost-effective and essential tool to combat climate change.
| HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH |
TRANSITIONS — Associated Industries of Massachusetts has named Stephanie Swanson as senior VP of government affairs and Rachael Hamer as VP and director of member engagement services. Swanson was most recently former state Sen. Eric Lesser’s chief of staff and general counsel.
— Longtime lobbyist Joseph Donovan has started his own firm, Donovan Strategies LLC, which will focus on federal and Massachusetts state government relations, grants and incentives. Donovan previously worked at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and is a Romney administration alum.
— Samuel M. Gebru , managing director of Black Lion Strategies and senior fellow at the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, has been named professor of the practice of political science at Tufts University.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Sen. Paul Kirk and David Jacobs , publisher of the Boston Guardian.
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