News: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: POSTAL SERVICE moves spark LYNCH speculation — Vaccine rollout tests BAKER’S REPUTATION — HUNDREDS may face COVID punishment at UMass Amherst

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: POSTAL SERVICE moves spark LYNCH speculation — Vaccine rollout tests BAKER’S REPUTATION — HUNDREDS may face COVID punishment at UMass Amherst

Feb 09, 2021

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.

YOU'VE GOT MAIL — Could one more Massachusetts official join President Joe Biden's new administration?

That's the question, as Biden takes the first steps that could lead to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's ouster. Biden signaled on Monday he would fill vacancies on the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, which oversees the independent agency and selects the postmaster general. On DeJoy's watch, the postal service is the slowest it's been in decades due to cost-cutting measures, an influx in online ordering and the Covid-19 pandemic.

For weeks, Democrats have pressured Biden to get the ball rolling on removing DeJoy, which is more complicated than at other agencies due to the structure of the postal service. New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell penned a letter last month calling on Biden to fire the entire board of governors that signs off on the postmaster general, and mold a new board that would toss him out. And Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine wrote a letter to DeJoy to express concerns with USPS operations during his tenure. Biden has forced out Trump-era appointees in other arms of the government, so a postal service shakeup would not be out of character.

If Biden does replace board members and eventually spur DeJoy's firing, an ally in Massachusetts could be a contender to replace him. Speculation over whether Rep. Stephen Lynch, an early Biden backer in the Democratic primary, could serve as postmaster general is nothing new. Rumors have ebbed and flowed for months in Boston political circles about whether Lynch wants the job, whether he would be considered for it, and who would replace him if he left.

For his part, Lynch said he hadn't spoken recently with Biden or his team about the position, during a interview on WCVB's "On the Record" several weeks ago. But he did not say he would turn down the position, either. Lynch sits on a House committee that oversees the postal service, and has long been an advocate for the agency.

"None. Zero," Lynch said in reference to conversations about the role. "I have the job that I want right now. Look, I've got a district that is like heaven. I know the people, I know the towns, I know the cities, I know the elected officials, I know our issues. I'm in a good spot right now."

If Lynch were to be chosen and leave, it would likely spark a crowded primary for his House seat. A special election could draw many candidates because the condensed schedule would allow officials to run without giving up their existing seats. Potential candidates many expect would take a look at running include state Sen. Nick Collins and Boston City Councilors Michael Flaherty and Ed Flynn.

MOULTON TO TAKE PATERNITY LEAVE — Rep. Seth Moulton plans to take paternity leave later this month, he said during a reception for maternal health legislation on Monday evening.

Moulton and his wife, Liz Moulton, are expecting the birth of their second daughter in about a week. Moulton plans to take six weeks off, and will check in with staff during a weekly meeting. He'll be available for emergencies and the verdict in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, according to an aide.

"I am in a fortunate position when it comes to taking paternity leave. Many fathers, and frankly many mothers in America, don't have this option," Moulton said after the event.

Moulton and Rep. Ayanna Pressley attended a virtual reception for the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which was hosted by Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood. The package of bills aims to "end racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes, and achieve maternal health justice for Black women and all women and birthing people of color," according to Underwood's office.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.

TODAY — Former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial begins.

JOIN WEDNESDAY – A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW ON TRUMP'S SECOND IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: After weeks of tension following the January insurrection at the Capitol, all eyes are on the Senate as the second impeachment trial against former President Trump begins. Join Playbook co-author Rachael Bade for a discussion on the ins and outs of the historic proceedings with former Ambassador Norman Eisen, a senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution, and a former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee. What arguments will Trump's lawyers and House impeachment managers use? Where will this leave things on Capitol Hill? REGISTER HERE.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "Massachusetts reports 1,276 new COVID cases, 55 deaths as restaurants, gyms and museums raise capacity," by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: "State health officials reported another 1,276 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number of active cases to 58,439. Officials also announced another 55 COVID-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 14,753 in Massachusetts."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "Baker built a reputation as a managerial expert. The sluggish vaccine rollout is testing it," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker campaigned on his record of turning around Harvard Pilgrim Health Care more than a decade ago. He has touted retooling a porous state budget. He has kept a ball cap reading 'JUST FIX IT' on a shelf in his office. But that well-honed reputation for managerial prowess is now facing its biggest test: Mounting criticism of Massachusetts's rollout of life-saving coronavirus vaccines."

– "Charlie Baker to work with Arlington mom, programmer who built centralized coronavirus vaccine appointment website," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "Gov. Charlie Baker said he plans to work with an Arlington software developer who spent her maternity leave building a better online vaccination platform to improve the state's website. 'We have taken a look and we have reached out and we expect that sometime this week we'll talk to her,' Baker said of Athenahealth programmer Olivia Adams' website, macovidvaccines.com."

– "Neal touts economic 'stability' bill in appearance with Baker," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "Cash-strapped Massachusetts residents may need to hold on for at least another month until help comes from Washington. US Rep. Richard Neal, appearing at a State House briefing Monday afternoon with Gov. Charlie Baker, said the next federal COVID-19 relief package is expected to pass the House "in the second or third week of March.'"

– "'Shockingly Dysfunctional': Mass Unemployment System Leaves People Struggling Amid Pandemic Job Losses," by Gabrielle Emanuel, GBH News: "During the pandemic, Massachusetts has had among the highest unemployment rates in the country. But, experts say, that doesn't include a whole slew of people trying to get unemployment assistance who are inexplicably unable to access the system. Legal aid groups say this group is surprisingly large and increasingly desperate."

– "Hinds preps bill to revamp PILOT funding," by Bera Dunau, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "In the wake of a state report released in December outlining the unfairness of a reimbursement formula for a Payment In Lieu of Taxes program for state-owned land, Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, is preparing to file legislation to revamp the formula."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– "State about halfway through vaccinating 430,000 in 75+ group," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "Gov. Charlie Baker signaled Monday that he's in no rush to expand the pool of vaccine-eligible residents to people 65 and older or with at least two underlying health conditions, who would all be in the next group based on the state's updated vaccination plan."

– "More Than Half Of Mass. Corrections Workers Have Refused COVID Vaccine," by Jenifer B. McKim, GBH News: "More than half of workers in the state's Department of Correction— about 3,000 — have refused a coronavirus vaccine, according to state data. The workers are part of the more than 5,400 correctional personnel and contracted healthcare staff employed across the state prison system."

– "Another coder has built a COVID vaccine appointment website for Mass. residents," by Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe: "Olivia Adams, a local software developer on maternity leave, made national news for building a website to improve on the process for Massachusetts residents to get COVID-19 vaccine shots. Now, Adams is getting some friendly competition from a group of Boston-area volunteers who've built another alternative to the official government site."

– "US Navy veteran and his wife among hundreds who waited in cold for COVID vaccine at Eastfield Mall in Springfield," by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: "Hundreds of Massachusetts residents waited in below-freezing temperatures and snow outside the Eastfield Mall in Springfield to receive their dose of the Pfizer vaccine Monday. Eager to get their shot, people stood inches from one another with no hint of enforcing social distancing by staff at the site."

– "UMass Memorial opens vaccination site at Mercantile Center in Worcester," by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette: "After a month of planning, UMass Memorial Medical Center opened a vaccination site for UMass Memorial patients at the Mercantile Center on Monday. The site will initially only be open Monday through Friday to already-identified patients in the UMass Memorial system and to health care workers."

– "Mass vaccination site opens in Lowell, with seniors first in line," by Amy Sokolow, The Lowell Sun: "A mass vaccination site opened Monday at Lowell's Cross River Center, and it functioned like a well-oiled machine despite having just opened its doors."

– "Rausch bill would mandate COVID-19 testing site in Attleboro," by David Linton, Sun Chronicle: "Tucked in a bill proposed by state Sen. Becca Rausch to address racial and income disparities in the pandemic vaccination rollout is a mandate for a COVID-19 testing facility in Attleboro."

FROM THE HUB

– "Walsh allocates some police OT money to help 'first-generation' home buyers," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "Last summer, amid a police overtime scandal and calls to "defund" police following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the City Council agreed to cut the police overtime budget by $12 million and use that money instead to help address racial disparities in Boston."

– "Inside The Battle Over A New Women's Prison For Massachusetts," by Dan Atkinson, DigBoston: "For more than a year, the Massachusetts Department of Correction has been trying to build a new women's prison. And for more than a year, activists with Families for Justice as Healing, an organization focused on ending the incarceration of women and girls, have pushed back on the project, pointing out issues with how the state is trying to get it off the ground, and in the process leading to officials twice pulling plans after FJH criticized them as trying to circumvent public scrutiny."

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: "Andrea Campbell receives endorsements from Governors Councilor Eileen Duff and former State Representative Marty Walz," from the Campbell campaign: "Today, Councilor Andrea Campbell's campaign announced endorsements from Governor's Councilor Eileen Duff and former State Representative Marty Walz in her campaign for mayor of Boston."

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

– "T control board takes on its critics," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "The MBTA'S oversight board on Monday pushed back against relentless criticism from a host of critics for refusing to undo service cuts and for failing to move beyond what a Sunday Boston Globe editorial called 'the small-bore thinking of the past six years.'"

MEANWHILE ONLINE

– "Failed US Senate candidate's Twitter account suspended," The Associated Press: "Former U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai's Twitter account has been suspended. 'Account suspended. Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules,' his account read on Friday."

DAY IN COURT

– "Biden move to replace U.S. attorneys looms," by Josh Gerstein, POLITICO: "The Biden administration is preparing to remove nearly all the remaining federal prosecutors former President Donald Trump appointed across the country, while making accommodations to allow a couple handling highly sensitive investigations to continue with their work, a senior Justice Department official said Monday night."

– "Worcester voters, activists sue school committee over Voting Rights Act," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "Black and Latino voters and racial justice groups sued Massachusetts' second-largest city on Monday, alleging its system for electing Worcester School Committee members violates both the federal Voting Rights Act and the US Constitution."

DATELINE D.C.

– "House Democrats settle income debate for direct payments," by Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris, POLITICO: "House Democrats will move ahead with a coronavirus stimulus package that would keep the existing income limits for Americans who receive stimulus checks, while tightening eligibility for higher-earning Americans — a major win for progressives."

THE CLARK CAUCUS

– "Rep. Clark: 'We are at this place with impeachment ... to protect our democracy,'" Yahoo News: "Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) discusses the House impeachment trial beginning with a debate on constitutionality."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

– "Burning fossil fuels kills an estimated 350,000 Americans a year, including 7,600 in Massachusetts, study finds," by David Abel, Boston Globe: "Nearly 9 million people a year are dying as a result of the burning of fossil fuels, a study has found, roughly twice the previous estimate by the World Health Organization. In the United States, ingesting the fine particulate matter produced by burning fossil fuels kills an estimated 350,000 people a year, including more than 7,600 people in Massachusetts, according to the study by researchers at Harvard and other universities."

ABOVE THE FOLD

— Herald: "HERE WE GO AGAIN," "HOT SEAT," — Globe: "Trump's lawyers call trial 'theater,'" For Baker the fixer, a challenge like no other."

FROM THE 413

– "Latest legislative hearing on Holyoke Soldiers' Home COVID outbreak set for Tuesday," by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: "A 17-member Joint Special Legislative Oversight tasked with probing the COVID-19 outbreak at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke will host its sixth public hearing Tuesday. The hearings began in late October, four months after 76 veterans died of the virus and scores of residents and staff at the state-run home for veterans were sickened."

– "354 UMass Amherst students facing punishment for COVID misconduct," by Jim Russell, Springfield Republican: "University of Massachusetts Amherst officials said Monday they will punish up to 354 students for COVID-19 rule-breaking. This number includes up to 332 students housed on campus."

– "Thousands with OUI convictions to be offered new trials over unreliable breath tests," by Jacquelyn Voghel, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Thousands of people in Hampshire and Franklin counties who were convicted of drunken driving between 2011 and 2018 may soon be eligible for a second trial due to unreliable breath test results, the office of the Northwestern district attorney announced Monday."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "Crackdown on those living outside Framingham; only city residents will get COVID-19 vaccine this week," by Henry Schwan, MetroWest Daily News: "People 75 and older who don't live in Framingham will be excluded from getting a vaccination against COVID-19 during this Saturday's clinic at Joseph Keefe Technical High School, according to Kelly McFalls, the city's public information officer."

– "'This was a lifeline.' 62,000 Cape and Islands jobs saved with $585M in PPP loans," by Doug Fraser, Cape Cod Times: "Small Business Administration data shows that 7,568 Cape and Islands businesses received nearly $585 million from the first round of Paycheck Protection Program loans. The money helped protect more than 62,000 Cape and Islands jobs. Fifty-nine percent of the money, $345 million, went to loans greater than $150,000. The balance of the money went to 6,737 Cape businesses in loans of less than $150,000."

– "Quincy's vaccination site up and running, city preparing for larger roll out," by Mary Whitfill, The Patriot Ledger: "Nearly 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed to Quincy residents and employees since the city and Manet Community Health Center's vaccination site opened last week. Chris Walker, chief of staff to Mayor Thomas Koch, spoke to city councilors Monday about the city's vaccination site."

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY – to Attorney General Maura Healey, who turned 5-0 on Monday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Gail Huff and Audrey Scagnelli.

NEW EPISODE: LUCK OF THE DRAW – On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith and Stephanie Murray discuss the vaccine rollout, redistricting and new polling on remote, hybrid and in-person learning. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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