News: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: EYES on ROLLINS, and her DA seat — Boston mayor’s race means council SHAKEUP — Somerville KERFUFFLE — Nurses’ strike 2ND LONGEST in state history

Monday, June 21, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: EYES on ROLLINS, and her DA seat — Boston mayor’s race means council SHAKEUP — Somerville KERFUFFLE — Nurses’ strike 2ND LONGEST in state history

Jun 21, 2021

EYES ON ROLLINS, AND HER SEAT — Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins is one of three people still in the mix to be the next U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts — and the list of names being floated as her possible replacements is growing.

Rollins delivered the search update herself during a pre-taped interview that aired Sunday on WCVB's "On the Record."

"I am one of three candidates that is being considered and I'm so humbled and honored to be in that group," Rollins said.

A presidential nomination to the position could be coming later this month or early next month, according to a source familiar with the process. Rollins is a former assistant U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, and the two other finalists she mentioned currently work for the office: Jennifer Serafyn, who leads the civil rights unit, and Deepika Bains Shukla, who heads the Springfield division.

Should Rollins get the call — and be confirmed by the U.S. Senate — GOP Gov. Charlie Baker would be able to appoint a replacement to serve out the remainder of her term as Suffolk DA. The seat is next up for election in 2022.

Rollins has advocated for Daniel Mulhern, her first assistant district attorney and a lifelong Suffolk County resident, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty is also being floated. The South Boston Democrat endorsed Baker in 2014, and appointing Flaherty could score the Republican governor some political points in the neighborhood should he run for a third term.

Linda Champion, an assistant general counsel in the state Department of Industrial Accidents who finished last in the five-way Democratic primary for Suffolk DA that Rollins won in 2018, said she's received "a number of calls" encouraging her to be open to an appointment or running for the seat again. She said she's "open" to those possibilities.

Other names that've been mentioned include John Pappas, who Baker tapped to fill out the rest of former Suffolk DA Dan Conley's term before Rollins took over, and Rahsaan Hall, a former Suffolk assistant district attorney who now works at the ACLU of Massachusetts. Neither could be reached for comment Sunday.

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Somerville politics is in turmoil.

Influential progressive advocacy group Our Revolution Somerville — an offshoot of the larger Sen. Bernie Sanders-inspired movement — is at the center of the still-developing situation.

Four first-time Somerville City Council candidates — at-large hopeful Tracey Leah Pratt and ward candidates Beatriz Gómez Mouakad, Judy Pineda Neufeld and Stephenson Aman — claim ORS denied Aman, a youth and disabilities advocate from a family of Haitian immigrants, access to a forum and the local group's endorsement process for missing a candidate questionnaire deadline — despite making "accommodations" for other candidate forums past. They also said a moderator mispronounced or omitted parts of Pineda Neufeld's and Gómez Mouakad's names at a recent forum.

The candidates of color called on ORS to "immediately suspend its political activities" until it addressed the issues. Mayoral candidates Katjana Ballantyne and Mary Cassesso then withdrew from a planned ORS mayoral forum Sunday evening. Candidate Will Mbah urged ORS to delay the forum, which was ultimately canceled, and be transparent about its dealings with Aman.

ORS apologized for the volunteer moderator who mishandled the candidates' names in a statement issued shortly before midnight.

The group also defended its actions with Aman, saying ORS emailed him the candidate questionnaire five times between March and June. Aman first responded two days after the June deadline and was granted a two-day extension, but did not submit his questionnaire until several days later, ORS said.

"We regret that Mr. Aman did not meet the deadline to apply for our endorsement and was therefore not invited to participate in the candidate forum," ORS said. "We are still listening to feedback about how to move forward as an organization."

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TODAY — Rep. Richard Neal celebrates Child Tax Credit Awareness Day in Springfield at 10 a.m. State Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Antonio Cabral kick off their Gateway Cities Caucus tour with stops at Malden City Hall at 10 a.m., Revere at noon and Chelsea City Hall at 1:30 p.m. Raise Up Massachusetts hosts the Boston launch of its Fair Share Amendment campaign outside the Bolling Building at 5 p.m. 1st Congressional District residents can testify at the Legislature's virtual hearing on redistricting at 6 p.m. ADL New England and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston present a Boston Jewish Community Virtual Mayoral Candidate Forum at 7 p.m.

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "Massachusetts reports 41 new COVID cases, 5 deaths, 16,346 more people fully vaccinated," by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: "Massachusetts public health officials on Sunday reported 41 new COVID-19 cases and five more deaths as the state continues to see active cases decline in recent months."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "Colleges Fight Attempts To Stop Them From Withholding Transcripts Over Unpaid Bills," by Kirk Carapezza and Jon Marcus, GBH News: "... a state higher education association [is] lobbying against legislation in Massachusetts that would end the practice of withholding transcripts — one of several such measures nationwide that colleges are quietly trying to water down or block."

– "Mass. DAs have stopped using breathalyzer tests as evidence. Charlie Baker's administration says they're still reliable," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "The majority of district attorneys in Massachusetts have stopped using breathalyzer tests in drunk driving cases, amid concerns about the devices' reliability and use by uncertified operators. However, Gov. Charlie Baker's administration says the devices remain reliable."

– "Coalition says proposed voc school admission changes don't go far enough," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "Proposed changes to vocational school admission policies ... don't go nearly far enough toward ensuring access to the schools for all students, says a coalition of civil rights, education, and community groups. The Vocational Education Justice Coalition is calling on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to make changes to the proposed regulations when the new policies are brought for a vote at its monthly meeting [Tuesday]."

– "Pace of Mass. Job Gains Continued to Slow During May," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): "Massachusetts employers added 9,200 jobs in May and the statewide unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.1 percent, labor officials announced Friday. The pace of job gains slowed from the revised 10,200 positions businesses added in April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures cited by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development."

– ICYMI: "Baker, at odds with Legislature, looks to spend half of $5b stimulus windfall with a focus on housing," by Matt Stout and Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker on Thursday laid out his own plans for spending billions in new federal stimulus money, offering a rebuke of state lawmakers intent on gaining control over the funding bonanza from Washington."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– "Local officials say Baker is failing to invest in state's broken public health system," by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: "The state's threadbare network of local health departments was simply overmatched by COVID-19 and the directors say a massive infusion of money is needed to not only be ready for the next pandemic, but to provide basic disease prevention services more equally across the state."

– Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday he doesn't think children need to wear masks in summer school and that school this fall should be "business as usual" after a year-plus of pandemic disruptions. But: "Massachusetts education commissioner clarifies mask guidelines for summer school," by WCVB: "Schools are still required to have students and unvaccinated educators wear masks indoors and on buses while maintaining other DESE health and safety guidelines for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year. For this year's summer school programs, masking and other guidance are encouraged but not required."

WHAT CITY HALL IS READING

– "Kim Janey says she's confident that Boston budget will pass June 30 City Council vote," by Amy Sokolow and Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Some in City Hall speculate this could be a tight vote, as three of the 12 active councilors are running against Janey for mayor — Michelle Wu, Annissa Essaibi-George and Andrea Campbell — and others have taken issue with elements of the budget."

– "Boston city workers union files complaint over city-mandated return to work," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "A Boston city employees union has filed an unfair labor practices claim against Acting Mayor Kim Janey's administration, saying that the city refused to 'bargain in good faith' as Janey 'unilaterally' called them all back to work in person."

– "Arcane voting maps leave some Boston voters waiting in long lines while others zip through," by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: "...a century-old exemption in state law allows Boston to skip [the traditional redistricting] process, forcing residents of the city's fastest-growing neighborhoods, many of them people of color, to crowd into a single polling place while some of their peers in wealthy neighborhoods enjoy shorter waits. … City officials want to redraw some of the lines this year. But at best, the proposal under consideration would amount to a one-time addition of new polling places in some of the city's most crowded precincts…"

FROM THE HUB

– "Rachael Rollins takes jab at Marty Walsh over the Dennis White police scandal," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins is calling out former Mayor Martin Walsh about his last-minute decision to hire now ex-Police Commissioner Dennis White, saying Walsh either knew about the domestic violence allegations against him 'and he's lying, or he didn't know about it,' and was a terrible manager."

– "Boston Scraps Plan To Open Virtual School This Fall," by Meg Woolhouse, GBH News: "Boston officials have changed course, saying they will not open a virtual school in the fall, a choice that was popular among some Black and Latino families."

– "Black Boston leaders call for 'summer of peace' amid concerns of a 'hostile' season," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Boston clergy and area Black fathers are calling for 1,000 churches across the country to put boots on the ground for a 'summer of peace' as many worry about a 'hostile' summer on the way."

– "Juneteenth Flag Flies Over Carson Beach, Once A Symbol Of Boston Racism," by By Lex Weaver, Taylor Blackley and Avantika Panda, The Scope: Boston/GBH News: "Forty-six years ago, Carson Beach became a symbol of racial segregation in Boston, engulfed in a race riot. Saturday, celebrants raised the Juneteenth flag there to honor the newly established federal holiday recognizing the end of Black enslavement after the Civil War." More on Juneteenth celebrations from NBC 10 Boston's Mary Markos, Kwani A. Lunis and Shira Stoll, and the Boston Herald's Amy Sokolow.

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Boston City Councilor and mayoral candidate Michelle Wu has been endorsed by the MBTA Inspectors Union Local 600, per Wu's campaign. "As essential frontline workers of the MBTA, we recognize your dedication and commitment to making the MBTA a world class public transit system," the union said in a letter to Wu.

– "The Boston mayoral race's unintended consequence: a City Council shakeup," by Jasper Goodman, Boston Globe: "With more than one-third of the council running to replace former mayor Martin J. Walsh in the city's top post, the body is in line for the most turnover it has seen in a single election since 1993."

– "What would each of the Boston mayoral candidates do about how expensive it is to live in the city?" by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The Herald asked each of the Boston mayoral candidate the open-ended question of how they would look to make the city more affordable for the average resident."

– "Boston mayoral candidates weigh in on elected vs. appointed school committee," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "State Rep. Jon Santiago held a press conference Thursday morning in which he called to change the school committee to fully elected by residents, as opposed to the mayor-appointed board it is right now. … Santiago is the only candidate pushing for a fully elected school committee, though the other candidates each have their own brand of reform for the committee."

– "'We have failed everyone down here': For Boston's mayoral rivals, 'Mass. and Cass' becomes a campaign issue," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "Now it has emerged as a central issue in the mayoral race, with multiple major candidates releasing plans that would dedicate still more resources — along with other tactics — to resolving the opioid and homelessness crises that have only intensified during the pandemic."

– "Kim Janey, Michelle Wu focus political messaging on themes of 'joy' and 'play'," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "...that unusual type of political messaging with a focus on plain old happiness is what a couple of the top-polling candidates in the mayoral race are selling as the city emerges from under the coronavirus pandemic: Acting Mayor Kim Janey with her 'joy agenda' and City Councilor Michelle Wu with calls for a 'summer of play.'"

PARTY POLITICS

– Francisco Urena, the former secretary of veterans services who was asked by the Baker administration to resign amid fallout from the deadly Holyoke Soldiers' Home coronavirus outbreak, will now help lead the Massachusetts GOP Veterans Coalition.

The announcement from MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons came after weeks of drama that's roiled the party, largely stemming from Lyons' refusal to make a state committeewoman resign over her anti-gay remarks. And it dropped the same day as the MassGOP fundraiser that was canceled after headliner Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) pulled out over the intraparty strife.

But Urena told me "this is bigger than any one individual." He wants to see his fellow veterans "organized, mentored and coached for public office by their peers, and not politicians."

FROM THE DELEGATION

– "Rep. Jim McGovern: Republicans Who Voted Against Gold Medals For Police Protecting Capitol During Riots Are 'Cowards'," by Jon Keller, WBZ: "Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern said 21 House Republicans are 'cowards' for voting against a measure to award four medals of honor to officers who protected the Capitol during the January 6 riots."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

– "Environmental League targets muni light plants," by Meg McIntyre, CommonWealth Magazine: "In the 41 Bay State communities that own and operate their own energy utilities through municipal light plants, it's not uncommon for light board elections to go uncontested. … The Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund, which has endorsed two of the hopefuls running in Marblehead this year, is trying to change that."

– "Heat waves are becoming more common in New England. These four charts show the damage inflicted by the most recent one," by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe: "...in New England's heat wave early this month — five days of 90 degree-plus heat, the longest June heat wave in nearly a century — peak electricity demand from air conditioning put 36 million extra pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."

FROM THE 413

– "Northampton's FY 2022 budget passes City Council, paves way for police funding hike and creation of new agency of unarmed emergency responders," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "The Northampton City Council late Thursday approved the core of the mayor's proposed fiscal 2022 budget, a 189-page document that hikes up the police department's budget by nearly 3% while also providing funds for a new department of unarmed peer responders that would shift certain emergency responsibilities away from law enforcement."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "St. Vincent Hospital nurses strike officially second longest in state history," by Richard Duckett, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: "Sunday marked the 105th day of the nurses strike at St. Vincent Hospital, making it the second longest nurses strike in state history, and the longest nationally in more than a decade, according to the Massachusetts Nursing Association. The main issue between the striking nurses and Tenet Healthcare of Dallas, which owns and operates St. Vincent Hospital, continues to be nurse-to patient staffing levels."

– "Black Newton Firefighter Sues City Over Racist Comments," by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: "A Black Newton firefighter is suing the city for creating a hostile work environment. In a lawsuit filed this week in Middlesex Superior Court, Lee Gilliam said his fellow firefighters made derogatory comments about Black people and criticized him when he complained."

THE NATIONAL TAKE

– "Justice Breyer, under pressure from left to retire, takes the long view," by Jazmine Ulloa, Boston Globe: "If anyone is built to withstand the pressure, it is Breyer, who has given no indication he plans to retire when the Supreme Court's term ends in the next few weeks."

– "How Republicans Became the 'Barstool' Party," by Derek Robertson, POLITICO: "Earlier this year, when Echelon Insights released its way-too-early poll of voters' preferences for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, political wonks could be forgiven for having to Google the name at the bottom of the list next to Sen. Josh Hawley: somebody called 'Portnoy,' polling at zero percent."

SPOTTED – Sen. Joe Manchin joining Gov. Charlie Baker at the unveiling of Celtics legend Bob Cousy's statue in Worcester Friday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Stephanie Hinten and Rick Cappellazzo, who celebrated Friday; DPH Media Relations Director Ann Scales, Sen. Ed Markey campaign alum Liz Vlock and HubSpot's Katie Burke, who celebrated Saturday; Mark Gardner, the Eagle-Tribune's Breanna Edelstein, Tom Tripicco, Sydney Asbury, principal of DNM Solutions and Anastasia Nicolaou, government affairs associate at NAIOP, who celebrated Sunday; and to former state Rep. James Dwyer and Mason Reynolds, who celebrate today.

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