News : POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Progressives SPLIT in Boston mayor's race — MASK UP and VAX UP

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Progressives SPLIT in Boston mayor's race — MASK UP and VAX UP — LELLING talks ROLLINS

Jul 28, 2021

THE PROGRESSIVE DIVIDE — Members of the Jamaica Plain Progressives are torn over who to endorse in the Boston mayor's race.

The JPP steering committee is recommending an endorsement of Acting Mayor Kim Janey ahead of the September preliminary election, citing her work on transportation, housing assistance and other equity issues in her short tenure as acting mayor.

"This election is an epoch-making opportunity to continue building a citywide progressive justice movement, centering neighborhoods and communities historically excluded because of race, immigration status, and class," the steering committee wrote in an email to the larger group.

But not everyone in the group agrees, as was evident during the virtual meeting JPP held last night to discuss its endorsement process, which drew more than 100 people. One woman on the Zoom praised City Councilor Michelle Wu's "incredibly evolved policies" and said the four-term city councilor has the experience and the allies to implement them. Several expressed pain at having to choose between multiple accomplished candidates.

JPP's internal divide over whether to back Janey, Wu or City Councilor Andrea Campbell is indicative of the consequential choice facing progressive voters at the ballot box in just a few weeks.

Right now, Wu and Janey are the frontrunners in the polls. But vote-splitting among progressives could clear a path for more moderate City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George to clinch one of the top two spots to advance from the preliminary. And Essaibi George, a pro-public-safety candidate who's largely occupying the lane vacated by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, could pose a serious challenge to a progressive in the November election.

That prospect wasn't lost on the Zoom room. One woman worried that "splitting" the progressive vote by only putting organizing power behind Janey could mean Wu "does not even get into the final, and we get a less progressive candidate in the final who has more of a chance to win."

But unlike in local Democratic primaries past — in which progressives split the vote and a more moderate candidate emerged victorious — Boston progressives are likely to still have a standard-bearer to rally around come November.

"At least one of them will make it," said Jonathan Cohn of Progressive Massachusetts, the parent organization of JPP. Progressive Massachusetts doesn't endorse in municipal elections, leaving that up to its local chapters, though Cohn is backing Wu.

And ultimately the JPP steering committee's recommendation is just that — a recommendation. JPP members will now vote for who they want to endorse and whoever clears the 60% threshold will get the group's support. If no one breaks that threshold, JPP won't endorse.

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Covid's back, though it never really left.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Vaccine Equity Now!, a coalition of racial justice, civil rights and public health organizations, is calling on the Baker administration to resume reporting demographic data for hospitalizations as coronavirus cases rise and vaccinations lag in immigrant communities and in communities of color.

The state stopped reporting demographic data on its interactive dashboard earlier this month as coronavirus metrics improved, prompting concern from Vaccine Equity Now! and calls from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley to reconsider the change.

Vaccine Equity Now! — with the backing of Pressley, state Rep. Mindy Domb, state Sens. Sonia Chang-Díaz and Rebecca Rausch, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and other local leaders — is sending a letter to the Department of Public Health today urging the state to restart demographic data reporting by the end of the month to help address vaccination deficiencies and meet reporting mandates.

"Demographic data on COVID-19 hospitalization rates is essential for measuring the disparate impact the pandemic has had on BIPOC and immigrant communities and for crafting a targeted vaccination strategy that centers equity," Vaccine Equity Now! co-chairs Dr. Atyia Martin, Myran Parker-Brass and Carlene Pavlos said, adding that it's "alarming that the Baker administration has suddenly stopped reporting this data and not provided a thorough, public explanation for the decision or outlined a strategy to begin reporting the data again."

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish Thursday, July 29, and Friday, July 30. I'll be back in your inbox Monday, Aug. 2. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com.

TODAY — State Attorney General Maura Healey, state Sen. Brendan Crighton and state Rep. Frank Moran testify on their bill to ban competitive electric suppliers from signing up new individual residential customers at 10 a.m. Campbell attends a virtual Rising Black Boston coffee hour at noon. Boston mayoral candidates participate in a Boston Coalition for Homeless Individuals forum at 2:30 p.m. Janey joins city health chief Marty Martinez for the Boston Ryan White Planning Council's presentation of its HIV anti-stigma campaign at 4:30 p.m. on City Hall Plaza. Boston mayoral candidate John Barros hosts his third "Black and Brown men's roundtable" at 7:30 p.m. on his Facebook page. Rep. Jake Auchincloss is a guest on Stephen Colbert's "Tooning Out the News."

JOIN TODAY – A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMEN POWERING SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT: Covid-19 took a massive toll on the entertainment and sports industries over the past year and a half. As the summer movie season kicks into full gear, concerts make their way back and crowds fill sports stadiums, we look to the women powering these industries to return in full force. Join POLITICO Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a conversation with Kamala Avila-Salmon, head of Inclusive Content for Films at Lionsgate; Monica Dixon, president, External Affairs & chief administrative officer Monumental Sports; and Sandy Lighterman, Film & Entertainment commissioner, Miami Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment on lessons learned from the pandemic upheaval to these industries and what it means for the long haul. REGISTER HERE.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "New COVID cases in Massachusetts rose by at least 77% last week, data shows," by Noah R. Bombard, MassLive.com: "Updated data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released Tuesday shows that new cases rose by at least 77% last week over the previous week. The week beginning July 18 saw 3,217 new cases across the commonwealth compared to 1,821 the week before. … The state reported 657 new cases on Tuesday and 12 new COVID deaths."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "Charlie Baker administration pushes coronavirus relief to support jobless with unemployment expiring soon," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "Lawmakers have signaled they're in no rush to spend billions of federal coronavirus relief dollars on the table, but administration officials are sounding the alarm. Looming is a potentially devastating deadline as enhanced unemployment benefits afforded to those made jobless by the pandemic are set to expire Labor Day weekend."

– "Labor Lobbies Beacon Hill To Spend Federal Relief Funds On Low-Wage Workers," by Mike Deehan, GBH News: "...labor unions representing low wage workers, alongside other left-leaning community groups, told lawmakers they want to see retroactive hazard pay for front-line workers who put themselves in harm's way throughout the pandemic."

– "Baker official pitches housing plan to close racial homeownership gap," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "As lawmakers are determining how to spend $5.3 billion in federal money that the state will get from the American Rescue Plan Act, Baker administration officials are pushing their plan to spend $1 billion on housing programs as a way to help close that racial gap."

– "Democratic senators blast Charlie Baker over contracts with controversial consulting firm McKinsey," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "Two Democratic state senators are renewing calls for Gov. Charlie Baker to cut ties with consulting firm McKinsey & Company that earlier this year settled a $573 million lawsuit with the state for its role in the opioid crisis. … [state Sen. Diana DiZoglio] and Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, demanded Baker, Republican, 'stop wasting taxpayer dollars on a company that has a proven record of violating the public trust.'"

– "Massachusetts vaccine makers cite talent pipeline, childcare as biggest barriers to recruitment," by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: "As vaccine makers, including Pfizer and Moderna, have ramped up production to save millions of lives, they're still struggling to hire and retain workers. That was the focus with Legislative Manufacturing Caucus Co-Chairs Sen. Eric Lesser and Rep. Jeffrey Roy, and officials from MassBio on Tuesday."

– "Report Blames Monopolies, Laws for Digital Repair Woes," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service (paywall): "The report, released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, examined commonly encountered repair problems and concluded that each American family disposes an average of 176 pounds of electronic waste a year, and much of that waste could be avoided if a bill governing access to digital repair information were passed."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– "Here are the five Mass. counties where the new CDC indoor mask guidance applies," by Amanda Kaufman, Boston Globe: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday announced an update to its mask-wearing guidance, now suggesting that fully vaccinated people wear masks in indoor, public places in areas of the country with 'substantial and high' transmission. … There are five counties in Massachusetts that qualify..."

– More from POLITICO on the new CDC guidance and on the vaccine mandate President Joe Biden is considering for all federal workers.

– "Provincetown COVID cases continue to climb, positivity rate drops," by Cape Cod Times staff: "765 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported to the state Department of Public Health as part of the Provincetown cluster from the Fourth of July weekend, according to a press release from Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse. … 469 are Massachusetts residents, 199 of whom live in Provincetown. Three hospitalizations are linked to the cluster, and no reported deaths."

– More from the Boston Globe's Nick Stoico: "As Provincetown officials continue their fight to slow the virus amid a busy tourist season, other communities are also reporting alarming upticks in cases. On Monday, officials in Salem reported a 'troubling trend' of rising COVID-19 cases, about half of which were detected in vaccinated people, according to the city's Board of Health."

– "CDC's reversal on masks in schools triggers mixed reactions among Mass. families and educators," by Naomi Martin, James Vaznis and Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: "In an about-face from a few weeks ago, federal public health officials on Tuesday recommended that everyone in K-12 schools wear masks in the coming year, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, prompting mixed reactions of relief and alarm among families and educators in Massachusetts."

– Two coalitions of medical and public health experts sent letters to the governor and the education commissioner yesterday urging the state to mandate masks in schools for the new academic year, amplifying similar calls from Democratic lawmakers.

– "Here Are The Colleges Requiring Students, Staff To Get COVID-19 Vaccine," by Max Larkin, WBUR: "At least 65 of Massachusetts' 107 largest colleges and universities will require their students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campuses this fall."

– "With testing down, hard to know how much COVID is in Massachusetts," by Mike Beaudet, WCVB: "'We are absolutely undercounting cases of COVID as we have been through the entire pandemic and we may be undercounting even more now than we have been before,' said Dr. Stephen Kissler, a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health whose work focuses on trying to predict the spread of COVID cases."

WHAT CITY HALL IS READING

– "Memo orders vaccination and test requirement for Boston City Council staff," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "To combat a resurgent novel coronavirus, Boston City Council President Pro Tempore Matt O'Malley is requiring all in-person council staff to show proof of vaccination or a weekly COVID-19 test starting Aug. 30, and political pressure continues to mount on Acting Mayor Kim Janey to issue a similar mandate for the city government's entire 18,000-strong workforce."

– "Boston mayoral candidates call for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for city workers," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "John Barros and Andrea Campbell called on Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who is also running for a full term, to require the City of Boston's roughly 18,000 employees to be vaccinated or receive weekly COVID-19 testing … Essaibi George's campaign said the city councilor agrees with the push for vaccine requirement, while Wu said the mandate should be paired with her proposal to provide additional sick days for city workers to take after getting their shots."

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo and his father, Suffolk County Register of Probate Felix D. Arroyo are endorsing David Halbert for Boston City Council at-large, per Halbert's campaign. "David is a dedicated public servant who I know will strive to ensure Boston is a city where everyone can thrive," the younger Arroyo said in a statement.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts and IBEW Local 103 are endorsing Erin Murphy for Boston City Council at-large, per her campaign. "Erin shares our values and believes in our mission to provide Greater Boston's developers with the best trained, most efficient, safest electricians and telecommunications specialists," IBEW Local 103's Lou Antonellis said in a statement.

– More on SEIU Local 888 endorsing Janey: "Boston workers union that filed complaint against Kim Janey last month endorses her," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Janey agreed to various changes aimed at helping out in particular members who had young children, elderly relatives and autoimmune issues. And that helped win the unions' blessing, [SEIU 888 President Tom McKeever] said. 'She was very amenable to working with us…'"

– "Gun violence is up across the country. It's changing mayoral politics," by Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: "Homicides and shootings are up and the number of cops is down in cities from Atlanta to Seattle. Crime, as a result, is dominating the discourse in mayoral races — driving candidates to talk about beefing up police patrols and bolstering depleted departments' ranks. ... Boston may be somewhat of an outlier among the nation's major cities, but the mayoral candidates' messages mirror those emanating from New York, Seattle and Atlanta..."

ROLLINS REPORT

– "Senate Likely To Confirm Rollins As Massachusetts U.S. Attorney," by Deborah Becker, WBUR: "University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias says a rejection is unlikely because [Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins] was chosen based on recommendations from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey. In addition, the Senate doesn't typically even hold hearings on U.S. attorney nominations, instead giving more scrutiny to cabinet members and other nominees."

– "Lelling: Don't necessarily expect big changes from Rachael Rollins as U.S. Attorney," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Don't expect sweeping changes from a Rachael Rollins U.S. Attorney tenure, her predecessor predicted — but do watch for how she handles tricky hot-button issues like supervised injection sites if she does get confirmed into the big job."

– That was fast: "Dan Mulhern should be Suffolk County's next DA," by Adrian Walker, Boston Globe: "If you know next to nothing about [Assistant District Attorney Daniel Mulhern], that's not an accident. Mulhern, 53, has made a point of shunning public notice. In nearly two decades of public service, he's always operated outside the limelight, though very effectively."

FROM THE DELEGATION

– "Student loan debt: Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley again urge President Joe Biden to extend payment pause, cancel $50K in debt," by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: "'Tick tock, tick tock, Mr. President.' That's Sen. Elizabeth Warren's message to President Joe Biden on the federal government's pause on student loan payments, which is set to expire in September. … The Democrats, following up on a letter sent to the White House last month, again urged Biden to extend the pause past its September cutoff to at least March 31, 2022."

DATELINE D.C.

– "'A medieval battle': Officers reveal horrors they faced defending Capitol on Jan. 6," by Nicholas Wu, POLITICO: "What officers were subjected to resembled 'a medieval battle,' [Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell] said. 'I could feel myself losing oxygen' and 'thinking to myself this is how I'm going to die' as he was crushed by rioters."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

– "Mass. Towns Seek Permission to Lead on Emission Cuts," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service (paywall): "Three bills before the Municipalities and Regional Government Committee, considered during a Zoom hearing, would prohibit fossil-fuel infrastructure in new buildings or those undergoing major renovations in Brookline, Lexington and Arlington. Rep. Tami Gouveia and Sen. Jamie Eldridge have also filed bills that would allow municipalities interested in pursuing such policies to do so without first receiving legislative approval."

FROM THE 413

– "No ranked choice voting in Amherst this year," by Jim Russell, Springfield Republican: "With no legislative approval for ranked choice voting — and the municipal election a little more than three months from now — this methodology to calculate results will not be used in town on Nov. 2."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "Report: Health plans' profits grew during pandemic," by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Eagle-Tribune: "Collectively, ten of the state's largest health plans reported $637 million in net income in the fiscal year that ended June 2020 -- a roughly 98% increase over the previous fiscal year, according to the report from the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association. "

– "New Bedford eviction actions mount as legal services languish," by Will Sennott, New Bedford Light: "When it comes to evictions, Bristol County stands out from the rest of Massachusetts for two reasons: It has the highest number of eviction executions, and it is the only county without a special legal services program to assist tenants and landlords during the pandemic. Housing advocates say the double distinction is stoking a mounting 'crisis' that threatens to accelerate when the federal moratorium on evictions expires this week."

TRANSITIONS – Brad Kennedy, a Sen. Ed Markey campaign alum, is now national finance director for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). Steph Solis has joined Boston Business Journal as digital editor. Jennifer Grace Miller, former Massachusetts Senate chief legal counsel, has joined Hemenway and Barnes LLP as co-chair of the government and election law practice. Jamey Tesler drops "acting" from his title of state transportation secretary.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Ayla Brown and to retired Daily Hampshire Gazette editor Stanley Moulton.

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