News : POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The sharpest and scrappiest debate

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The sharpest and scrappiest debate

Oct 26, 2021

SO MUCH FOR 'SISTERS IN SERVICE' — Boston mayoral rivals and City Council colleagues Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George saved their sharpest and scrappiest debate for last.

They clashed on climate and affordable housing — and that was before the knives really came out over how best to tackle the worsening public health crisis at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.

For those still trying to make up their minds on who to vote for, the surface-level differences between the candidates were clear. Wu wants rent control; Essaibi George doesn't. Wu wants ferry service to Long Island as the city looks to reestablish a recovery campus there to help with Mass and Cass; Essaibi George wants to rebuild the demolished bridge to the island — and said Wu "doesn't truly understand the crisis that is Mass and Cass" because she rejected the bridge as a near-term option.

City Councilor Andrea Campbell , the third-place finisher in the preliminary election who's yet to endorse in the general, told me she came away from the third and final debate still wanting more specifics about both candidates' plans.

While the lengthy back-and-forth over Mass and Cass provided Campbell some key insights — Campbell, for instance, wants ferry service to help reactivate Long Island — she said she's yet to see the candidates adequately address her concerns with the Boston Public Schools, from equity in school assignments to closing achievement gaps. And policing reform, one of her signature issues, didn't feature in last night's debate.

"These are the things that everyone should be asking the candidates for substance on, because I find if you don't really get that beforehand, it's really difficult to then hold someone accountable when they get into the office," Campbell said.

Campbell's had "several conversations" with Wu and Essaibi George (she still serves on the City Council with them) and acknowledges that the chasm between herself and Essaibi George on policing reform isn't likely to close. Campbell was "happy to hear" Wu say at a recent forum that one of her first hires would be a "Mass and Cass chief," but she's still looking for more specifics on Wu's short-term plans for the troubled area.

Campbell's not alone — both in not endorsing yet, and in wanting more substance from the candidates. Time's running out for Wu and particularly Essaibi George, who's down by at least two dozen points in recent polls, to sway those still on the sidelines with early voting underway and Election Day now just a week away.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Stay dry!

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker appears on GBH News' "Boston Public Radio" at 12:30 p.m. and participates in MassBioEd's 6^th Annual Champions of Biotechnology Education Awards Reception at 6:15 p.m. at the UMass Club. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and administration officials make affordable housing tour stops in Attleboro and Taunton beginning at 10:30 a.m. Rep. Jim McGovern holds a 2:30 p.m. D.C. press conference on a bill that would convene the first White House conference nutrition and hunger in over 50 years. State Attorney General Maura Healey and local activists host "Addressing Hate in Our Communities" at 3:30 p.m. Wu holds a press conference at 12:30 p.m. at her Jamaica Plain campaign office. Wu and Essaibi George appear on NBC10 Boston for a "Final Word" mayoral forum at 7 p.m.

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

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "Massachusetts reports 3,173 coronavirus cases over the weekend, positive test rate stays lower," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "The three-day total of 3,173 cases — a daily average of 1,058 infections — was similar to last weekend's daily average of 938 cases when there was a significant reporting delay in the data. The previous weekend's daily average was 1,117 cases."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "Mass. House leaders propose up to $2,000 for low-income workers who showed up in person during pandemic state of emergency," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Top Massachusetts lawmakers on Monday offered a sweeping plan for spending $3.65 billion in federal stimulus money and state surplus funds, including to set aside a half-billion dollars for bonuses to essential workers, funnel hundreds of millions of dollars toward struggling hospitals, and commit $600 million to help spur more housing. The proposal unveiled by House leaders uses, for now, about $2.5 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and another $1.15 billion from a state surplus to buttress an array of programs affected and priorities amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic."

– The House bill splits spending into six categories, with more than $750 million apiece for health and human services, workforce training and economic development, $600 million for housing, $350 million for environment and climate change mitigation, and $265 million on education. Within that, there's a $500 million program to pay bonuses between $500 and $2,000 to low-income workers who toiled in person through the pandemic, CommonWealth Magazine's Shira Schoenberg reports.

In the interest of equity and accountability, the Inspector General's office would also get $5 million to create a public website to track where the money is being spent and the number of projects being awarded to minority-owned businesses and organizations.

Gov. Charlie Baker said he's "pleased" to see lawmakers get moving on a spending bill, but that the "clock's going to be ticking between now and the end of the formal session" to get it done. House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz told reporters he and his Senate counterpart will "try to get something done as quickly as possible." Legislative leaders previously set a pre-Thanksgiving target to get a spending bill to Baker's desk.

– "Baker signs bill prohibiting 'meal-shaming' in schools," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "The practice of 'meal-shaming,' drawing attention to a student whose family owes money for school meals, is a thing of the past, after Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law prohibiting the practice in Massachusetts."

– "Lawmakers ride buses to promote bill allowing access to medical abortion on campus," by Aidan Poole, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Three state representatives and college students rode public buses around the state Monday in support of a bill to make medical abortions available at public universities in Massachusetts. … Since many students don't have a car on campus, [state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa] explained, these round-trip bus rides can last hours and make students miss classes."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– "Massachusetts state troopers union warns of 'public safety crisis' fueled by understaffing," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "State troopers took to social media to warn of a growing 'public safety crisis' fueled by a chronic 'shortage' of police available to staff shifts — something Gov. Charlie Baker's administration flatly denied."

– "New research shows how and when COVID-19 first spread to Massachusetts," by Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts had the third-highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the United States by July of last year, according to a Northeastern University study that modeled how the coronavirus emerged on the nation's coasts but spread most rapidly in the Northeast in the first wave."

FROM THE HUB

– "Boston begins clearing homeless camp at Mass and Cass ahead of strong nor'easter that could blow over tents," by Meghan Ottolini and Matt Stone, Boston Herald: "City officials clad in yellow raincoats began going tent to tent Monday morning at Mass and Cass, handing out storage bins and preparing to clear out the sprawling homeless encampment that has grown into an open-air drug market. … Lynn resident Tasha Moncrief on Monday drove down to Southampton Street to help her 28-year-old son, Anthony Morris, move off the Mile. 'I feel like it's an emergency. I felt like, if I didn't come down here, I was going to have a dead child,' she said."

– The Boston Globe's Tonya Alanez and Danny McDonald report that the "Southampton Street block targeted for cleanup Monday abutted a food distribution company scheduled to get new lighting," according to city officials.

– More from the Herald's Erin Tiernan: "Charlie Baker: 'No one thing' will fix crisis at Mass. and Cass."

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– "In Final Debate, Boston Mayoral Candidates Wu And Essaibi George Clash Over Mass And Cass," by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: "At least 3,300 early votes had already been cast when Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George faced off in a final intense debate Monday night. Boston's two mayoral candidates entered the last week of the campaign sparring over the city's ballooning tent city in and around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, or Mass and Cass, where crises of homelessness and substance abuse collide."

– "Former commissioner Gross didn't vote in mayoral prelim," by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: "William Gross, the former Boston police commissioner backing Annissa Essaibi George's mayoral campaign with an endorsement and his own super PAC, took to television in the days leading up to the September preliminary. Looking at the camera and wearing a light hat and a dark suit, a smiling Gross said, 'On Tuesday, September 14, I'm voting for Annissa Essaibi George for mayor of Boston.' But elections department records show Gross did not vote in the preliminary [ due to an address issue on his driver's license]."

– "Black Bostonians Fled To Atlanta To Escape Racism. They're Not Coming Back, No Matter Who's Elected Mayor," by Phillip Martin, GBH News: "Boston's unwelcoming racial climate figured to some extent in the decision of five former residents who repaired to Atlanta, based on their interviews with GBH News in October. With Boston about to elect its first mayor of color, the Black former Bostonians were asked if that historic development has changed their minds about the city they left behind. Not much or at all, they replied."

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Former BPD commissioner William Gross has endorsed Bridget Nee-Walsh for Boston City Council at-large, per her campaign.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Boston City Council at-large candidate Erin Murphy has been endorsed by the Ward 6, 7 and 16 Democratic committees, per her campaign.

– EYES EMOJI from the opinion pages: "Michelle Wu so confident heading into final week she requests transition office space," by Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald: "Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu, riding high in the polls, is so confident of her victory next week that her campaign has requested transition office space and police details for after Election Day, sources say. Wu's campaign and representatives did not respond to requests for comment."

DAY IN COURT

– "Gender bias trial targeting BPD captain, city to begin in federal court," by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: "Unfolding as the city prepares to elect its first female mayor on Nov. 2, the gender discrimination trial will examine the work experience of a high-ranking female officer in Boston's male-dominated police force. The trial before US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin is expected to last three to four weeks."

– "West Springfield trucking company president to plead guilty to falsifying safety documents following deaths of seven bikers in New Hampshire," by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: "The president of a West Springfield trucking company implicated in the 2019 crash that took the lives of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire will plead guilty Tuesday to falsifying safety records."

– "The head nurse at a Pittsfield nursing home was fired amid a COVID-19 outbreak. She says it was retaliation for highlighting staffing gaps," by Heather Bellow, Berkshire Eagle: "The former head nurse at Springside Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center claims she was fired after blowing the whistle on inadequate staffing during a COVID-19 outbreak last winter that prompted the state to send in the National Guard."

FROM THE DELEGATION

– "'Political momentum has been developing': US Rep. Richard Neal sees President Joe Biden getting spending plans in place before climate summit," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "President Joe Biden should have his long-sought deal on a comprehensive budget package before he leaves at the end of the week for a climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield."

DATELINE D.C.

– "Vote fight draws Kennedy, MLK kin," by Stef W. Kight, Axios: "Martin Luther King III, Joe Kennedy III and other prominent figures have raised more than $1 million from small, daily donations to fight voting restrictions in a handful of Republican-controlled states."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

– "Methane emissions in eastern Mass. are 6 times higher than state estimates, study says," by Barbara Moran, WBUR: "A new study finds that emissions of methane — a potent greenhouse gas — from natural gas infrastructure in eastern Massachusetts are about six times higher than state estimates. The study also reports that methane emissions have not decreased over the past eight years, despite state efforts to fix leaks."

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS ROUNDUP

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: State Senate candidate Lydia Edwards, a Boston city councilor, has been endorsed by Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon, former mayor and Councilor Denise Simmons, former mayor and Councilor Marc McGovern, Councilor Patricia Nolan and Councilor Dennis Carlon, per her campaign.

– NEW: Sen. Ed Markey has endorsed Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn in her reelection bid, per her campaign.

FROM THE 413

– "Amid town hall turnover, Clarksburg's Select Board has one member left," by Greta Jochem, Berkshire Eagle: "The board of one won't be in a position to fill other town staff positions, including that of the recently departed town administrator, until at least December. That's when it is set to gain a member, according to Danielle Luchi, the lone official on the town's top board. … 'I'm crossing my fingers that nothing happens between now and then,' Luchi said. 'I don't want to be the only person making decisions.'"

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "Melrose Schools Ditching Halloween, Spooking Parents Across City," by Mike Carraggi, Patch: "In a letter Friday to the school community, Superintendent Julie Kukenberger confirmed the rumors that had been bubbling like witch's brew: The district will no longer be celebrating Halloween. 'Over the past several years, MPS has worked to deemphasize Halloween and shift our focus toward community building through fall celebrations,' Kukenberger wrote."

– "Concord-Carlisle High School teacher placed on leave for allegedly using racial slur," by Emily Sweeney, Boston Globe: "Laurie Hunter, superintendent of Concord Public Schools and the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District, said Sunday that school officials learned that the faculty member, while coaching in another school district, allegedly 'used the N-word while addressing student-athletes on Friday night following a game.'"

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