News: Bero plays his hand

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Bero plays his hand

Jun 02, 2022

EXCLUSIVE: BERO'S BALLOT ACCESS PUSH — Democratic lieutenant governor hopeful Bret Bero has a plan to get everyone on the primary ballot — regardless of whether they get the 15 percent support needed from convention delegates.

Bero supporters plan to make a motion at this weekend's Democratic convention to allow all the party's statewide office-seekers to proceed to the ballot. Convention delegates would then vote on which candidates, if any, to endorse.

There's just one problem: Bero doesn't believe his plan will work. That's because if only one person objects during the voice vote, the motion fails.

"I know it's not going to succeed. But I think the symbolism of it is incredibly important," Bero told Playbook. "The Democratic Party should be promoting choice and options to voters."

With five candidates running for lieutenant governor, it's likely that at least one won't make the cut if the 15-percent rule holds. Does Bero, who's been left out of two primary polls and has largely self-funded his campaign, think he'll cross that threshold?

"I'm close," he said. "The vast majority [of delegates] tell us they're going to make a decision in the hall based on the videos and the speeches. It's up to me in my speech to get them to understand why they should put me on the ballot."

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Massachusetts represents one of Democrats' best chances to flip a governor's seat this year. Now the Democratic National Committee is investing in the Bay State to help make that happen.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The DNC is providing funding for MassDems to hire an organizing director to build out its "Blueprint to '22" voter-mobilization program and ensure coordinated voter engagement efforts across campaigns at all levels.

"It's time for Democrats to take back the corner office in Massachusetts and to keep building on our wins up and down the ticket," DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. "A strong organizing program will be critical to doing just that."

Massachusetts is one of 40 states to receive program-specific grant funding this cycle. MassDems Chair Gus Bickford, in a statement, called the additional resources "key to organizing and enhancing" the state party's electoral efforts.

TODAY — Acting Gov. Karyn Polito makes a grant announcement at 12:30 p.m. at Taunton City Hall and discusses the administration's FORWARD legislation at 2:30 p.m. at Plymouth Harbor. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends a Chinatown coffee hour at 9:30 a.m. Wu and HHS Sec. Marylou Sudders speak at a J.J. Carroll apartments groundbreaking event at 11 a.m. Wu announces new open space initiatives at 1 p.m. at the Mary E Curley School. State Rep. Adrian Madaro joins MASSPIRG to renew the call for Right to Repair at 10 a.m. outside the State House.

OFFICE HOURS — I'm holding my inaugural Playbook office hours today! Come join me outside the Ashburton Entrance of the State House from 3 to 5 p.m. to talk all things #mapoli. Can't make it then? Not in Boston? I'll be doing more this summer. Email me and let's set one up: lkashinsky@politico.com.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

ON THE STUMP

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Region 9A has endorsed Maura Healey for governor. This is Healey's 18th union endorsement after the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters endorsed her yesterday. UAW Region 9A represents 30,000 active and retired members throughout New England, eastern New York and Puerto Rico.

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Shannon Liss-Riordan has picked up new endorsements from elected officials ahead of the Democratic convention. They include Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey; state Reps. Carol Doherty, Ken Gordon, Christopher Markey, Michelle DuBois and Jamie Belsito; Somerville City Councilors Jake Wilson, Ben Ewen-Campen, Jesse Clingan and Matt McLaughlin; and Waltham City Councilor Jonathan Paz.

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Rep. Seth Moulton is endorsing Tanisha Sullivan for secretary of state over incumbent Bill Galvin , per her campaign. "It's a role where the status quo isn't good enough for protecting and expanding access to the ballot box," Moulton said in a statement. "We must modernize the office of the Secretary of Commonwealth and I know Tanisha can help deliver the 21st century democracy we need today."

— CASH DASH: Healey ran social media ads last month asking her supporters to fund various efforts to help "show off the strength of our grassroots movement" at this weekend's convention. They delivered.

Healey will report raising $526,033 in May, the second-largest monthly haul of her gubernatorial campaign. And her coffers have now swelled to more than $5 million — allowing the AG to enter June with $5,186,741 in cash on hand, said her campaign. At least $55,000 of Healey's May raise came from an event Rep. Lori Trahan organized after endorsing Healey for governor, a Trahan spokesperson said.

Healey has also been quietly building out her website. The revamped site, which went live last week, includes an 11-section issues page with proposals from a candidate who's been criticized for being light on policy specifics thus far in her front-running campaign.

Other campaigns are conspicuously silent about their May fundraising numbers just days ahead of the Democrats' convention. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll's campaign said she'll report raising $82,885 in May. But other candidates were mum.

— "Sonia Chang-Díaz knows what it's like to be 'other.' It has shaped her and her bid for Massachusetts governor," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Sonia Chang-Díaz is familiar with being 'other.' In a Newton elementary school cafeteria, she was the girl teased for her lunch of rice and beans. She was the 10-year-old followed by a clerk in a Montana store while her blond-haired, blue-eyed cousin shopped freely. … It's a perspective engrained in Chang-Díaz, a barrier-breaker on Beacon Hill now vowing to elevate the needs of those who have felt unseen in Massachusetts to its highest public office."

— "Mass. Senate president backs Maura Healey for governor over Sonia Chang-Díaz, her Senate colleague," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Karen E. Spilka, the top Democrat in the Massachusetts Senate, on Wednesday endorsed Attorney General Maura Healey for governor, bypassing a member of her own Senate caucus in the two-way primary."

— "Worcester Mayor Joe Petty secures first legislative endorsement from Rep. Daniel Donahue in his run for State Senate," by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive.

— "Springfield Will Actually Hold a Special Election for Ward 5," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight.

NOT FEELING '22

— NEW: MARTINEZ ENDS REP BID: Former state Senate staffer Mark Martinez made housing justice a cornerstone of their campaign for state representative. Now, Martinez is ending their campaign after being priced out of the 7th Suffolk district, where they were challenging state Rep. Chynah Tyler.

"My personal experience with trying to find housing is not a unique one," Martinez said in a statement in which they vowed their fight for a "more equitable Boston" had only just begun. "It is bad enough that institutional barriers continue to keep everyday working people from serving in public office, it is inexcusable that our elected leaders have allowed conditions to persist to the point that soon Boston will be completely inaccessible to everyday working people and their families."

THE LATEST NUMBERS

— "Massachusetts COVID cases decline 45%, hospitalizations go up," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 1,713 new COVID cases, down 45% from last Wednesday's total of 3,084 infections. Testing was lower compared to last week, however."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— BAKER TAPS KELCOURSE: Gov. Charlie Baker has nominated state Rep. Jim Kelcourse, a defense attorney, to serve on the state's Parole Board after supporting his fellow Republican's failed bid for Amesbury mayor last year. If approved by the Governor's Council, that would create yet another vacancy in the Legislature. Baker also nominated a forensic psychologist Maryanne Galvin to the board.

— "Massachusetts has no policy to recertify police officers as law enforcement groups push back on 'Boy-Scout standard' and deadline approaches," by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: "Lawyers representing police groups are pushing back on a set of proposed regulations guiding the state's police officer recertification process that they say unfairly holds police to a 'Boy-Scout standard' with no policy in place and less than a month to go before the first deadline for some officers to recertify. Commissioners voted 3-4 on Wednesday against proposed draft regulations with two abstentions ahead of a June 15 deadline the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission imposed to receive certification packets, a timeline commission staff have said places urgency on adopting regulations for officer recertifications."

— "Advocates seek to ease hunger among college students," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "A pair of proposals pending before the House and Senate would provide grants to public colleges and other institutions of higher education that serve a significant proportion of low-income students to help them alleviate hunger on campus."

— "Massachusetts sending $500 checks to 300,000 low-income essential workers starting Monday," by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: "Some 300,000 low-income essential workers throughout Massachusetts should expect to receive $500 payments from the Baker administration next week. But it appears 30,000 fewer Massachusetts residents will receive the payments than originally outlined in May."

— "Baker bill seeks to toughen penalties for cutting GPS tracking devices," by Bob Ward, Boston 25: "In Massachusetts, the penalty for cutting a GPS is a misdemeanor. Governor Charlie Baker, in his bill, is seeking to make the crime a felony."

— "Lawmakers seek to expand Medicare savings plan," by Christian M. Wade, Newburyport News: "Beacon Hill leaders are moving to expand a Medicare-backed saving plan in a move that advocates say will help tens of thousands of elderly residents to afford rising health care and prescription drug costs."

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VAX-ACHUSETTS

— "ERs reach record capacity as hospitals are inundated with patients," by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: "COVID cases account for some of the emergency department's volume, but the hospital is also dealing with 'a constellation of factors,' [Dr. Jason Tracy, chief of emergency medicine at South Shore Health], said, which range from sicker patients who delayed care during the pandemic and an unprecedented volume of behavioral health patients, to people who are having trouble accessing more mundane services like MRIs."

— "Mass. to end funding for school COVID-19 testing," by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: "Massachusetts will not provide COVID-19 testing to schools this fall, according to a recent memo Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley sent to superintendents and other education administrators. … 'For school year 2022-23, DESE and (the Department of Public Health) strongly recommend that schools and districts interested in implementing their own testing program limit that program to symptomatic rapid testing only,' Riley wrote. 'Schools and districts may purchase self-tests through the statewide contract.'"

FROM THE HUB

— "Iranian-backed hackers targeted Boston Children's Hospital, FBI chief says," by Nate Raymond, Reuters: "Hackers sponsored by the Iranian government last year attempted a 'despicable' cyber attack against Boston Children's Hospital that threatened to disrupt services to patients, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday. Wray, in a speech delivered at a conference hosted by Boston College, detailed the incident as he warned about the rising threat cyber attacks sponsored by nation states like Iran, Russia and China pose to companies and U.S. infrastructure."

— "Interviews begin for Boston Public Schools superintendent candidates," by Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: "The mayoral-appointed search committee on Wednesday morning launched the first of two interview sessions with candidates seeking the district's top post. This week's interviews are closed to the public and will be conducted only in executive session."

— "Mayor Wu directs grants to Boston family child-care providers," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "All licensed family child-care providers in Boston will receive $3,260 in an effort to stabilize an industry battered by the pandemic, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Tuesday. The funding, approved by the City Council last year, comes from the federal American Rescue Plan, on top of pandemic aid the state is already allocating to small businesses."

— "Wu hails opportunity at Allston railyard," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "Allston has been divided in half by the Massachusetts Turnpike for six decades. Now, the Wu and Baker administrations are taking a major step in a $2 billion project that would stitch the neighborhood back together over the next two decades."

— "Three takeaways from Mayor Wu's address to Boston think tank," by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: "Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signaled her intent to stand firm on her reform agenda and that she's bracing for opposition to her policy goals in remarks she made Tuesday to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau."

— "Workers say selling the Hynes would destroy livelihoods. Others point to economic benefits," by Yasmin Amer, WBUR: "Hundreds of union workers gathered with UNITE HERE Local 26, according to organizers' estimates, to protest Gov. Charlie Baker's proposal to sell the Back Bay building, which spans nearly 6 acres of land. Advocates for the sale contend proceeds would go toward much-needed projects in downtown Boston, such as affordable housing. They also argue the money required to renovate and maintain the Hynes would be better spent adding amenities to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in the Seaport."

BALLOT BATTLES

— "The Next Battleground for Gig Worker Labor Laws: Massachusetts," by Kellen Browning, The New York Times: "Less than two years after a fierce election fight in California, gig companies like Uber and Lyft are again colliding with labor groups, politicians and the courts over a ballot measure in Massachusetts that would preserve the independent status of drivers for the companies. ... On Wednesday, five U.S. senators and three members of the House, including several from Massachusetts, sent letters to various gig companies, criticizing them for what the lawmakers say is their practice of misclassifying employees as independent contractors."

THE PRESSLEY PARTY

— "'Failure is not an option': Rep. Pressley calls for stricter gun control," by Rebecca Tauber, GBH News: "In the wake of last week's shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 children and two adults, Rep. Ayanna Pressley called for stricter gun control, with a focus on justice over bipartisanship. She also advocated for broader student debt relief, following President Joe Biden's latest plan that could forgive $10,000 in loans."

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— "US Rep. Richard Neal encourages Statehouse leaders on east-west rail," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, is encouraging state lawmakers to create a Western Massachusetts passenger rail authority that would apply for federal funds and evenly administer expanded east-west commuter rail. … In April, Neal and Republican Gov. Charlie Baker emerged from a meeting with the Western Massachusetts delegation at Springfield Union Station confirming Baker's support for east-west rail after years of skepticism on Baker's part. They also announced a framework to get the trains running. But in Boston, lawmakers seemed lukewarm yesterday to the idea of setting up an authority."

DAY IN COURT

— "Rhode Island man found guilty in fatal kidnapping of Jassy Correia," by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: "A federal jury in Boston found a Rhode Island man guilty Wednesday of fatally kidnapping Jassy Correia from a Boston nightclub in 2019, where she was celebrating her upcoming 23rd birthday with friends. … Louis D. Coleman III, 36, will be sentenced in September; his conviction carries a mandatory life sentence."

— "State to repay thousands of defendants who were convicted based on evidence analyzed by disgraced chemists," by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: "The state has agreed to refund millions of dollars in fees and fines paid by more than 30,000 defendants whose drug convictions had to be overturned because they were based on testing performed by Annie Dookhan and one other disgraced state chemist."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Former Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. named chancellor of Dean College," by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: "Former Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. has been named the first chancellor of Dean College in Franklin, the college announced Wednesday."

— "Harvard Holds Human Remains of 19 Likely Enslaved Individuals, Thousands of Native Americans, Draft Report Says," by Cara J. Chang, Harvard Crimson: "Harvard University holds the human remains of at least 19 individuals who were likely enslaved and almost 7,000 Native Americans — collections that represent 'the University's engagement and complicity' with slavery and colonialism, according to a draft University report obtained by The Crimson."

— "Power Grid: We'll have enough juice to keep you cool this summer," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "ISO New England, the region's power grid operator, said Wednesday there will be enough power available to meet expected summer demand."

MEDIA MATTERS

— "Maxie C. Jackson III, New England Public Media's first chief content officer, is leaving NEPM," by Heather Morrison, MassLive.

TRANSITIONS — Sebastien Malo has left Reuters where he was a climate and environment legal reporter. He will be a Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Kathryn Grosso Gann and Liam Horsman.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: CONVENTION TENSION — Lisa Kashinsky guides co-hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela through the Democratic and Republican conventions. MassINC Education Equity Fellow Simone Ngongi-Lukula discusses magnet schools. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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