News: Squad goals

Monday, September 26, 2022

Squad goals

Sep 26, 2022

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TO THE LEFT — Rep. Ayanna Pressley believes progressives are "winning" their policy battles at the federal level even as they're struggling to make electoral gains here at home.

"We are more powerful than we realize, and we are winning," Pressley declared Saturday morning in a Roxbury park, flanked by her fellow Squad members, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). "If that was not true, fare-free transit would not be part of the national conversation, climate justice would not be part of the national conversation. … We would not have made progress on student debt cancellation."

From left: Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)

From left: Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

Even as their ideas gain mainstream salience from the Beltway to Beacon Hill to Boston, progressives are struggling to translate the growing popularity of their policies into more electoral wins in Massachusetts. Maura Healey and Andrea Campbell, the Democratic nominees for governor and attorney general, are Pressley-backed progressives who are leading their Republican rivals in polling and fundraising ahead of November. But every candidate endorsed for statewide office by major progressive groups in the state such as Progressive Massachusetts and Our Revolution Massachusetts lost their primary races or failed to make it to September at all.

Progressives have offered myriad reasons why: First-time statewide office-seekers lacked name recognition and fundraising prowess and failed to scale up their organizing operations. Plus they say the left is contending with a Democratic electorate that still loves moderate Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.

Critics, meanwhile, say some progressive candidates were speaking over voters' heads with policy at a time when people are worried about the economy and other pocketbook issues. But Pressley pushed back on that notion while rallying a crowd of canvassers in Roxbury, saying "before we ask anybody for their vote, we ask them about their lives, and we actively listen."

Pressley found a silver lining in progressives' primary shellacking: It's "very rare" for first-time candidates to see success, she told reporters, but "with every person that has the courage to run and put themselves on the ballot, we're getting those ideas out there, and hopefully expanding the electorate and getting more people engaged."

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. We'll see a debate in the auditor's race after all.

Democrat Diana DiZoglio and Republican Anthony Amore will face off on WBZ, moderator Jon Keller tells Playbook exclusively. Part of the half-hour debate will air on "Keller @ Large" on Sunday, Oct. 16; it will be available online in full.

DiZoglio initially told GBH she'd only debate if the three third-party candidates running for auditor were allowed to participate. Media-hosted debates typically only feature major-party candidates, and DiZoglio's response was seen by some as the state senator trying to skirt a showdown with her rival.

In the attorney general race, Campbell still hasn't agreed to a debate with Republican rival Jay McMahon, allowing his claims that she's in favor of "defunding the police" and other attacks he levied on WCVB's "On the Record" on Sunday to go unchecked in the moment. Campbell's campaign later told Playbook in a statement that "Andrea has worked across the aisle to increase funding for community policing while calling for an end to qualified immunity to bring greater accountability and transparency to our public safety agencies."

TODAY — Baker is on GBH's "Boston Public Radio" at 1 p.m.

Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— "Security bollards being installed in front of State House," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, thigh-high bollards and giant planters sprouted outside government buildings across the country to deter terrorists and keep car bombers at bay. Now, some 21 years later, the Massachusetts State House is going the same route, although the bollards – vertical posts secured in concrete – are being installed not to protect the historic building itself but the people who regularly hold protests, rallies, and press conferences on its front doorstep."

FROM THE HUB

— "In apparent violation of state nepotism law, Boston councilor hired sister, son to staff," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "First-year Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson hired her sister and her son to her council staff earlier this year, moves that would appear to violate the state's law that aims to prohibit nepotism in the public sector. Fernandes Anderson, who made history last fall as the first African immigrant, first formerly undocumented person, and first Muslim to be elected to the city's legislative body, said in a Friday statement that the matter represented an honest mistake and that she ended their employment as soon as she learned their presence on her staff violated ethics rules."

— "Boston was citing own lack of action for closing out public records requests," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "More than 22 times in recent months, city public records chief Shawn Williams' office closed out records requests by sending requesters the following pair of sentences: 'A review indicates no recent activity on this request. Should you still seek records I encourage you to file a new request using the City's public records request portal.' The requests in question had been filed through the city's public records portal and in many cases were overdue for responses by months. Instead of taking action, the city cited its own lack in closing them out, though it says it's since stopped this practice after an internal review following an inquiry from the Herald — the only local outlet it appears to have hit with this kind of closure."

— "Boston Police run up millions in overtime at Mass. and Cass homeless encampment," by Tori Bedford, GBH News: "Boston police officers logged nearly $4 million in overtime pay between 2019 and 2020 for work at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, or Mass. and Cass, an area marked by a seemingly unending cycle of homelessness, crime, substance use and poverty."

WU TRAIN

— From the opinion pages: "Does the Democratic Party Want Swagger? Or Does It Want Michelle Wu?" by Ginia Bellafante, New York Times: "Repeatedly calling himself the 'get stuff done' mayor, the 'nightlife' mayor, the mayor with 'swagger,' [New York City Mayor Eric] Adams has, most of all, demonstrated the limits of masculine bluster as a liberal political style. By contrast, we might take measure of what is happening in Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu is operating in a distinctly different register and quietly achieving things without all the wasted energy of self-reference and branding."

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MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— "Spilka demands federal investigation into migrants sent to Mass.," by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: "Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka on Friday demanded a federal investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' unexpected transfer of nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard last week."

— "DeSantis is not stopping his migrant charters. And Biden world can't do a thing about it," by Oriana Pawlyk, POLITICO: "The company that Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis used to send dozens of migrants to Martha's Vineyard operates charter flights under approvals granted by federal transportation regulators who have almost absolute power to regulate safety in the skies. But there's probably little the Federal Aviation Administration can do to stop DeSantis from continuing the flights, people familiar with the agency's legal authorities say — even though President Joe Biden and other Democrats have condemned the flights as cruel publicity stunts. The same laws that give the FAA its vast sway over air safety also restrict its ability to intrude otherwise into the operations of charter companies. And the migrant flights probably don't violate FAA regulations, former agency officials say, despite accusations that DeSantis and his operatives violated the migrants' civil rights."

— "Martha's Vineyard was portrayed as rich, white, and elite, but there's another side to the island," by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: "A 36-year-old mother of three who works for Martha's Vineyard Bank, [Alvia Wilson] sees the island not through the prism of the celebrities — former US presidents, actors, and business titans among them — who sweep in during the summer and ensconce themselves in oceanfront estates, largely insulated from the day-trippers who stroll off the ferries, not to mention the regular island folk. Wilson resides in the other Vineyard, where many of the 20,000 year-round residents struggle to make ends meet, housing is desperately scarce and increasingly unaffordable, and the growing number of immigrants is rapidly diversifying the population."

— "Cape Cod jobs may not be an option for Martha's Vineyard migrants. Here's why," by Rich Eldred, Cape Cod Times: "There's a labor shortage on Cape Cod. There are hiring signs every where you look. Is there an opportunity to match the migrants, who recently arrived on Martha's Vineyard, with local employment opportunities? Not so. … 'Generally speaking they are not able to work until they have an Employment Authorization,' explained Jacob Love, an attorney with Lawyers for Civil Rights. 'This whole stunt and scheme has interfered with that. Most have ongoing immigration proceedings in Texas or elsewhere so to the extent they can get authorization this whole thing has thrown a wrench into that.'"

— AS SEEN ON TV: Republican attorney general candidate Jay McMahon said on WCVB's "On the Record" his "heart goes out" to the migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard by GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and that "whatever he did affected us adversely and I'm not happy about that." McMahon also said DeSantis "probably should have" notified Massachusetts authorities about the flights, "but of course, when people cross the border illegally and enter this country, they don't notify anybody."

Some other notable nuggets: McMahon said he'd sue private employers and the state over vaccine mandates if the next governor upholds Gov. Charlie Baker 's vaccine requirements for executive department employees. He also tried to skirt questions on whether he believed President Joe Biden was duly elected in 2020, eventually saying that "according to the certifications by the secretaries of states of the various states, he was."

And McMahon said that he would "have to uphold" abortion laws passed by the state Legislature if elected attorney general, even though he agrees with the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn five decades of constitutionally protected abortion access and sending reproductive rights decisions back to states.

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YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— NEW: MassDems is out with another video knocking Republican gubernatorial nominee Geoff Diehl as "dangerous for Massachusetts," this time because of his ties to Donald Trump . The video cites Diehl's false claim that the 2020 election was "stolen" from Trump and the former president's comment during his pre-primary "tele-rally" that Diehl would "rule [Massachusetts] with an iron fist."

— "Baker allies helped Kim Driscoll win the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor through an unusual super PAC," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Donors and a longtime adviser to [GOP Gov. Charlie] Baker were the driving force behind a super PAC that funded $1.2 million in advertisements ahead of the Sept. 6 primary, helping lift [Salem Mayor Kim] Driscoll in her three-way race for lieutenant governor onto the Democratic ticket alongside gubernatorial nominee Maura Healey. … Donors to the super PAC included some of Massachusetts' wealthiest people as well as those who've given to other Baker-aligned causes, including Amos Hostetter Jr., a philanthropist and former cable television magnate, and Robert T. Hale Jr., chief executive of Quincy-based Granite Telecommunications. Nearly every individual who contributed has previously donated to Baker, and a quarter of all its contributors have also helped fund a separate Baker-aligned PAC."

— "Hundreds gather to see Pressley and 'The Squad' talk policy and identity in Somerville," by Ivy Scott and Nick Stoico, Boston Globe: "Representative Ayanna Pressley and members of 'The Squad' celebrated Saturday afternoon with supporters before a sold-out crowd in Davis Square, after starting the day at a canvassing kickoff in Roxbury."

— "Police investigate fistfight involving GOP congressional candidate outside Somerville Theatre Saturday," by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: "Somerville police are investigating a fight involving US Representative Ayanna Pressley's GOP challenger that broke out during a political event Saturday featuring her and other Democratic members of the Squad at the Somerville Theatre. The fight followed a verbal dispute between four men and two people who were protesting the Democratic event with Donnie Palmer, the Republican challenging Pressley in November, according to Grace Munns, a city spokeswoman, in an e-mail Sunday. … Pressley's campaign said in a brief statement Sunday that the fight did not involve them. … Jim Lyons, the head of the state GOP, acknowledged in a phone interview Sunday that the Democratic lawmakers' security staff was not involved in the fight. But he said Pressley and her colleagues should publicly rebuke those who fought with the protesters."

— "Union members rally for Democrats in Dorchester ahead of midterm elections," by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: "US approval of labor unions is at its highest level in 57 years, and now union workers are hoping to transform their moment of popularity into political wins in November. On Saturday, hundreds of unionized workers gathered in Dorchester to show their support for gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey and attorney general candidate Andrea Campbell, two Democratic women who, if elected, will make history at the polls."

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FROM THE 413

— "Holyoke Soldiers' Home criminal case heads to Supreme Judicial Court for review," by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: "The state Supreme Judicial Court has agreed to hear a direct appeal of the dismissal of criminal charges against former Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent Bennett Walsh and onetime medical director Dr. David Clinton over the 2020 coronavirus outbreak at the state-run facility."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Will federal grant loss derail plans to rebuild Bourne and Sagamore bridges? Cape congressman says no," by Asad Jung, Cape Cod Times: "In 2020, Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially joined forces to work together to replace the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges. … [Last week, the federal government] denied the Army Corps' application for INFRA — officially, Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects — grant money, one of two bids to secure more than $1 billion, according to the State House News Service. Despite what appears to be a setback, this denial represents only a small part of the potential funding for the replacement bridges, U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Massachusetts, said."

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— GRANITE STATE OF MIND: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg can't wait to return to New Hampshire — to introduce his twins to how "beautiful it is up here." The former Oval Office hopeful was effusive about the state in which he finished second in the 2020 first-in-the-nation presidential primary. But he largely kept to promoting the Biden administration's wins, like the bipartisan infrastructure law, and casting Republicans as political extremists who are solely focused on "giving tax cuts for the wealthiest, building a wall and ending women's reproductive freedoms" while speaking at the state Democratic Party's Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner on Saturday.

— More: "Buttigieg focused on transportation but political future remains open," by Adam Sexton, WMUR.

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HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at Issues Management Group's open house on Thursday: Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll; Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, state Reps. Dan Ryan, Tram Nguyen, Rob Consalvo, Dan Hunt, Jay Livingstone, Mark Cusack, Jeff Roy, Jon Santiago and Tommy Vitolo, Globe/AP/Axios alum Glen Johnson, MHA's Steve Walsh, MTF's Eileen McAnneny and EOHED undersecretary of community development Ashley Stolba.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Brendan Creedon.

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