News : Baker's big dance with the NCAA

Friday, December 16, 2022

Baker's big dance with the NCAA

Dec 16, 2022

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PROGRAMMING NOTE: We've reached the last Playbook of the year, and what a ride it's been! Massachusetts Playbook won't publish from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2. I'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

In the meantime, follow me on Twitter @lisakashinsky for Healey transition updates (scroll down for more on that) and email me at lkashinsky@politico.com. Have a happy and healthy holiday season! Now, to the news.

GOTTA GETCHA HEAD IN THE GAME — And you thought Maura Healey was going to be the one making all the basketball references next year.

Gov. Charlie Baker sent shockwaves through Massachusetts political circles on Thursday when news broke that he'll start as the NCAA's next president in March. Longtime members of the governor's orbit were surprised by the move. Even Baker himself seemed amazed. When he was first approached about the gig "a couple of months ago," Baker told reporters, his "initial reaction was that I was not exactly what you would call a traditional candidate."

Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker shoots on the floor of the new Boston Celtics basketball team practice facility, Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker shoots on the floor of the new Boston Celtics basketball team practice facility, Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) | AP

Yet, it somehow makes sense. Massachusetts governors have a history with major sports enterprises (Mitt Romney and the 2002 Olympics). Baker, who played on Harvard's 1977-1978 squad, has no professional experience in sports or higher education. But he brings an outsider's perspective, a track record of turning around major organizations and an enduring bipartisan appeal to the table. And that proved enticing to an association that needs to rebuild its credibility with players, fans and lawmakers from statehouses to Capitol Hill.

That includes Rep. Lori Trahan — a former Division 1 volleyball player, leading advocate for college athletes in Congress and critic of Title IX violations at major colleges — who commended Baker for taking on the challenge of leading an association at an "inflection point."

It'll likely be a lucrative gig. Baker earns $185,000 per year as Massachusetts' chief executive. Mark Emmert, his predecessor at the NCAA, took home nearly $3 million in 2020. And Baker will be able to save on moving costs — an aide said he won't be uprooting to Indianapolis, where the NCAA is headquartered.

Some political operatives see Baker's high-profile landing spot as a possible launchpad for a presidential campaign given the networking opportunities and notoriety. Romney, after all, leveraged his stewardship of the Olympics into a successful gubernatorial bid and a presidential nomination.

But Baker, who's repeatedly and now understandably said he won't be a candidate in 2024, still lacks a natural constituency within the party outside of New England. And any missteps at such a major organization could damage his image.

Baker had a Teflon coating as governor. But now, as Romney told the Boston Globe, he's about to go "from the frying pan into the fire." Hours after Baker's new gig went public, the National Labor Relations Board determined the association is breaking federal law by not classifying college athletes as employees. Concerned Women for America, a conservative organization, issued a statement expressing hope that Baker might stop transgender athletes like Lia Thomas from competing in women's sports.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. What a way to end the year.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Auburn at 10:30 a.m. and highlights the RMV's new cannabis-impaired driving curriculum at the Worcester RMV at 1 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends a firefighter recruit graduation ceremony at 9 a.m. at Florian Hall and joins former Acting Mayor Kim Janey for an Amp UP press conference at noon at Roxbury Crossing.

THIS WEEKEND — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is on WBZ's "Keller @ Large" at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Healey is on WCVB's "On the Record" at 11 a.m. Sunday.

A message from NextEra Energy:

A Beacon Research poll of Massachusetts' voters conducted in July 2022 showed that a majority support the use of clean, low-cost, carbon-emissions free nuclear energy to fight climate change. Over 70% of informed voters support including nuclear energy to fight rising energy costs and climate change.

TRANSITION TIME

— THE WOMAN BEHIND THE FIRST ALL-FEMALE TEAM: Gov.-elect Maura Healey's incoming chief of staff, Kate Cook, thinks working in the governor's office "is like breathing pure oxygen. It's such a special place."

That's the mindset with which Cook, former chief legal counsel and director of policy and Cabinet affairs for former Gov. Deval Patrick, is returning to Beacon Hill after being Healey's first assistant attorney general.

Cook will serve as chief of staff to both Healey and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Driscoll, keeping with the Baker-Polito administration's practice of sharing one staff between the two executives. She's one of three hires Healey announced this week, along with Secretary of Administration and Finance Matt Gorzkowicz and senior adviser Gabrielle Viator. Come January, it'll be Cook's job to serve as the primary liaison between the governor and her Cabinet secretaries and staff.

Who all that will be is still coming into focus. Healey's transition team is sifting through more than 1,000 resumes and referrals. Healey and Driscoll have also been meeting with Baker administration Cabinet secretaries "to discuss their offices' work and the challenges they face and the opportunities they see ahead," Cook told Playbook in an interview Thursday. She described them as "routine meetings for any transition" but didn't address the Boston Globe's report that the incoming administration is gauging current secretaries' interest in staying beyond Jan. 5.

Cook also pushed back on the notion that Healey hasn't been transparent enough in her transition or about her plans as governor. Healey "has shown us exactly how she'll govern" from her eight years as attorney general to her campaign's policy proposals, Cook said. "We are right now laser-focused on attracting a really diverse and talented Cabinet secretariat. … I know there's been some criticism that it's taking too long. But honestly, to make intentional hires takes some time."

Asked about the incoming administration's priorities for its first 100 days, Cook pointed to creating a budget that is "really going to be focused on bringing economic relief" to Bay Staters and making investments in housing, job training and transportation. Tax reform and Healey's plan to expand the child tax credit are also "on the table."

THE LATEST NUMBERS

— "Boston-area COVID wastewater levels keep spiking, Massachusetts virus cases up 12% as health officials push boosters and flu shots," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "The seven-day average in the south-of-Boston region is now 1,347 viral copies per milliliter, which is up 87% since Thanksgiving. The north-of-Boston region's seven-day average is now 1,179 viral copies per milliliter, which is a 144% surge. … Meanwhile, the Bay State's daily average of 1,199 COVID cases from the last week is up 12% from the daily rate of 1,071 virus infections during the previous week."

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— "GOP governor takes over NCAA at 'pivotal' time for players rights," by Lisa Kashinsky and Juan Perez Jr., POLITICO: "Installing Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker as the organization's next president puts a former businessman, college basketball player and longtime bureaucrat at the helm of an association hoping Congress will help it navigate a smoldering players' rights movement largely centered on pay and collective bargaining."

— More from State House News Service's Chris Lisinski and Matt Murphy (paywall): "Massachusetts still does not have a law on its books governing college athletes seeking compensation for the use of their name, image or likeness, often referred to as NIL. Sen. Barry Finegold of Andover, who has filed legislation at the state level seeking to roll out clear rules and regulations for NIL in Massachusetts, said Baker joins the NCAA with 'a huge challenge in front of him.'"

— "How Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy helped Charlie Baker become the next NCAA president," by Michael Silverman, Boston Globe.

— AND THE AWARD FOR BEST LEDE GOES TO: "Gov. Charlie Baker may have been a backup basketball player at Harvard, but at age 66 he's finally landed a starring role in college sports: Baker will be the next president of the NCAA," by CommonWealth Magazine's Michael Jonas.

— AS ONE SESSION CLOSES: Several key bills remain stalled on Beacon Hill with this legislative session coming to an end, from Gov. Charlie Baker's $139 million spending bill to help respond to the surge of migrants in the state, to legislation that would crack down on catalytic converter thefts. Early education reform, a priority of Senate President Karen Spilka, is now top of her list for next year. And House Speaker Ron Mariano is likely to revive his push to protect community hospitals by more strictly regulating larger players' expansions. The new session begins Jan. 4.

— "Baker said he sought pardons in Fells Acres case because convicted siblings 'should have gotten a new trial'," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "A day after withdrawing pardons requests for Gerald Amirault and his sister, Cheryl Amirault LeFave, Governor Charlie Baker said he pushed the clemency recommendations because he believed the siblings should have gotten a new trial after being convicted of sexually abusing children at the Fells Acres Day School nearly 40 years ago."

— "Baker nominates Jubinville for clerk magistrate," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "In one of his last nominations as governor, Gov. Charlie Baker has nominated Governor's Councilor Robert Jubinville to a lifetime appointment as clerk magistrate of Framingham District Court. Jubinville's nomination must still be approved by his colleagues on the Governor's Council."

— "State lawmakers hold fewer recorded votes," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "In the current legislative session, which got underway in January 2021, the state House of Representatives has held 281 roll calls that recorded how individual lawmakers voted on specific bills, according to records from the House Clerk's office. That's less than half of the 600 roll call votes the House held during the preceding two-year session in 2019 and 2020, according to the data. In the 2017-18 session, the House held 518 roll call votes."

— "MGM reports $22 million in gambling revenue; state Rep. Bud Williams calls for Western Mass. seat on state Gaming Commission," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican.

— "Mass. is about to open 25 behavioral health centers with 24-hour crisis intervention," by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive.

A message from NextEra Energy:

FROM THE HUB

— "Michelle Wu proposes major affordable-housing rule changes in Boston," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Mayor Michelle Wu is looking to beef up the city's affordable-housing requirements for developers with proposals to raise the percent of units that have to be income-restricted, increase the amount they have to pay the city and make the rules apply to some smaller projects."

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— "DPU orders MBTA to address speeding on Green Line," by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: "Trains are traveling too fast on the Green Line, says the Department of Public Utilities, which highlighted 'overspeeding' as a major issue in its annual oversight report on MBTA safety."

FROM THE 413

— "Advocates push for tenant bill of rights in Holyoke," by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Such a bill of rights would ensure a series of protections for renters, including promoting affordability of rental housing stock, requiring prelease inspections, done by a city inspector, proving the housing stock meets various codes, and prohibiting landlords from asking about past criminal history."

A NEW POLITICO PODCAST: POLITICO Tech is an authoritative insider briefing on the politics and policy of technology. From crypto and the metaverse to cybersecurity and AI, we explore the who, what and how of policy shaping future industries. We're kicking off with a series exploring darknet marketplaces, the virtual platforms that enable actors from all corners of the online world to traffic illicit goods. As malware and cybercrime attacks become increasingly frequent, regulators and law enforcement agencies work different angles to shut these platforms down, but new, often more unassailable marketplaces pop up. SUBSCRIBE AND START LISTENING TODAY.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Claudine Gay selected as Harvard's next president," by Max Larkin, WBUR: "Claudine Gay will become Harvard's 30th president in July, and the first Black person to enter the role. She'll take over the job from Lawrence Bacow, who announced in June plans to step down after a five-year tenure."

— GETTING SCHOOLED: Gov.-elect Maura Healey is participating in Harvard Kennedy School's annual "Transition Term" where students embed in the offices of newly elected governors, mayors and county executives.

— "Fall River mayor condemns neo-Nazis who protested at drag story time," by Audrey Cooney, Herald News: "NSC-131 posted footage of the event on social media and claimed responsibility for the protest. A blurred-out portion of a video they posted shows members of the group rushing toward the steps of the library and appearing to kick at people who were there in support of the drag event. … The [police] department's hate crime division is investigating and has also reached out to U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollin's office."

MEDIA MATTERS

— "Linda Murphy named editor of The Herald News and Standard-Times," by Katie Landeck, Herald News.

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

— OP-ED OFFENSIVE: New Hampshire's all-Democratic federal delegation penned an op-ed in the Boston Globe urging their party to keep the first-in-the-nation presidential primary in the Granite State ahead of the full DNC vote on the 2024 nominating calendar. President Joe Biden's plan would make South Carolina the first primary and have New Hampshire and Nevada share a date a few days later. But Republicans are keeping New Hampshire in the first slot in 2024, leading Democrats to argue that moving their presidential primary could push independents toward the GOP.

A message from NextEra Energy:

Affordable, carbon-emissions free, reliable electricity from nuclear energy. Seabrook Station lowers consumer energy costs in Massachusetts and New England by providing a year-round, low-cost, baseload energy supply. And American-made nuclear energy supports hundreds of jobs across New England.

HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge on Wednesday.

TRANSITIONS — Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi has been elected president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association. Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott has been elected vice president. Dukes County Sheriff Robert Ogden will serve as the organization's first associate vice president.

— Dave Foley is now president of SEIU 509.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Boston Globe alum and WaPo's Liz Goodwin, Ryan McCollum, Susan Estrich, Beth Fairservis and Charlotte DuHamel.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Joe Kaplan, Catherine Sanderson and Zachary Gavel, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday-birthday-ers Dion Irish and Emily Williams.

AND HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY — to a lot of Playbookers: Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Abby Charpentier, state Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler, Maureen McInerney, Megan Johnson, Meaghan Callahan, Kalen O'Hare, Richard Purcell, Jakhari Watson, Judith Souweine, Scott Spencer, Bernie Lynch Jr., Koray Rosati, Joe Beebee, Scott Campanella and John Guilfoil.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: BREAKING THE MASS CEILING — Hosts Lisa Kashinsky, Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela look at women's ranks in the Legislature. Boston Herald reporter Sean Cotter talks about how hiring woes could alter the city's longstanding employee residency requirement. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and SoundCloud.

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