| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | | | CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS — Framingham Democrats are calling on the head of their city committee to resign, or at least publicly apologize, over mangled comments he made about children with disabilities during a local abortion debate. While Chair Michael Hugo wishes he “could take it back” and plans to apologize at the next council meeting, he told Playbook he’s not stepping down. THE BACKGROUND — City councilors recently passed a proclamation to affirm state law protecting abortion access and to raise public awareness about so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which seek to dissuade people from getting abortions. Framingham Democratic Committee members voted to send a letter to the council in support of the resolution. Routine enough. THE CONTROVERSY — Crisis pregnancy centers have long been criticized for offering non-diagnostic ultrasounds. In his letter on behalf of the committee and in a speech to the council, Hugo raised similar concerns that someone untrained to perform an ultrasound at a crisis pregnancy center wouldn’t pick up on abnormalities that could pose a risk to either the fetus or the pregnant person. But he sparked outcry by implying a connection between abortion, children born with birth defects or disabilities and the cost of educating students who require extra support. “Is the state going to cover the costs of special education for a down’s syndrome affected child?” Hugo wrote. “How much does Framingham’s Public School Department pay for unreimbursed special needs school transportation, specialized education and durable supplies?” THE FALLOUT — Local and state elected officials, and Reproductive Equity Now, have condemned Hugo’s comments. Some are calling for him to resign as Democratic committee chair. Others are asking for a public apology, which Hugo told Playbook he’ll do. Hugo said he was trying to criticize crisis pregnancy centers, not discriminate against people with disabilities. “I definitely regret everything that I said about that,” said Hugo, who described himself as “the parent of a special needs child." He added: "I have nothing but heart and sympathy, having lived through it myself, and the comments I made really don’t reflect who I am.” Still, City Council Chair Philip Ottaviani Jr. told Playbook too much damage may have been done. “It would be a good idea” for Hugo to resign, Ottaviani said. “He’s done a lot of great things for the Framingham Democratic Committee and he’s been a good chair. But what’s taking place here, I think he should seriously consider” stepping down. State Rep. Priscila Sousa, another Democratic city committee member who also chairs the school committee, said she has “serious concerns” about Hugo’s continued leadership but stopped short of calling on him to step aside. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish on Monday in observance of Presidents Day. We’ll be back on Tuesday. TODAY — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu makes an affordable housing announcement at 9:30 a.m. in Jamaica Plain. Rep. Bill Keating announces federal funding in Barnstable at 9 a.m. Rep. Lori Trahan announces federal funding at 11 a.m. at Community Teamwork in Lowell. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. The Massachusetts Zero Waste Legislative Caucus hosts a forum with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark at 3:30 p.m. at Isaac Cary Memorial Hall in Lexington. Secretary of State Bill Galvin is in D.C. for the National Association of Secretaries of State winter conference. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy: A Beacon Research Poll shows that a majority of Massachusetts voters support clean, low-cost nuclear energy as a tool to fight climate change. Support for nuclear increases beyond 70% as people learn more. | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | SENATE COMMITTEE SHUFFLE — Senate President Karen Spilka is keeping her leadership team intact this session. But she’s shuffled several of her committee chairs in ways that play to her members’ strengths and position key players for future leadership posts. Among the notable moves: — Lydia Edwards, an ally and former city council colleague of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, is taking over as Senate Housing chair just as Wu begins her quest to get rent control through the council and Beacon Hill. Edwards, a longtime housing advocate who co-chairs the new Housing for All caucus, will helm a key committee with the new governor and Democratic legislative leaders pledging to prioritize housing. Edwards wouldn’t comment on Wu’s rent control proposal, which is teed up for council debate, but told Playbook she’s focused on transfer fees and creating a statewide fair housing office. — Jason Lewis and Brendan Crighton remain the Senate leaders on education and transportation, respectively. Those two committees are likely to be in the spotlight as Gov. Maura Healey muddles through the mess that is the MBTA and Spilka pushes more investment in early education and child care. — Jo Comerford slides up to the top Senate spot on the higher education committee ahead of the coming debate over Spilka and Healey’s free community college plans. Comerford is also now assistant vice chair on Senate Ways & Means, which will be led by Michael Rodrigues and Cindy Friedman for another session. — Julian Cyr moves to the top Senate spot on public health after negotiating last session’s mental health reform bill. Cyr is also assistant majority whip. John Velis takes over as the Senate’s mental health chair and continues atop the veterans committee. — Notable among the newbies: Representative-turned-Senator Liz Miranda will lead the racial equity committee. Robyn Kennedy will be able to draw on her professional background as Senate chair for Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. — “Healey promises tax relief package by March 1,” by Tiziana Dearing, Amanda Beland and Vanessa Ochavillo, WBUR: “Gov. Maura Healey will file a tax package with benefits aimed at making Massachusetts more affordable around the same time she plans to file her administration's budget on March 1. Speaking on WBUR's Radio Boston Wednesday, Healey said she and her team are making the ‘final touches’ on the proposal, which will likely include a child tax credit, and tax breaks for seniors, renters and lower-income families.” — “Should Mass. raise its $15 minimum wage? On radio, Healey declines to say,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “There’s a renewed push on Beacon Hill to again raise the state’s minimum wage, currently set at $15. But it appears Governor Maura Healey doesn’t intend to be among its champions. Healey on Wednesday sidestepped a question [on WBUR] on whether the state should move toward lifting its wage floor weeks after it increased from $14.25 per hour to $15, giving Massachusetts one of the highest rates in the nation.” — "With system at capacity, state turns to Concord hotel for emergency shelter use," by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: "The Department of Housing and Community Development, which manages the state’s emergency assistance system, intends to rent all 105 hotel rooms on an annual basis, with the first lease beginning March 1, the agency told the Globe. The hotel will host families for three to five days, but the agency will consider using a portion of the rooms for longer-term placements." — “Massachusetts restaurateurs push to extend outdoor dining past March 31 deadline,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “The Massachusetts Restaurant Association has launched a campaign in which restaurant owners are sending a letter encouraging state lawmakers to extend the state authorization for outdoor dining past next month’s deadline.” — “MGM Springfield took in $57k in sports bets on first day, reports $23 million in total January gambling revenue,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “On the first day of legal sports betting in Massachusetts, MGM Springfield’s sportsbook took in $57,000 worth of bets, about 11.2% of the money wagered across the state on sporting events that day. … State law requires all three casinos operating in the state report gross sports wagering receipts from the preceding month on or before the 15th of each month. January’s report released Wednesday included only one day’s worth of sports betting statistics in the numbers — wagers made on Jan. 31. ... Encore Boston Harbor reported gamblers wagered $370,000 on Jan. 31. Plainridge Park Casino reported $82,830.” — “State gaming agents at Mass. Gaming Commission unionize with SEIU Local 888,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive. — “Advocates renew push for digital 'right to repair' law,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune. — “Massachusetts facing ‘hunger cliff’ as SNAP supplement expires, advocates say,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | FROM THE HUB | | — “Boston City Council approves shift to elected school committee despite Wu’s opposition,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “A day after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reiterated her reluctance to reinstate an elected school committee, the City Council voted 7 to 5 Wednesday to put the measure on her desk. … The council’s plan would eventually strip the mayor’s power to appoint school committee members. The current committee would be replaced by a fully elected, 13-member body over two local election cycles. The first year would allow the mayor to make four appointments, then withdraw the power totally in the following municipal election.”
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy:   | | | | | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | — 2024 WATCH: Former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley returns to New Hampshire following the Republican's presidential campaign launch. She’ll hold a town hall at 6 p.m. tonight in Exeter and another at 6 p.m. Friday at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester.
| | DAY IN COURT | | — “‘She cheated on me’ is no longer a defense for men charged with murder in Massachusetts: Supreme Judicial Court,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “‘She cheated on me’ is no longer a reasonable defense for husbands and boyfriends who are accused of murdering their wives and girlfriends in the Bay State, according to a recent ruling from the Supreme Judicial Court.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — "Springfield Rep. Orlando Ramos will enter race for mayor as 4th candidate to challenge Domenic Sarno," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "State Rep. Orlando Ramos, a former city councilor before he was elected to the Legislature in 2020, will end months of speculation today and announce his candidacy for mayor of Springfield." — “Pittsfield cell tower opponents have found an ally in the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards,” by Meg Britton-Mehlisch, Berkshire Eagle: “Residents contesting a Verizon Wireless cell tower have gained a statewide ally: the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards. The nongovernmental group, which provides legal and technical direction to local boards of health, this week filed an amicus brief in Berkshire Superior Court asserting that the Pittsfield Board of Health was ‘coerced in an improper manner’ into dropping an April 2022 emergency order against the Verizon Wireless, owner of the tower at 877 South St.” — “UMass president recommends Reyes to be flagship’s next chancellor,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Javier Reyes, the interim chancellor at the University of Illinois Chicago since July, is being recommended as the next chancellor at the flagship campus for the University of Massachusetts.”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Cambridge police will implement body camera program and review procedures following fatal shooting, city manager says,” by Travis Andersen and Nick Stoico, Boston Globe: “Amid fierce public outcry over the fatal police shooting in January of a college student who was allegedly armed with a knife, Cambridge has renewed a plan to equip police officers with body cameras, an idea first discussed by officials nearly three years ago. The death of 20-year-old Arif Sayed Faisal, who appeared to be cutting himself when police responded to a 911 call in Cambridgeport on Jan. 4, drove the city’s decision to implement the program, a contentious issue in departments across the country, City Manager Yi-An Huang said.”
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy: Registered voters in Massachusetts show a clear interest in leveraging nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, according to a recent Beacon Research survey. The survey focused on the state’s energy resources, specifically how nuclear energy can be incorporated to reach long-term clean energy goals. | | | | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Conor Yunits and Rich Copp have been promoted to executive VP at Issues Management Group. — Sofia Abdi has been promoted to community engagement manager for Rep. Ayanna Pressley. She previously was her constituent advocate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Massachusetts first lady Lauren Baker, Tisch College Dean Emeritus Alan Solomont, a former ambassador and DNC finance chair; Amanda Sabga and Matt Crescenzo. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: A GALENTINE’S GALLOP — GBH’s Saraya Wintersmith and the Boston Herald’s Sean Cotter walk hosts Jennifer Smith and Lisa Kashinsky through all the ways the Boston City Council is breaking with Mayor Michelle Wu — and where they might be able to find some agreement. Kashinsky provides a dispatch from Senate President Karen Spilka’s inaugural Galentine’s Day celebration. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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