| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | DAYS LATE AND DOLLARS SHORT — The cash-strapped MassGOP could owe vendors more than $600,000 — a staggering tab from Jim Lyons' tenure that comes as the party's new leaders turn to a former Whitey Bulger prosecutor to clean up his legal messes. Unpaid invoices that kept coming after Lyons' ouster have now climbed to nearly $602,000, new Chair Amy Carnevale told state committee members yesterday. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending were misreported to state regulators who are now scrutinizing the party’s finances. And more than $119,000 that candidates paid the party last year for coordinated mail efforts for their campaigns never made it to vendors. Carnevale is questioning the party’s liability for some of those expenses, like a $250,000 bill for advertising for Geoff Diehl’s gubernatorial bid. But subtracting that still leaves a mountain of bills for a party that had little more than $47,000 to its name at the start of the month. Now add two more invoices. Carnevale has tapped Brian Kelly, a former federal prosecutor who helped put Bulger behind bars and specializes in white-collar crime, to deal with legal battles that range from Lyons’ refusal to seat Nicaela Chinnaswamy on the State Committee to his lawsuit against treasurer Pat Crowley. The party has also hired compliance firm Red Curve Solutions. Hiring Kelly is an “early investment” that Carnevale hopes will “pay dividends” in helping to right the party’s books and restore its “credibility.” But right now it’s unclear how the party can afford him. Carnevale said she isn’t taking a salary as chair, which will save about $100,000 a year. And she’s planning “several events” to help raise money to cover the party’s bills, including a Worcester-area “unity event” with Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis. Keep an eye on OCPF. We’ll get an early look at whether Carnevale has been able to turn the fundraising faucet back on when the party files its February finance report with the state. We’ll also get a fuller accounting of its outstanding bills. “There’s definitely support out there” for making the MassGOP viable again, Carnevale said. But right now, being potentially more than half a million dollars in the red “is a little daunting.” GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Big thanks to Kelly Garrity and Sophie Gardner for filling in yesterday! TODAY — Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Stephen Lynch celebrate federal funding for Home Base at 11 a.m. in Charlestown. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 3/1 TO DISCUSS AMERICAN PRIVACY LAWS: Americans have fewer privacy rights than Europeans, and companies continue to face a minefield of competing state and foreign legislation. There is strong bipartisan support for a federal privacy bill, but it has yet to materialize. Join POLITICO on 3/1 to discuss what it will take to get a federal privacy law on the books, potential designs for how this type of legislation could protect consumers and innovators, and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND | | — SPECIAL ELECTION PENDING: Rep. David Cicilline sent shockwaves from Little Rhody to Capitol Hill on Tuesday when he announced plans to leave Congress this spring to lead the Rhode Island Foundation. And it seems like the list of potential replacements is growing by the minute, even though the special election date won’t be set until Cicilline officially resigns on June 1. While the Globe has ruled out some big names like Gov. Dan McKee and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, WPRI reports that Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos is exploring a run. So is Helena Foulkes, the former CVS executive who ran unsuccessfully for Rhode Island governor last year. Remember how Rep. Seth Magaziner moved congressional districts to run for RI-02 last year? WPRI says the Republican he defeated, Allan Fung, hasn’t ruled out pulling a similar move to run for Cicilline’s seat. Members of Congress don’t actually have to live in the district they represent — it just looks better if they do.
| | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — THAT’S GOVERNOR GALVIN TO YOU: Secretary of State Bill Galvin continues his latest stint as acting governor with Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll out of state. Just how many times has Galvin filled in as governor since he became a constitutional officer in 1994? “So many times, in fact, that a spokesperson said he’s likely lost count,” according to GBH’s Katie Lannan. Lannan even rustled up a New York Times profile that said Galvin’s been acting governor more times than anyone in state history. And that was back in 2003. — “Elizabeth Mahony, formerly of attorney general’s office, to lead Department of Energy Resources,” by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe: “Elizabeth Mahony, who was senior policy adviser for energy under Healey when she was attorney general, will now lead the state Department of Energy Resources, a role with responsibility for [Gov. Maura] Healey’s effort to drive a massive transition to clean energy. The job will include decisions about rapidly increasing the amount of solar and wind power in the state and upgrading the state’s electricity transmission.” Healey also dipped into the AG’s office for her undersecretary of law enforcement: Gina Kwon, a former assistant district attorney who most recently served as criminal bureau chief in the attorney general’s office, will now oversee policies, programs and budget matters for the state police, Municipal Police Training Committee and the Office of Grants and Research.
| | VAX-ACHUSETTS | | — “COVID is still killing people every day. But its main victims have changed,” by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: “A year ago, young families of color in Massachusetts were suffering a heavy toll from COVID-19, with Black and Latino people in the prime of their lives dying at rates up to three times higher than white people. Now, the pendulum appears to be swinging the other way. Since the end of the first Omicron wave last March, death disparities have reversed, with white people in Massachusetts more likely to die from COVID than Black or Hispanic people, although there is some variation across age groups, according to a new analysis conducted for the Globe by researchers at Boston University’s School of Public Health.”
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Mass and Cass Roundhouse Hotel programs ending, Boston Medical Center says,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Boston Medical Center is winding down the controversial Roundhouse Hotel shelter-clinic initiative at Mass and Cass, citing a ‘lack of long-term funding.’ … The Roundhouse costs $7,487,000 a year for shelter services and $5,600,082 for the clinic, cash that comes from a combination of city funds and federal dollars. Last fall, Boston’s Mass and Cass coordinator said the lease and the funding both run through June, the end of the fiscal year, but no further information about the longer-term future of the site was available.” — “Real estate industry launches direct voter campaign opposing Wu’s rent control plan,” by Emma Platoff and Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “The Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB), a lobbying and trade group, on Tuesday began a digital and mail blitz to try to persuade residents that rent control will aggravate the region’s housing crisis, not improve it. The organization is planning to spend just under $400,000, organizers said, with the possibility of pumping more cash into the initiative and even expanding it statewide should the proposal make it to the Legislature.”
| | ROE FALLOUT | | — “With abortion under attack nationwide, Healey joins 19 other governors in effort to shore up state protections,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Amid attacks on abortion access and other forms of reproductive care across the country, Governor Maura Healey will join 19 other governors to share ideas on how to reinforce reproductive freedoms in their own states. The multistate group, the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, is being formed eight months after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, resulting in millions of Americans losing access to the procedure.”
| | TODAY'S SPECIAL (ELECTION) | | — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund is endorsing Dominick Pangallo for mayor of Salem. The group applauded Pangallo for being “committed to our clean energy transition.” Pangallo is one of a handful of candidates running in the special election to replace now-Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and was her longtime chief of staff in Salem.
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “GLX rescuer Dalton set to leave MBTA at end of month,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “[John] Dalton’s departure is a major loss for the MBTA. He brought a steady hand to a project that before he arrived was spiraling out of control and he got the project built despite challenging terrain and supply chain issues caused by COVID. His contract with the MBTA — a $299,000 base salary plus an ‘annual success bonus’ of 16 percent — made him the highest-paid worker at the transit authority, making slightly more money than even the general manager.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | DAY IN COURT | | — “Revelations that Annie Dookhan may not have been ‘sole bad actor’ in drug lab scandal prompts calls for new trials,” by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: “Lawyers representing four defendants convicted of drug charges based on tests done at a now-closed state lab in Jamaica Plain are seeking new trials for their clients after court documents released last week suggested that employee misconduct was more widespread than previously known.”
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Bernie Sanders says Elizabeth Warren could have helped him win the 2020 primary but 'chose not to' by withholding her endorsement,” by Nicole Gaudiano, Insider: “Sen. Bernie Sanders says fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren could have helped him win the 2020 Democratic presidential primary but ‘chose not to.’ In his new book, Sanders revisits his former rival's decision to remain in the race for the nomination ahead of Super Tuesday — thus, dividing the progressive vote — rather than dropping out and endorsing him.” — “Boston Marathon bombing survivors applaud mental health aid bill,” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald. — “Markey urges DHS to drop smartphone app for migrants,” by Lauren Sforza, The Hill.
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Historic moment: Northampton creates climate action department,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “The city has taken a major step toward its ambitious goal of making city operations carbon neutral in seven years with the creation of a new climate action department that will include a soon-to-be hired climate chief to lead the effort.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “New Bedford's mayor wants to scale back these employees' pay raises and longevity benefits,” by Frank Mulligan, Standard-Times: “Mayor Jon Mitchell wants to see 20 raises awarded by recent City Council vote to management employees scaled back to what he initially requested. He sent a proposed ordinance to the City Council on Thursday, Feb. 16, that would make the change. He said the council's increases were ‘two or more grades beyond’ his initial proposal in October. In several instances, they were excessive, he said.” — “Worcester police to start using body cameras Monday,” by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: “The new program will outfit 300 officers with the cameras."
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | — “Older voters balk at Nikki Haley’s competency test,” by Lisa Kashinsky and Natalie Allison, POLITICO: “Older Republicans say they aren’t opposed to Nikki Haley’s call for a new generation of politicians leading their party. But when she calls for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75, some of them start to feel insulted.” 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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