| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | RAISING RESISTANCE — It took a few days, but big-name progressives are starting to rally behind ActBlue workers clashing with the Somerville-based Democratic fundraising giant over the company’s recent layoffs. ActBlue said Monday it's reducing its workforce to help control costs. The online fundraising processor for Democratic campaigns said it would offer outgoing staff a severance package. But the ActBlue Union said the layoffs “unfairly punish union employees” who are “not responsible for the current financial difficulties.” The union, which said it represents 32 of the 54 affected employees and had just ratified a contract in February, accused company leaders of “prioritizing executive profit” and called on them to freeze layoffs and take pay cuts to stem the losses. Many pro-union Democrats in Massachusetts, who funnel thousands if not millions of dollars through the small-donor fundraising platform, were curiously quiet as news of the layoffs spread. But now the progressive cavalry is coming. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents Somerville and “many” of the affected workers, is calling on the company and the union “to explore all possible alternatives” to layoffs. Rep. Jim McGovern told Playbook in a statement: “I stand with the ActBlue workers and urge the management team to rethink this decision.” The list keeps growing: state Sens. Liz Miranda, Brendan Crighton and Becca Rausch; state Reps. Manny Cruz, Mike Connolly and Erika Uyterhoeven; Boston City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Kendra Lara, Ruthzee Louijeune, Gabriela Coletta, Julia Mejia, Liz Breadon and Brian Worrell; former congressional candidates Jesse Mermell and Lisa Peterson; Somerville City Councilors Willie Burnley Jr., Charlotte Kelly, Ben Ewen-Campen and Kristen Strezo; and Waltham City Councilor and mayoral hopeful Jonathan Paz have all now expressed support for the workers. Yet Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who’ve stood on picket lines with nurses and tweeted support for striking teachers, have been conspicuously silent. Now, this isn’t the type of contract conflict or unionization effort that pols tend to wade into. But the senators’ absence on the issue is prompting some confused chatter among political observers, particularly as Warren continues her ActBlue-driven online fundraising push for her reelection campaign. Neither senator’s office responded to Playbook’s requests for comment yesterday. Nor did several other delegation members. And Gov. Maura Healey, stopped by Playbook in a State House hallway, said the situation “was news to me” — though that’s understandable given that she’s still getting up to speed on running a state. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com. TODAY — Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll tour the New England Carpenters training facility at 9 a.m. in Millbury and visit Fitchburg High at 11:30 a.m. Driscoll speaks at the Holyoke 150th Celebration at 3 p.m. at Holyoke City Hall. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a press conference on summer jobs at 11:30 a.m. in Mattapan and speaks at the City of Boston’s Community Iftar at 6:45 p.m. at City Hall. Rep. Richard Neal visits Springfield’s White Street Elementary at 1 p.m. McGovern attends a Worcester Regional Food Hub graduation ceremony at 6 p.m.
| | | | 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. | | | | | |  | 2024 WATCH | | GRANITE STATE OF MIND — Two of former President Donald Trump’s campaign associates are now heading up GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy’s New Hampshire campaign, adding some weight to his longshot bid. Fred Doucette, a two-time Trump campaign co-chair in the state and deputy state House majority leader, is Ramaswamy’s senior strategist/state chair. Joshua Whitehouse, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and in his administration, is his state director, the campaign told Playbook. The hires show cracks in Trump’s old coalition, even as he leads polls in the Granite State. Trump locked up longtime ally and former New Hampshire GOP Chair Stephen Stepanek as a senior adviser, but turned outside his usual circles for his state director. — “Sununu: No pathway for a Donald Trump presidency,” by Amanda Gokee, Boston Globe: “[Gov. Chris] Sununu said Americans have already decided whether they support Trump or not, leaving ‘no pathway’ for the former president to win back voters or states that have previously opposed him. … Sununu remained coy about the possibility of running for president, although he indicated that he is not planning to run for governor again.”
| | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “As white nationalist activity rises, Mass. AG’s office ‘exploring’ legal action against hate groups,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “Top state lawyers are exploring whether they can ‘take on’ white supremacist groups who have made their presence known in the past year and are ‘creatively looking at every legal tool available,’ Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in an interview with MassLive Tuesday.” — More: “Here’s how Mass. AG Andrea Campbell would approach a 2nd Trump presidency,” by Dave Eisenstadter, MassLive: “Maura Healey — now Massachusetts’ governor — famously sued the Donald Trump administration about 100 times when she held the office of Massachusetts attorney general. But Andrea Campbell, who took office as the state’s attorney general in January, signaled she will take a different approach.”
| | MASK-ACHUSETTS | | — “Health groups call on Mass. to keep mask mandates in health care settings,” by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: “A spokesperson for the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services, in response to questions from the Globe, released a statement that said its decision aligned with CDC guidance and federal requirements based on transmission rates and was made following ‘extensive conversations with health care experts.’”
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “City Councilor Kenzie Bok to head Boston Housing Authority as city battles housing crisis,” by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: “Kenzie Bok, a housing and budget policy wonk serving her second term on the Boston City Council, will be the next leader of the Boston Housing Authority, assuming responsibility for an organization that serves tens of thousands of Boston’s poorest residents. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Bok’s appointment Wednesday, and Bok will start at the authority in May.” Bok is resigning on April 28, she said in an email to constituents and supporters yesterday that was obtained by Playbook, a move that will trigger a special election to fill out the remainder of her term in District 8. Among those considering jumping in: Jon Spillane, legal counsel at the Boston Planning & Development Agency and Bok’s former budget director who ran unsuccessfully for councilor at-large in 2021. — “City Council's tussle over redistricting map now in federal judge’s hands,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: “The judge, Patti Saris, could leave the map as is, or send it back to the 13-member Council, which spent September and October haggling over which precincts go where, for a rewrite. During a court hearing on Wednesday, Saris said she isn’t in drawing a map herself, or appointing an independent ‘special master’ to come up with a map, something that opponents of the redistricting map have pressed for.” — More: “For Ed Flynn, awkward roles of race healer and redistricting foe,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine. — And more: “Boston city councilors clash over redistricting records request,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald.
| | | | GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat. | | | | | | | DAY IN COURT | | — “MBTA contractors charged with stealing more than $8 million,” by Travis Andersen, Mike Damiano and Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “A former Keolis official was charged with conspiring with an electrical vendor to steal more than $8 million from the commuter rail operator by falsifying invoices and scrapping copper wire for cash.” — “Supreme Court weighs Galvin's fiduciary powers,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “The state’s highest court is set to take up a case next month challenging whether Secretary of State Bill Galvin has the regulatory authority to set strict fiduciary rules for brokerage firms. The case before the Supreme Judicial Court stems from Galvin’s decision in 2020 to revoke a state trading license for Robinhood, a popular online brokerage.” — “Judge allows defamation suit brought by Mayor Tyer's husband against Melissa Mazzeo to move forward,” by Meg Britton-Mehlisch, Berkshire Eagle: “Mazzeo, a former city councilor and one-time mayoral candidate, asked Judge John Agostini to rule that [Barry] Clairmont, the husband of Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, had failed to meet the legal standard that her statements in the wake of the 2019 mayoral race defamed Clairmont and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.” — “Former top officials at Mass. company charged with knowingly selling defective lead-testing machines used by tens of thousands of children,” by John R. Ellement and Kay Lazar, Boston Globe.
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “U.S. Tensions With China on Display as McCarthy Hosts Taiwan’s Leader,” by Karoun Demirjian and Chris Buckley, The New York Times: “Deliveries of weapons were a subject of discussions in Wednesday’s closed-door hearings, according to lawmakers who participated in them. But [President Tsai Ing-wen] emphasized trade and economic partnerships even more than military assistance, according to Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts. Mr. Moulton and other lawmakers present noted that she said she did not think an attack from Beijing was imminent.” — “A major student-loan lender is 'actively working to harm' millions of borrowers by trying to block Biden's debt relief, Elizabeth Warren and Ayanna Pressley say. They're demanding answers about this 'dangerous and cynical ploy’,” by Ayelet Sheffey, Insider.
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “One of 2 ‘ladies’ seeks to distance herself from furor over Easthampton superintendent controversy,” by Emily Thurlow, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “One of the two women whom superintendent finalist Vito Perrone addressed as ‘ladies’ in an email last week is seeking to distance herself from mudslinging that has erupted after the news broke last weekend. ‘I want to be clear, I am a Lady,’ executive assistant Suzanne Colby wrote in a public Facebook post on April 5.”
| | THE LOCAL ELECTIONS ROUNDUP | | — “Fall River's 2023 election begins to take shape, with a former mayor wanting his job back,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: “Former Fall River mayor and Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter hadn’t made it a secret that he intended to take on incumbent Mayor Paul Coogan. By 8:10 a.m., he was filling out the required paperwork in the Board of Elections office.” — “Candidates stressing diversity and inclusion prevail in Dartmouth school races,” by Colin Hogan, New Bedford Light: “The results from the earliest town elections in the South Coast, including Dartmouth and Fairhaven, show that wedge issues like removing books from libraries have been important to voters in school committee races, though none of the candidates supporting that cause have yet prevailed.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — ”Federal agents enter wrong Boston hotel room, interrogated man during training,” by Cheryl Fiandaca, WBZ: “A Delta Air Lines pilot who was a guest at the hotel was sleeping inside, woke up and opened the door. Agents barged in, handcuffed the man who is in his 30s, interrogated him and put him in the shower. It was more than 45 minutes before they took off the handcuffs, realized their mistake and apologized.” — “Seaport's refusal to fly Christian flag draws free speech scrutiny,” by Ethan Forman, Gloucester Daily Times: “Boston’s refusal to fly the Christian flag on City Hall Plaza in 2017, in what became a case the Hub lost last May before the U.S. Supreme Court, could have legal ramifications for Gloucester, which has twice refused a resident’s request to raise the flag on a flagpole at City Hall on Dale Avenue during Holy Week.” — “DraftKings seeks permission to allow gambling on outcome of Boston Marathon,” by WCVB.
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to John Lechner and Ricardo Sánchez, Rep. Ayanna Pressley's communications director. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT — Boston Herald alum Sean Philip Cotter joins hosts Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith and Lisa Kashinsky to break down Boston’s court fight over redistricting. MassLive’s Chris Van Buskirk helps the hosts unpack the MBTA’s hiring woes. 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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