| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT — Prominent donors to former Gov. Charlie Baker are lining up behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president. It seems illogical at first blush. DeSantis’ brand of culture-war conservatism is incongruous with Baker’s moderate and bipartisan way of politicking. DeSantis has attacked his state’s largest private employer and restricted abortion access after six weeks of pregnancy. Baker was beloved by Massachusetts’ business community and signed off on expansions to reproductive care. And yet Brian Shortsleeve, Baker’s former MBTA general manager; Gregg Lisciotti, the chair of the Baker-aligned Massachusetts Majority super PAC; and Bill Carey are among the hosts of the $3,300-a-head fundraiser for DeSantis on Saturday in Cotuit, according to an invitation obtained by Playbook and first reported by the Boston Globe. Mull it over and it starts to make more sense. DeSantis fundraised on Nantucket for his gubernatorial reelection campaign and likely has ties to the state from his Harvard Law days. And for Baker Republicans shopping for an alternative to Donald Trump, DeSantis offers a compelling case — holding onto second place in the polls despite his stumbles. Shortsleeve and Lisciotti have already given DeSantis’ campaign the maximum allowed donation of $6,600 for the cycle, FEC records show. But not everyone in Baker world is behind DeSantis. Former Massachusetts GOP Chair Jennifer Nassour and New Balance Chair Jim Davis held a fundraiser for Nikki Haley in late May, Playbook first reported. Davis, who previously backed Trump, and Nassour have already maxed out to Haley’s presidential campaign. Meanwhile, Putnam Investments CEO Bob Reynolds has held fundraisers for both Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence. DeSantis also has allies among the more conservative set in Massachusetts. Auto-parts magnate Rick Green — who recently helped arrange a Massachusetts donor meeting with the DeSantis-aligned Never Back Down super PAC — and his wife have donated thousands of dollars to the governor’s campaign. And the state Republican Party is looking to incentivize the GOP presidential hopefuls to play in Massachusetts by changing its delegate allocation plan. The MassGOP under pro-Trump then-Chair Jim Lyons approved a winner-take-all plan for the 2020 presidential primary to protect Trump from challengers including former Gov. Bill Weld. Now the committee is considering going back to a proportional method that would award delegates to candidates who clear a certain percentage of the primary vote, Amy Carnevale, the new party chair, told Playbook and WBZ’s Jon Keller. If the plan clears a subcommittee next month it will go before the full state committee for a vote in September. The change, if approved, could prove crucial if the GOP primary tightens. A closer primary ups the importance of the Super Tuesday states, which traditionally include Massachusetts. That means Republicans still vying for the nomination at that point would benefit from doing well even in this deep-blue state.
|  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a recent event in Iowa. | Getty Images | GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. DeSantis isn’t the only campaign dashing for cash on the Cape and Islands. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Jill Biden raised roughly half a million dollars for her husband’s reelection campaign at the 300-plus-person Provincetown fundraiser she headlined last weekend, two people familiar with the total told POLITICO Biden campaign reporter Holly Otterbein and me. The reception hosted by event planner Bryan Rafanelli and his husband, Mark Walsh, and Alix Ritchie and her spouse, Marty Davis, now stands as one of the most successful fundraisers the first lady has done yet for the reelection campaign. The haul from the partly grassroots fundraiser, where tickets were as low as $25, shows "how motivated the LGBTQ community is to help reelect President Joe Biden" and how LGBTQ donors "are really crucial to the Democratic Party," said state Sen. Julian Cyr, who attended the fundraiser. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs a Seaport Economic Council meeting at noon in Chatham and announces dredging grants at 2:30 p.m., also in Chatham. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends the Archdale Hot Dog Night at 6:15 p.m. in Roslindale. Tips? Scoops? Going to a political fundraiser? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | |  | DESANTISLAND | | |  An undocumented immigrant child is loaded onto a bus to be transported off Martha’s Vineyard with dozens of other undocumented immigrants in Edgartown, Mass., on Sept. 16, 2022. | Dominic Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images | — ABOUT THOSE OPTICS: The Cape Cod town where Ron DeSantis will collect checks for his presidential campaign on Saturday is just a ferry ride away from where the Florida governor flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard last year and 10 miles from where they received longer-term emergency services at Joint Base Cape Cod. DeSantis is turning to the state he’s repeatedly used to score political points for cash as his campaign bleeds money and lays off staff. More on that from POLITICO Florida's Kimberly Leonard and me. He's also the latest GOP presidential hopeful lined up to stump at one of former Ambassador and past Sen. Scott Brown's "No B.S." backyard BBQs. DeSantis will join Brown and his wife on Sunday. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson follows on Tuesday, per Fox News' Paul Steinhauser.
| | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | | | 
Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks about her audit of the Legislature on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at the State House. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO | — TOLD YOU SO: She’s threatened it for months. Now Diana DiZoglio is trying to take lawmakers to court to get them to comply with her audit of the Legislature’s practices and procedures. Emphasis on trying. The auditor, as Playbook first outlined a few weeks ago, needs permission from the attorney general’s office to proceed in suing another state entity. DiZoglio started that process by sending a 19-page memo to Andrea Campbell yesterday spelling out the reasons she believes she has the authority to audit the Legislature. Among the arguments: There have been 113 audits of the Legislature since 1850 (though many appear to be narrower in scope than what DiZoglio is pursuing). Another: The Legislature is referred to in state law and statutes as a “department” of the commonwealth, and departments fall under the auditor’s purview to review. DiZoglio said efforts to “stymie” her audit by House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka — who claim DiZoglio lacks the authority to proceed given the state’s separation of powers clause — are “a direct affront to the [state] Constitution.” And she publicly appealed to Campbell — who’s now in the awkward position of having to pick between the auditor’s transparency gambit and the lawmakers who endorsed her bid for attorney general — to “support our effort.” A Campbell spokesperson said the office “will review” the memo “and respond in due course.” Precedent here is mixed. DiZoglio cited a 1931 opinion from the then-attorney general that said the auditor can review “all departments, offices, commissions, institutions and activities of the commonwealth” unless they are “expressly exempted in the statute." But a 1994 opinion from the AG’s office cast doubt on the auditor’s authority. Dive deeper with CommonWealth Magazine’s Bruce Mohl and the Boston Globe’s Matt Stout. — BUMPING THIS: Two days after state Senate staffers renewed their push to unionize with the help of U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Spilka said employees hired before May 1 will get a 7.5 percent pay bump, effective Monday. Spilka rejected Senate staffers’ union effort last year. Employees are now hoping to change the law that bars them from collective bargaining. “The fight continues as our union drive grows and keeps getting real wins like this one,” the group of staffers leading the unionization effort tweeted in response to Spilka’s announcement. — “Budget Delay Complicates Free Community College Push,” by Alison Kuznitz, State House News Service (paywall): “With a new academic year nearing, community colleges are tentatively moving forward with plans to help students 25 and older attend for free even though the program has not yet been approved within the fiscal 2024 budget that's stalled in negotiations on Beacon Hill.” — “New Healey administration information technology chief to focus on accessibility,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “A newly-created chief information technology accessibility officer Gov. Maura Healey announced Wednesday will be tasked with making the state’s digital applications more accessible and ‘fully functional’ for all residents." — “Abortion foes pan Sabadosa-backed bill to curb deceptive advertising of ‘pregnancy resource centers’,” by Maddie Fabian, Daily Hampshire Gazette. — "Advocates want to limit how utilities pay for 'political activities' in Mass.," by Miriam Wasser, WBUR.
| | | | 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 | | — “For progressives, Boston city councilors becoming awkward embarrassment,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “The clear leftward shift of Boston city politics should have progressive activists feeling good about their fortunes and the prospects for driving change on big policy issues. Instead, they’ve been put back on their heels by shocking revelations about the driving record of one progressive city councilor and the ethical failings of two others.” — “‘We would not accept this offer:’ Boston mayor to implement raises over objections of municipal police union,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston’s mayor plans to implement far lower raises than what a union of municipal security guards is seeking, with her administration stating that the two sides have reached an impasse and the city can’t afford the group’s demands.” — “Connolly, former councillor at-large, endorses ex-aide in District 3 race,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: “Ann M. Walsh, one of seven candidates running for the District 3 City Council seat, this week received the endorsement of former [mayoral candidate and past] City Councillor At-Large John Connolly." — “Sumner Tunnel restoration on schedule, one-third completed, officials say,” by Daniel Kool, Boston Globe.
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Trahan bill would allow foreign college athletes to get paid,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “The legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Westford, would enshrine in federal law an interim National Collegiate Athletic Association policy preventing colleges and universities from revoking scholarships because a student is paid for use of their name, image and likeness, or hires an agent.” — “Campbell among attorneys general calling on Congress to pass GI Bill Restoration Act,” by Maliya Ellis, Boston Globe: “Under the legislation, which was introduced by representatives Seth Moulton and James Clyburn, Black WWII veterans’ surviving spouses and some of their direct descendants would be granted access to the VA Loan Guaranty Program and to education assistance benefits from the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill as long as they can show the veteran was denied them on the basis of race.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Amherst rally scheduled to support LGBTQ youth, pressure school committee,” by Dave Eisenstadter, MassLive: “Community organizers in Amherst are staging a rally on Friday at the Amherst Regional Middle School, two weeks after the return of Amherst Superintendent Michael Morris, who took emergency medical leave in May. The rally [is] billed as being staged to support LGBTQIA youth and demand ‘transparency, equity, and accountability’ from school officials.” — “Two Greenfield mayoral candidates certified at filing deadline,” by Mary Byrne, Greenfield Recorder: “Mayor Roxann Wedegartner and Precinct 3 City Councilor Virginia ‘Ginny’ DeSorgher both announced their candidacies for mayor earlier this year."
| | | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | | — “Release of document trove about Riverbend Park raises questions on Decker account, DCR decision,” by Mike Gajda, Cambridge Day: “A trove of documents released Tuesday through a citizen’s public records request provides insight into the state government’s decision in April to stop closings of Memorial Drive on Saturdays to create Riverbend Park." — “Cannabis commission chair wants to relax regulations to help businesses 'thrive',” by Hannah Loss, GBH News. — “Telegram & Gazette to stay, but the sign goes,” by Telegram & Gazette staff.
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Springfield native Kristie Canegallo is now acting deputy secretary for the federal Department of Homeland Security. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Mike Cusher, Linda Feldmann, Anna Fletcher and Miles Ketchum. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: DRAG US — The Dorchester Reporter's Gintautas Dumcius breaks down the latest Boston City Council chaos. Host Jennifer Smith pulls back the sequined curtain on "drag queen story hours." Hosts Steve Koczela and Lisa Kashinsky talk new polling on Gov. Maura Healey. 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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