News: Ballot battles begin in earnest

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Ballot battles begin in earnest

Sep 07, 2023

KICKING INTO SIGNATURE-GATHERING GEAR — Ending MCAS as a high school graduation requirement, legalizing psychedelics, bringing back rent control, classifying app-based drivers as non-employees and letting those drivers unionize are among the 31 questions that got the green light from the attorney general to continue down the path toward the 2024 ballot.

That was the easy part.

Proponents of each of these measures now face logistical, legal and financial challenges in actually getting their questions before voters next year.

First is the 11-week sprint to collect the nearly 75,000 signatures that need to be filed with local officials in November and the secretary of state in December. Then the Legislature gets the chance to weigh in. If lawmakers don’t, proponents have to gather even more signatures to get on the ballot.

They also, in some cases, will have to clear legal hurdles. Opposition groups have already pledged to challenge the rent control and driver-classification questions in court. Massachusetts Is Not For Sale, a coalition of unions and worker groups, said it is again “committed to challenging” the classification initiative (nine versions of which were approved on Wednesday).

And two groups — the conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance and, per the Boston Globe, the commercial real estate industry group NAIOP Massachusetts — say they plan to appeal the certification of the local-option rent-control question put forward by state Rep. Mike Connolly.

Opposition to Connolly's effort is also coming from rent-control advocates. Homes for All Massachusetts, a housing justice group, is imploring Connolly to “drop his effort” — telling the Globe that his “unilateral decision" to pursue a ballot question "against the wishes of movement leaders” will “detract” from legislative efforts to overturn the decades-old ban.

Then there’s the cost. Ballot campaigns can amount to multimillion-dollar ventures — even when they fail. Proponents of ranked-choice voting raised $10 million to try and convince voters to approve a new election system in 2020. Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash contributed nearly $44 million to last year’s effort to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors before it was struck down by the SJC. Opponents raised about $1.6 million. The second go-round could be even more expensive.

Real-estate industry leaders have said they could spend as much as $30 million fighting the return of rent control, while an out-of-state housing advocacy group has already donated $50,000 to help get the question on the ballot.

"We understand that this is facing powerful, intense opposition," Connolly told reporters on Beacon Hill. But, he said, if voters are "given the opportunity to lift the statewide ban on rent control, we believe they will.”

Representatives for other ballot committees wouldn’t say when asked by Playbook how much they’d be willing to spend to get their petitions before voters next fall. Max Page, the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association that’s pushing the ballot question to replace the MCAS graduation requirement, said only that the union “is willing to invest the resources need[ed] to win.”

Opponents were equally vague. Ed Lamont, the executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, said his group and its allies are “prepared to invest in ensuring that the public is fully informed about what the consequences would be” of eliminating the MCAS requirement.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Attorney General Andrea Campbell still hasn’t said whether Auditor Diana DiZoglio can sue the Legislature into complying with her audit of its practices and procedures.

But she did certify the ballot question that would codify the auditor’s authority to conduct such reviews. DiZoglio is now calling on “everyone who’s interested in helping to increase transparency, accountability and accessibility in the Legislature” to help gather signatures. Dive deeper into which ballot questions were certified and rejected with CommonWealth Magazine’s Jennifer Smith and GBH's Katie Lannan and Elena Eberwein.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announce the first round of Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund checks at 12:30 p.m. at Hollis Hills Farm in Fitchburg. Driscoll attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. in Burlington and the Trustees of Reservations One Waterfront Gala at 7 p.m. in Boston. Rep. Richard Neal announces federal funding for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at 1 p.m. in North Adams.

Tips? Scoops? Are you running for mayor or city council? Put us on your press list: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— MIGRANT MEETING: Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll will brief House lawmakers today on the state's overburdened emergency assistance shelter system, the Boston Herald’s Chris Van Buskirk reports. The private briefing comes at the request of House leadership.

It also comes as 14 GOP lawmakers, led by state Rep. Michael Soter, are accusing the Healey administration of prioritizing shelter for "undocumented immigrants over our own citizens." More on the letter from The Eagle-Tribune’s Christian M. Wade.

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A coalition pushing to legalize court-mandated outpatient mental health treatment is heading into a hearing on the contentious legislation today with a new poll showing majority support for what's also known as assisted outpatient treatment.

The MassINC Polling Group poll for Assisted Outpatient Treatment Now shows 75 percent of the 500 registered voters surveyed in July at least "somewhat favor" the concept, according to results shared with Playbook.

Coalition members will testify in support of the bills from state Sen. Cindy Friedman and state Rep. Mathew Muratore, which have faced opposition from major mental health advocacy groups in the state. Massachusetts is one of only three states that doesn’t allow judges to order outpatient mental health treatment.

— "In contest for federal funds, Mass. officials need $800 million more in state money to compete, report says," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe.

FROM THE HUB

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale is “strongly” endorsing Kendra Lara for a second term as Boston’s District 6 city councilor. The Progressive Massachusetts chapter said in a statement that Lara needs to “rebuild trust with constituents” after her late-June car crash and alleged issues with her driver's license. But the group, which also endorsed Lara in her first council run, praised her leadership on housing issues and during last year’s Orange Line shutdown, saying she “accomplished an amazing amount” in her first term.

“The good that Kendra has done warrants patience to get the full facts,” the group said. “All together, we believe the accident and surrounding issues should not erase or overshadow her accomplishments so far, or her energy and vision to do even more.” The group is the second progressive organization to back Lara in as many days.

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund has endorsed Boston City Councilor at-large Ruthzee Louijeune for reelection.

— “New Balance chairman turns to City Council races after spending big in mayoral contest,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: “Jim Davis, the New Balance chairman who sent more than $1 million toward an outside group seeking to defeat then-Councillor Michelle Wu in the 2021 mayoral contest, is now hotfooting into City Council races. The candidates say they aren’t interested in the help.”

— “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu denies talking to Harvard about job offer,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu flatly denied speculation that she is considering leaving office for a job at Harvard University. Wu said Wednesday that she has not talked to Harvard brass about a job there.”

WARREN REPORT

— “No GOP challenger in sight, but Elizabeth Warren draws a Socialist opponent in Senate race,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “While the embattled Massachusetts Republican Party has yet to produce a candidate to challenge Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2024, she did draw an unlikely opponent this week. Socialist Brandon Griffin, a Whitman planning board member running to represent The Workers Party of Massachusetts announced on Monday that he was running for the Cambridge Democrat’s seat.”

ROE FALLOUT

— “Study: More patients traveled to Mass. for abortions after Supreme Court Dobbs ruling,” by Martha Bebinger, WBUR: “Massachusetts has seen a small but significant increase in people traveling to the state for an abortion since June 2022, when the Supreme Court allowed states to limit access to — or ban — the procedure. A study based on medical records from the state’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, shows a 37.5% increase in the first four months after the Dobbs decision as compared to the same time a year earlier. The total for July-October of 2022 is still small, 155 patients."

JOIN US ON 9/12 FOR A TALK ON THE NEW AGE OF TRAVELING: In this new era of American travel, trending preferences like wellness tourism, alternative lodging and work-from-anywhere culture provide new but challenging opportunities for industry and policy leaders alike. Join POLITICO on Sept. 12 for an expert discussion examining how the resilience of the tourism and travel industries is driving post-pandemic recovery. REGISTER HERE.

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Does the MBTA’s new head of stations know what he’s gotten himself into?” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “Dennis Varley, who will make $265,000 a year, can’t say which T station is in the worst shape, and he swears he’s seen worse elsewhere.”

FROM THE 413

— “LaChapelle won’t seek reelection in 2025,” by Maddie Fabian, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Saying that the city operates best with fresh leaders who bring new ideas, Mayor Nicole LaChapelle announced Tuesday that she will step aside when her term ends in 2025. … LaChapelle has had the support of several of the Democratic Party’s heavy hitters, including U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and Gov. Maura Healey.”

— “Pittsfield's mayoral candidates offer their view of the city's safety and plans for the future in televised debate,” by Meg Britton-Mehlisch, Berkshire Eagle.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Brockton Public Schools CFO placed on administrative leave in wake of deficit revelation,” by Brockton Enterprise staff: “Brockton Public Schools' chief financial officer has been placed on administrative leave as the city grapples with the bombshell revelation of a $14.4 million deficit in last year's budget, Mayor Robert Sullivan said at a school committee meeting Wednesday night.”

— “Neo-Nazi group protests outside migrant hotel,” by Jesse Collings, MetroWest Daily News: “Guests staying at the Extended Stay America in Marlborough were subjected to a display from a white supremacist group outside the hotel on Saturday, which included an anti-immigrant banner and xenophobic chants aimed at the people staying at the hotel. … The Extended Stay America is one of several hotels in the area that are currently being used as temporary housing for homeless families.”

Rep. Lori Trahan, who represents Marlborough, decried the demonstration in a statement. “We’re not going to stand idly by while a bunch of neo-Nazi bullies try to intimidate refugees who legally came to this nation in search of a better life for their families,” she said.

MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND

— WADING INTO THE OCEAN STATE: Rep. Jake Auchincloss is pledging to help elect Gabe Amo as the first person of color to represent Rhode Island in Congress, after the Biden White House alum won the crowded Democratic primary for former Rep. David Cicilline’s seat.

Auchincloss notably didn’t endorse in the primary, despite doing so in last year’s race to succeed retiring Rep. Jim Langevin. Former Gov. Deval Patrick, Healey administration director of federal affairs Will Rasky and former Marty Walsh aide Dan Koh, who’s now a deputy Biden Cabinet secretary, all donated to Amo ahead of Tuesday’s vote, my West Wing Playbook colleagues report.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Eric Gold, former health care division chief in the state attorney general's office, has joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as health partner.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Rep. Seth Moulton alum Eric Kanter and Maralee Schwartz.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: PRELIMANIA — Hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith break down preliminary elections around Massachusetts, including Springfield’s mayoral race, with the help of Western Mass Politics & Insight’s Matt Szafranski. Smith and host Lisa Kashinsky run down which ballot questions are off to the signature-gathering races. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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