Off to the municipal money races

Lisa Kashinsky's must-read rundown of what's up on Beacon Hill and beyond.

Sep 06, 2023 View in browser   By Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity BANK ON IT — Money isn’t everything, but it can give a good sense of where candidates stand as preliminary election season gets underway. From contested mayoral races to crowded city council contests, here’s what the latest campaign finance reports tell us about the state of some of the state’s major municipal elections: — THE INCUMBENT MAYORS ARE ALRIGHT: Mayors on the defensive are, for the most part, sitting on far more cash than their challengers. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno both have at least four times more money in the bank than their opponents. In Brockton, Mayor Robert Sullivan's challengers have less than $2,000 between them while the incumbent started September with $107,221 in his coffers. And these mayors are using their money to their advantage. Sarno, for instance, is digging into his war chest to drown out his four opponents on the airwaves. The six-term incumbent spent nearly $160,000 on television, radio and social media ads last month and still had $86,832 in the bank at the start of September. Three of his rivals, City Councilors Justin Hurst and Jesse Lederman and state Rep. Orlando Ramos, have also aired ads ahead of Tuesday's preliminary election that will winnow the field to two. But their buys are far smaller given their financial constraints. — BOSTON’S EMBATTLED COUNCILORS ARE NOT: Kendra Lara wasn’t raising a lot of money for her District 6 reelection bid before she crashed a car into a Jamaica Plain house at the end of June. But she’s brought in just $3,831 in the two months after, and had less than $6,200 in cash on hand to start September. Her opponents, Benjamin Weber and William King, raised $34,692 and $29,258 in the same timeframe, respectively. District 5 incumbent Ricardo Arroyo, who’s faced a slew of controversies this year, trailed two of his three opponents in August donations. But Tania Fernandes Anderson, who, like Arroyo, faced an ethics violation and a bullying complaint this summer, out-raised her competition in August — albeit with just $8,026 in contributions. Remember, two candidates will advance in each of these contests. While Lara and Arroyo are down, it doesn’t mean they’re going to be out. Progressive political group Right to the City VOTE! just endorsed the pair yesterday. But these numbers still serve as a warning sign that Lara and Arroyo could be on shaky ground after their summer scandals. — PACS SITTING BACK: Super PACs poured millions of dollars into Boston’s last mayoral race. But they’ve barely played in this year’s municipal contests. The biggest expenditures thus far: $3,043 from the “Forward Boston” IEPAC on ads backing King in District 6, Jose Ruiz in District 5 and John FitzGerald for the open District 3 seat; and roughly $15,000 from the “Hispanic Latinos Leaders Now” IEPAC to support Ramos in Springfield. — THE ONE OUT-RAISING THEM ALL: Gov. Maura Healey likely won’t be on the ballot again until 2026. But she hauled in $111,044 in August after hitting the summer fundraising circuit on the Cape and Islands. That's more money than any other candidate raised last month, according to OCPF. GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. In just a few hours we'll know whether ballot questions that would ask voters to end MCAS as a graduation requirement, classify Uber and Lyft drivers as independent contractors and reinstate rent control can proceed in the certification process for 2024. Stay tuned! TODAY — Healey has no public events. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs a Governor’s Council meeting at noon. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a back-to-school media availability at 10:30 a.m. at the Bolling Building in Roxbury. Rep. Lori Trahan highlights federal infrastructure funding at 12:30 p.m. at Billerica Town Hall. Rep. Seth Moulton hosts a town hall at 6 p.m. at Grand View Farm in Burlington. Tips? Scoops? Are you running for mayor or city council? Put us on your email lists: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the 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. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND Gabe Amo | Amo Campaign via AP — PRIME TIME: And the winner of Rhode Island’s special Democratic congressional primary (and the person most likely to succeed former Rep. David Cicilline) is… Gabe Amo. The Biden and Obama administration alum prevailed over nearly a dozen other candidates with about 32 percent of the vote in a primary punctuated by scandals. The seat is considered safely Democratic, meaning Amo, who is Black, is now on track to become the first person of color to represent Rhode Island in Congress. He next faces GOP nominee Gerry Leonard in November. Amo’s victory is a blow to progressives who were hoping to grow their ranks in Congress. Aaron Regunberg, who political observers believed to be the favorite heading into primary day, had pitched himself as the progressive choice with the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But it was the more moderate Amo who won by leaning into his Biden administration credentials and securing a late-in-the-game endorsement from former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who previously held the seat. WPRI and the Boston Globe have more from the Ocean State. DATELINE BEACON HILL — “Bond Bill Shaping Up As Next Housing Battleground,” by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service (paywall): “It's now eight months into Gov. Maura Healey's administration and the wait continues for major proposals from the Corner Office to address perhaps the governor's signature issue: housing affordability and production. … ‘We have been hearing that the housing bond bill could show up some time this month,’ Phil Jones of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization told the News Service on Tuesday.”   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.     FROM THE HUB — “Arriving students victims — and villains — in Massachusetts housing crunch,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Magazine: “The Greater Boston metropolitan area, as defined by the US Census, houses around 400,000 students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate school programs. … Boston estimates that students account for 13 percent of its entire rental population. This makes them a significant market force. But they face a difficult bind — simultaneously victims of scarce and expensive housing stock and often pegged as villains putting the squeeze on families in the scramble for the limited supply of available rental units.” — “Boston Police investigating after Southie electric sign board displayed ‘KKK Meeting Today’,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald. The Race for City Hall — “Hotel workers endorse in District 3, as a former mayor wades into District 5,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: “The hotel and food workers union UNITE HERE Local 26 became the latest union to endorse John FitzGerald in the District 3 City Council race, his campaign said Tuesday. ... [Marty] Walsh waded into another City Council preliminary and backed Jose Ruiz, a former Boston Police officer running in District 5 (Hyde Park, Mattapan and Roslindale). Ruiz, who worked for Walsh in City Hall, is one of three challengers hoping to knock off incumbent Councillor Ricardo Arroyo.” — WORCESTER PRELIMS: Incumbent Worcester City Councilors Candy Mero-Carlson and Etel Haxhiaj made it through their preliminary elections while former councilor Phil Palmieri lost his bid to rejoin the legislative body. The Telegram & Gazette and Spectrum News 1 have the full rundown. PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — "Eight MBTA employees fired for sleeping, not paying attention at work," by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: "Eight of the 10 MBTA employees suspended for sleeping or failing to pay proper attention during work hours over the past year and a half were ultimately fired by the agency, records show. The terminated employees included five bus drivers, a train operator, bus inspector and electrical worker." WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET — AG ON AI: Andrea Campbell joined 53 other attorneys general in calling on Congress to study how artificial intelligence “can and is being used to exploit and endanger children through the generation of child sexual abuse material.” Read the letter. THE LOCAL ANGLE — “Former Everett schools superintendent convicted of assault now registered sex offender, loses state pension,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “Frederick F. Foresteire, the ex-Everett schools superintendent convicted in February of indecently assaulting three women, has been registered as a sex offender and lost his six-figure pension, according to state officials.” — “Parents, educators defend Lexington schools’ diversity curriculum after petition,” by Daniel Kool and Sean Cotter, Boston Globe: “A town known for its battle green is now the latest front in the fight over classes about gender and sexual orientation, with Lexington parents debating the ‘Serious Talks’ diversity and inclusion curriculum as the district looks to roll it out more broadly. The curriculum, which is now the subject of pushback in the form of an online petition, has existed in some form for more than a decade and is currently in use in a handful of schools, according to the district.” — “Police investigating after signs from white supremacist group are posted around Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard,” by Emily Sweeney and Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “Of four signs that were found and taken down, one was emblazoned with the words ‘Strong Families, Strong Nations’ and the other said ‘America First,’ police said. The signs appeared to be made with stencils and spray paint and each featured the web address of Patriot Front, a far-right group that has become increasingly visible in New England.” More from the MV Times. HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Laura Maloney Johnsen, an associate at McKinsey in Boston, and Michael Johnsen, a real estate developer at BXP, on Aug. 21 welcomed Oliver James Johnsen. Pic ... Another pic TRANSITIONS — Sophie Hansen is now the inaugural director of government relations and external affairs at Vinfen. She previously was director of state government relations and advocacy at Commonwealth Care Alliance. — Rachel Guerra is now district and communications director for Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem. She previously was at the British Consulate in Boston. — Amy Boyd Rabin is joining the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the ELM Action Fund as vice president of policy. She previously was VP, climate and clean energy policy at Acadia Center. — Danilo Santucci is joining Nutter as a partner in the private client department. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Rep. Bill Keating, Warren alum and MBTA chief communications officer Gabrielle Mondestin, former MA-03 candidate Rick Green, Curt Nickisch, senior editor at Harvard Business Review; Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan, Ben Hammer, Dave Vittorini and New Hampshire Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy. Happy belated to Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), who celebrated Tuesday. 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 Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky   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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