| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity | SEX, DRUGS AND CRYPTO — John Deaton is launching his campaign against Elizabeth Warren, giving the state’s senior senator some more prominent — but still long-shot — competition in her bid for a third term. A website and a Facebook page for Deaton’s campaign went live over the long weekend. But unless you’re really into crypto, you’ve likely never heard of the digital-assets advocate and attorney who moved to Massachusetts last month to take on Democrat Warren, Congress’ loudest crypto critic. We’ve already covered the basics: He’s a dad to three daughters, a testicular cancer survivor and a former Marine who opened a law firm in Rhode Island representing asbestos victims. He’s renting a house in Swansea that is now his primary and full-time residence, and is selling his Barrington, Rhode Island, home for $2.5 million, according to real-estate listings and Jim Conroy, a political adviser to former Gov. Charlie Baker who is consulting for Deaton. He also plans to loan his campaign $500,000 to start. Deaton's 314-page memoir, “Food Stamp Warrior,” says a lot more. We read it over the long weekend. Here’s what we learned:
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John Deaton | Jim Conroy/Courtesy photo | A VIOLENT UPBRINGING — Violence pervaded Deaton’s childhood in a rough Detroit enclave. He writes that he was raped, had a gun pressed into his mouth on the first day of high school and sold pot in exchange for food stamps for his family. He also may have shot someone — and to this day, he writes, he doesn’t know if he did. In Deaton’s telling, his close friend was killed in a drug-related drive-by shooting. As he was dying, Deaton, then 17, took his friend’s gun and opened fire: “I kept squeezing the trigger, as bullets shot through the car and blasted the back window into shards. I saw a person in the back slump down, and I’m still not sure if it’s because I hit him or if he ducked.” Deaton writes that years later, “I couldn’t stop asking myself: Did he kill my friend, did he get hit with a bullet, did he live or die?” ‘COKE-FUELED SEX BENDER’ — Deaton writes that after his divorce he “went on a coke-fueled sex bender.” Using sites like “Plenty of Fish” and “Sugar Daddy” to find partners, Deaton says he would search for “women in their mid-twenties, decades younger than me.” He met his current partner, Kristiana, when he hired her as an assistant at his law firm. “Within a couple of years of Kristi working for me,” they struck up a romance. They’ve been together for almost nine years and share a 5-year-old daughter. OVERCOMING ADDICTION — Deaton says he “periodically battled dependency on pain pills” after being prescribed opioids following a back surgery. CRYPTO CURIOUS — Part of what helped pull Deaton out of a self-described “mid-life crisis” was discovering crypto — and the online community of digital-asset enthusiasts that comes with it. Deaton, who has invested in Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, gained notoriety in the crypto world when he battled the SEC’s efforts to classify XRP as a security as part of a lawsuit against Ripple Labs. Here’s how Deaton sees crypto: “It's a story, one much like my own: it is a story of survival and evolution, not just for the few but for the many.” TRUMP'S 'ANTITHESIS' — Though Deaton is running as a Republican, whether he’ll embrace his party’s standard bearer (and likely 2024 presidential nominee) is unclear. In his book, Deaton references former President Donald Trump — but only to draw contrast with himself. “I’ve always believed that money should never define someone. If anything, I’m the antithesis of Donald Trump,” Deaton writes. “You’ll never catch me being flashy or anything like that.” GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. As Deaton readied his launch, Warren released a report from her Senate office this morning that says she’s helped secure $50 billion in federal funding for Massachusetts since taking office in 2013. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll have no public events. Rep. Ayanna Pressley celebrates federal funding at 10:30 a.m. at Chelsea City Hall. First lady Jill Biden arrives in Boston at 7 p.m., after attending a political finance event in Connecticut and ahead of a Wednesday event in Cambridge that’s part of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Tips? Scoops? Running for Congress? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S GOVERNORS SUMMIT: Join POLITICO on Feb. 22 to dive into how Governors are wielding immense power. While Washington remains gridlocked, governors are at the center of landmark decisions in AI and tech, economic development, infrastructure, housing, reproductive health and energy. How are they setting the stage for the future of American politics, policies and priorities? How are they confronting major challenges? Explore these questions and more at the 2024 Governors Summit. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | ‘AN INTERESTING BACKGROUND’ — MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale thinks John Deaton will “present a strong candidacy” for U.S. Senate despite only recently returning to the state (he lived here during law school). “He has an interesting background,” Carnevale said Sunday on NBC10’s “At Issue.” Taking on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has nearly $4 million in her campaign coffers, is no small challenge for a Republican in Massachusetts — particularly in a presidential election year, Carnevale said. But Deaton “came to us and said he has a passion for running for office and he wants to compete and present his vision."
| | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | THAT’S NOT A NO — It wouldn’t be an appearance on WCVB’s “On the Record” if the politician sitting in the hot seat didn’t get asked — directly or indirectly — whether he or she aspires to higher office. On Sunday, it was Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s turn to field that question. “When you are governor, are you going to allow the governor’s office to be audited?” host Ed Harding asked. DiZoglio laughed it off. “Like I’ve said time and time again, I am incredibly grateful to be in the position that I am in and looking forward to continuing the work to increase accountability and equity,” she said. DiZoglio said the governor’s office “absolutely, 1,000 percent” should be subject to the state’s public records law. Former GOP gubernatorial nominee Geoff Diehl agreed in a post on X. She also feels the budget Gov. Maura Healey put forward is “less equitable than it could have been” because her office is slated for a lower percentage spending increase than the offices of the attorney general, secretary of state, inspector general and treasurer. Coincidentally, DiZoglio is “getting ready to soon release the results of an audit of the Office of Administration and Finance.”
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Cambridge officials press secretary of state to turn migrant shelter into 24/7 operation,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “[State] Rep. Mike Connolly, a Democrat whose district encompasses the old courthouse in East Cambridge, told the Herald on Saturday that he, city officials, and the rest of the city’s state delegation, have been ‘begging’ Secretary William Galvin for weeks to run the shelter around the clock, but Galvin hasn’t budged. … Galvin spokesperson Deb O’Malley … said Gov. Maura Healey’s office ultimately makes the final call about the shelter’s hours even though the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office owns the building.” — “New day shelter opens in Chelsea, as state shelters remain full,” by WBUR: “Sarah Bartley, vice president of United Way's safe and stable housing program, said the day shelter is particularly needed since the Cambridge state shelter has limited hours.”
| | | FROM THE HUB | | | — “Boston Fire continues to fail to reflect the community it serves, new data show,” by Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe: “The Boston Fire Department continues to struggle to diversify its ranks, with its current academy class being overwhelmingly white and male, in stark contrast to the city it serves, according to new city figures the Globe obtained through a public records request."
| | | | Don’t sleep on it. Get breaking New York policy from POLITICO Pro—the platform that never sleeps—and use our Legislative Tracker to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | BLUNT TALK — Warren was asked on “Pod Save America” who she would want in her “dream blunt rotation” — aka four people she would “hypothetically” smoke weed with “because they’d be a really fun time.” Sen. Ed Markey was on host Jon Favreau’s list. But Warren only had one person in mind: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Though, she noted that she interpreted the question as “nothing to do with weed” and just “who you think is fun.” The Hill has more. — “Rep. Lynch: Financing deal is 'not enough' to keep all Steward hospitals open,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “On WBUR's ‘Radio Boston’ Friday, Massachusetts U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch said Steward executives told him in meetings this [past] week that although they received an infusion of money to keep some hospitals running, it's ‘not enough.’ Lynch also said Steward has not deviated from its initial statements to his staff that the company will leave Massachusetts.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Former Agawam personnel director pleads guilty to tax fraud,” by Jeanette DeForge, Springfield Republican: “The former long-term personnel director in Agawam has pleaded guilty to tax fraud, more than two years after federal investigators showed up at City Hall with subpoenas demanding records related to their investigation.” — “Springfield shelter system at capacity and homelessness expected to expand,” by Jeanette DeForge, Springfield Republican.
| | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING | | SHOT — “MTA exerts more power amid a wave of teacher strikes, generating praise and scorn,” by James Vaznis, The Boston Globe: “The more forceful approach has rejuvenated union activism among its members and attracted attention from national politicians like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who have sided with striking teachers. But the MTA’s combative style has increasingly chafed Beacon Hill lawmakers and local leaders who quietly and sometimes publicly complain the union is difficult to deal with and has instilled resentment among some parents grappling with the repercussions of teacher strikes and pandemic school closures on their children and families.” CHASER — “Newton parents file class-action lawsuit, seek damages for teachers’ strike,” by Ross Cristantiello, Boston.com. — “Should National Guard be deployed at Brockton High to 'prevent a potential tragedy'?” by Cody Shepard, The Enterprise: “Four members of the Brockton School Committee have asked Mayor Robert Sullivan to consider contacting Governor Maura Healey to ask her to temporarily send National Guard soldiers to Brockton High School ‘to prevent a potential tragedy.’ … Brockton High School has been in increasing turmoil this school year with many teachers publicly describing shocking levels of chaos and violence.” They defended their call in a press conference on Monday; the mayor opposes it. — “How the Newburyport mayor became a regional lightning rod,” by Billy Baker, The Boston Globe: “In 2021, Sean Reardon won a tight election for mayor. But after a landslide win in a huge fight over a new building for Whittier Tech, he sits a bit differently in the corner office.” — “Red flag law seldom used to confiscate firearms,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Data from the state Trial Court shows the law was used to confiscate firearms belonging to just 12 people last year, which is higher than the previous year. In all, there have been 57 ‘extreme risk’ petitions filed under the 2018 state law, which was passed in the wake of previous school shootings nationally.” — “Revamping literacy, with fewer school librarians,” by Colin Hogan, The New Bedford Light: “More than 9,500 students don’t have an active school library or librarian in New Bedford Public Schools. ... In one school, Normandin Middle, the abandoned library is now where suspended students serve their detentions.”
| | | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | | — “Sununu wins approval to send NH National Guard soldiers to US-Mexico border,” by Josh Rogers, NHPR: “[Gov. Chris] Sununu repeatedly defended it as necessary to stem the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into New Hampshire. He said while the nation's southern border may feel distant, the impacts of unauthorized immigration touch the entire country.”
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