| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | With help from Lisa Kashinsky NOT-SO-CROSS EXAMINATION — Gov. Maura Healey’s move to nominate her former romantic partner to the state’s highest court has drawn unusual attention to the Governor’s Council, the eight-member panel that vets and votes on judicial nominees, just as elections get underway to fill those seats. Dozens of people packed into the State House’s Gardner Auditorium Wednesday to watch the seven sitting councilors — the District 2 seat has been vacant for over a year — quiz long-time Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian. Over the course of the four-hour hearing, every councilor praised Wolohojian’s experience — and a majority of them indicated or said they would vote to confirm her. Just one councilor, Tara Jacobs, addressed “the elephant in the room” — that despite Wolohojian’s credentials, her past ties to Healey raise questions about conflicts and favoritism. None of them directly asked Wolohojian how she would handle cases involving Healey or her administration. But those ethical questions could come back on the campaign trail. Wolohojian “might be extremely qualified. But with possible conflicts of interest or recusals, how is that going to work?” Governor’s Council candidate Jody Elliott told Playbook. Elliot, who is running as an independent for the District 5 seat Councilor Eileen Duff is vacating to pursue a Registry of Deeds position, questioned how willing the all-Democratic panel would be to challenge a nomination coming from the party’s top state-level politician. (Wolohojian interviewed for an opening with then-GOP Gov. Charlie Baker in 2016, but he did not nominate her.) “Where is the line for party loyalty?” Elliott wondered. “Do you vote with the governor? Or do you say, ‘Wait a minute, is this a conflict of interest?’” Healey insisted to reporters that “there are no ethical issues” with Wolohojian serving on the state’s top court as she hurried out of the hearing room following her testimony on her former partner’s behalf. But Wolohojian said there “certainly could be” times, in general, when she might recuse herself. She largely dodged questions from reporters on her way out.
|  Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian during a break at her Governor's Council hearing. | Steve LeBlanc/AP | Even amid outside concerns that the all-Democratic Governor's Council will be deferential to Healey, not everyone running for the panel appears intent on turning the ethical quagmire surrounding Wolohojian’s nomination into a campaign cudgel. Eunice Zeigler, a former Methuen City Council president also vying for the District 5 seat, called in an interview to set aside conversations about nominees’ personal lives and instead focus on their qualifications: “Are they going to be a fair judge? Can people speak to that person's character?” And Mara Dolan, who’s waging a rematch against District 3 Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney, said she had hoped to hear councilors “delve more deeply into the legal issues that are playing out in our courts” during the hearing. “But I will say this: We will never know how many governors over the years have nominated their friends to be judges,” Dolan said. “And the reason we will never know is because no one ever batted an eye.” Some Governor’s Council candidates are also seeing a silver lining in the cloud of controversy: new attention on the often overlooked body they’re aiming to join. “Not too many people are aware of the council and what it does,” Ronald Iacobucci, who’s eyeing a challenge to District 4 Councilor Chris Iannella, told Playbook. But this nomination “underscores the importance of this judicial body.” GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Healey is headed to Washington today ahead of the National Governors Association Winter Meeting on Friday and Saturday, where she’ll lead a bipartisan meeting on cyber resiliency and artificial intelligence. (Healey was recently named co-chair of the working group). Also on her agenda: meetings with federal officials to advocate for funding and support for clean energy, disaster relief and more aid for migrants. The Biden administration is considering new executive actions and federal regulations in an attempt to curb migration at the southern border, our colleague Myah Ward reports. TODAY — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is in the hot seat at POLITICO's Governors Summit. Doors open at 8 a.m. at Washington’s The Wharf for the live event featuring exclusive interviews with leaders of six key states. Register to join or watch live here. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have no public events. Tips? Scoops? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Milton Select Board chair calls loss of state funds due to MBTA zoning denial ‘unconscionable’,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “Milton has started to lose some state funding after residents overturned a state-mandated zoning plan, an action executed by the Healey administration that the chair of the Select Board is calling ‘unconscionable.’ Chairman Michael Zullas, speaking for himself, not the board, told the Herald he believes the town ‘should fight’ back against Gov. Maura Healey’s administration to retrieve current funding reductions and prevent future withholdings.”
| | BIDEN TIME | | FLOTUS FLYBY — First lady Jill Biden announced $100 million in federal funding for "life-changing" women's health research and development during a visit to Cambridge on Wednesday. The money is part of the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research. And it comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) that last year selected Cambridge for a hub. More from The Associated Press. Among the big names in attendance: Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Maria Shriver and federal HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra (h/t SHNS' Alison Kuznitz). CHECK YOUR EMAIL — President Joe Biden may be in your inbox letting you know he’s canceled your student debt. “Congratulations — all or a portion of your federal student loans will be forgiven because you qualify for early loan forgiveness under my Administration’s SAVE Plan,” the email from Biden that the federal Education Department sent out Wednesday reads.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Boston, pro soccer team sued over White Stadium redevelopment,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Neighbors and park advocates have filed a lawsuit against the city and a professional women’s soccer team planning to restore and use Franklin Park’s White Stadium, stating that such a use would unconstitutionally privatize the land. Mayor Michelle Wu pushed back on that claim, however, stating that any attempts to paint the redevelopment project as a privatization of White Stadium was ‘either a misunderstanding or a misrepresentation.’” — “Boston school mishandled sexual misconduct and bullying, superintendent says,” by Abby Patkin, Boston.com: “Boston Public Schools has ousted two administrators from Gardner Pilot Academy in Allston after an investigation revealed that school leaders failed to adequately address bullying and alleged sexual misconduct among students, according to Superintendent Mary Skipper.”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “Getting a jump on new revenues for the T,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “Maura Healey’s task force on funding transportation in Massachusetts hasn’t even met yet, but already researchers retained by the MBTA are examining some of the revenue-raising possibilities, including new motor vehicle fees, a bump in the gas tax, increased tolling, real estate value capture, and higher sales and room occupancy taxes.”
| | DAY IN COURT | | — “Sting operation uncovers alleged discrimination by Mass. landlords, brokers against housing vouchers,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “Twenty realty groups and individuals are being accused of discrimination in a new lawsuit after a national housing watchdog initiated a sting operation to see if they accept federal housing vouchers. Researchers posed as renters and asked brokers via text whether they accept Section 8 vouchers, the federal government’s program for assisting low income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Many were told no, according to the lawsuit." — “Six justices: Worcester lawyer Jennifer Currie to fill long-vacant juvenile court seat,” by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette.
| | | | 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 | | — “Rep. Lynch questions Steward Health Care’s financial transparency, warns of ‘escalation,’ subpoenas,” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald: “Through tours of two of the troubled Massachusetts hospitals owned by Steward Health Care, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and others pointed to the impacts of the system’s financial distress on patients and workers and slammed the lack of financial transparency. … If the health system does not hand over financial information by Friday, the representative said, he’ll be happy to ‘work as a partner’ with the state and there are many directions officials could go to escalate pressure.” — “With 55K at risk of losing internet service, activists call on Congress to extend pandemic-era program,” by Alexander MacDougall, Greenfield Recorder: “Local activists, organizations and representatives from western Massachusetts’s congressional delegation are urging the U.S. federal government to extend a pandemic-era program that covers internet costs for 55,000 low-income residents in the region. The program, dubbed the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), recently stopped accepting new enrollments and is currently set to run out of funds in April.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Migrant crisis lights up Dedham ZBA meeting,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “Residents both objected [to] and pleaded Wednesday for passage of a request to expand the use of a shuttered restaurant as a catering facility for migrant families living in a Dedham hotel. The board ultimately rejected the idea.” — “Superintendents in Boston's suburbs confront claims that DEI programs are antisemitic,” by Phillip Martin, GBH News. — “South Coast confronts rising seas,” by Adam Goldstein, The New Bedford Light.
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