| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity and Lisa Kashinsky | | Presented by |  | | | A PROGRAMMING NOTE: Lisa here. It’s our last week together — if you’ve ever wanted to send me a tip or scoop, you’ve got one day left! Hit me up: lkashinsky@politico.com. PLAYBOOK MEET AND GREET: Join us at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, at Carrie Nation for an evening of cocktails, small bites and big #mapoli chatter. Say farewell to Lisa, hello to Kelly and meet Massachusetts Playbook and POLITICO Deputy National Editor Katie Locke. Just don’t call it a happy hour. Signups are limited, so hurry up and RSVP here! We’ll send out confirmation emails, which will be required for entrance, next week.
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Brian Worrell is only in his second term on the Boston City Council, but he holds a lot of power as budget steward. | Mike Mejia/Boston mayor's office courtesy photo | WORRELL’S TAKE — Brian Worrell isn’t one for the drama that often engulfs the Boston City Council. But the second-term District 4 councilor — who occupies a powerful perch as the council’s budget steward — is willing to join the fray when he deems it necessary. “I am solution and result oriented. … I'm going to work to my best ability to get done what needs to get done for the city of Boston,” he told Playbook. “So if that requires me going in there and yelling, I'm going to go in there and yell. If that requires me working with my colleagues in the [Wu] administration, I’m [going to] work with my colleagues in the administration.” Worrell waded in on Wednesday, as the council — which now has the power to make line-item changes to the city's spending plan rather than just approve or reject it — took a series of contentious votes on Mayor Michelle Wu’s budget and on her controversial plan that would let the city temporarily hike the commercial property tax rate. As the chair of the council’s Ways and Means Committee, Worrell guided what was at times a fiery debate as councilors moved around more than $15 million in amendments to Wu’s $4.6 billion budget and quarreled over parliamentary procedure. He ultimately joined the majority in the 10-3 budget vote, sending the amended spending bill back to Wu for consideration. Worrell rebuked his colleagues who sounded alarms over what they called “cuts” to funding for key city resources — amendments that reduced the proposed increase to the city’s police department and other public service programs and reallocated some of those funds to other initiatives. “When people provide misinformation to the public — for whatever gains they have to gain off of it — it is disconcerting,” Worrell said, noting the police, fire and public works departments will still see year-over-year increases in the council’s amended budget. “I don't think our constituents, our residents, should be lied to.” But Worrell also proved a wildcard on Wednesday, joining Councilors Ed Flynn, John FitzGerald and Erin Murphy in voting against Wu’s tax plan. Playbook talked to Worrell about that vote, whether the council should have more power over the budget process and the dynamics between the mayor and the body on which she once served. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity: Why did you vote no on the mayor’s property tax proposal? I don’t think we have enough information on this to see what it does down the road. I also think it needs to be coupled with more economic driving tools. We need more of a long-term plan opposed to a short, temporary fix that just softens the blow. The mayor has a lot of political allies on this council. Do you think there’s enough scrutiny of the mayor’s agenda by members? We just amended the mayor's budget by $15.3 million. And I think that just speaks to the council coming together, finding our shared goals and then stepping into our collective strength. Should the council have more power over the city’s budget? Something I’ve been thinking about is what would it be like if the city council was able to propose its own budget. That's something that I’ve been thinking about more and more. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Go C’s! TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks at a health equity summit at 9 a.m. at UMass Boston, tours the Vineyard Wind operations facility at 2:20 p.m. in Vineyard Haven and throws out the first pitch at the AAA Minors Mets at Diamondbacks game in Oak Bluffs at 4 p.m. Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks at U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick’s investiture ceremony at the John J. Moakley Courthouse at 3 p.m. and kicks off the American Heart Association's ‘Lawyers Have Heart’ 5K at 6 p.m. in Boston. Wu hosts a coffee hour at 9:30 a.m. at Hyde Park.
| | | | A message from Choose Who You Use: A new study published earlier this year revealed that if customers chose a retail electric provider over a utility in 2022 and 2023 the combined savings would have been $1.7 billion. Join the Choose Who You Use coalition to protect electricity choice and preserve Massachusetts ratepayers’ ability to choose the most affordable, renewable options for them. Learn more. | | | |  | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | SCOOPLET — Gov. Maura Healey isn’t just heading to Martha’s Vineyard today for work. She’s also got a fundraiser on the books for her campaign committee, according to an invitation obtained by Playbook. Tickets run from $125 for a “supporter” to $1,000 — the state limit — to be a “host” of the Oak Bluffs event. Healey will also return to the Cape and Islands next Wednesday for a fundraising event in Harwich, according to another invitation obtained by Playbook. Tickets run from $250 to $1,000 for that one. The governor’s kept up a steady fundraising cadence since taking over the executive suite. She raked in $182,500 last month alone, according to OCPF. And she’s regrown her war chest — which had dropped under $700,000 after her 2022 bid — back over $2 million, two years before she’s likely to be on a ballot again. All that money also gives the DunQueen the flexibility to spend $480 at Dunkin’ for “St. Patrick’s Day Supplies.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan is endorsing Allison Cartwright for Suffolk County Supreme Judicial Court clerk, the latest in a string of prominent city politicians backing the longtime attorney for the role. CASH DASH — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is the "special guest" at a fundraiser for Durkan tonight at Cornwall's on Beacon Street. — “Massachusetts Governor’s Council candidate served time in federal prison on drug distribution conspiracy charge,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Sean Michael Murphy, a 48-year-old decorated U.S. Navy veteran who runs a law firm, was indicted in June 2001 on possession with an intent to distribute and to distribute oxycodone in violation of federal law, court documents show. He later struck an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a single count of drug distribution conspiracy, according to court records.”
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | REVENUE ROLLERCOASTER — After a healthy tax haul in April, revenues dipped back below benchmarks in May, according to the Department of Revenue. The state pulled in about $2.45 billion last month, down $260 million from May 2023 and $192 million below benchmark. But year-to-date collections are running nearly $1.3 billion ahead of where they were during the same time period in 2023, and are $700 million above the year-to-date benchmark. THEY’RE GRINDING — With less than two months to go before the end of formal lawmaking for the session, activity is (finally) ramping up on Beacon Hill. Healey's hulking economic development bill is moving through committees. The House on Wednesday approved its bulked-up but transfer-tax-less version of her housing bond bill. And House Speaker Ron Mariano said that the House will vote later this month on a bill that would make it easier for members of the LGBTQ community to become parents. Meanwhile, “there are some discussions going on” about finding alternatives to proposed ballot questions about app-based drivers and MCAS as a high school graduation requirement, said state Rep. Alice Peisch, who helped lead a committee that reviewed the petitions. One thing that’s not moving: gun reform legislation. “To quote a wise man, it's not done till it's done. And it's not done,” state Rep. Mike Day, who’s leading negotiations for the House, told reporters. — “Acton killing renews calls for expansion of ‘dangerousness’ hearings,” by Sean Cotter, The Boston Globe: “The killing of an Acton teenage girl last week by her stepfather, who was charged with raping her three years ago, has reenergized an effort to include child rape and other sexual offenses under the state’s dangerousness laws, which would allow prosecutors to detain suspects prior to their trials. ‘The unfortunate reality is that there are instances that happen in which really dangerous individuals are still out on our streets,’ said state Senator John Velis, who has already proposed a bill that would include sex crimes such as child rape under the dangerousness law. … His bill remains in committee, where it has been granted an extension through the end of June.”
| | | | A message from Choose Who You Use:   | | | | | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Mass. migrants worry closing the border could hurt those attempting to flee unsafe countries,” by Daniel Kool, The Boston Globe.
| | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL | | — “Inside Wu fundraiser, 2025 is already underway,” by Gintautas Dumcius, CommonWealth Beacon: “Michelle Wu has held off on a formal reelection launch, but the scene on Monday night inside the Omni Parker House had the unmistakable vibes of a Boston mayor gearing up to defend her seat in 2025. ... The event ended up raising roughly $30,000 for Wu’s campaign account, which as of the end of May held nearly $1.5 million.”
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | MARKEY’S MOMENT — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked Sen. Ed Markey’s bill that would have codified the right to contraception access and the right of medical providers to dispense it. But Markey told Playbook that Republicans are only giving Democrats more to run on in November. “These votes put Republicans on record,” Markey said. “Republicans otherwise will obfuscate, they’ll hide behind excuses. But when they were given then right to protect the right to contraception, they chose to pursue an anti-freedom, anti-choice, MAGA agenda, so now it’s all very clear to the voters.” House Democrats, led by Minority Whip Katherine Clark, are trying to force a vote on the bill in their chamber through a discharge petition, though it’s unlikely to work. Markey’s message to representatives: “Have the vote. … Put people on the record.” TRAVEL LOG — Reps. Seth Moulton and Lori Trahan are among the federal lawmakers traveling to Normandy, France, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
| | | | JOIN US ON 6/12 FOR A TALK ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY: As air travel soars again, policymakers and airlines are grappling with a series of contemporary challenges to the industry's future. Join POLITICO on June 12 for a topical and timely conversation with government leaders and aviation stakeholders about the state of the airline industry. From what passengers want to what airlines need amid the high demand for air traffic, workers and technology solutions. What can Washington do to ensure passengers and providers are equipped to fly right? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | FROM THE 413 | | — “Springfield schools chief calls family of elected official ‘freaking scumbags’,” by Aprell May Munford, The Springfield Republican, and Elizabeth Román, NEPM: “In a recording circulating on social media, Springfield’s departing school superintendent can be heard characterizing the family of an elected city official as ‘freaking scumbags.' The comments by Superintendent Daniel Warwick appear to have been captured in a voicemail message he did not intend to leave. Warwick refers by name to the family of LaTonia Monroe Naylor, a member of the Springfield School Committee.” — “Mayor boosts Northampton school spending after public outcry,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “A day before an expected final vote Thursday on the city’s budget for the coming fiscal year, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has submitted a new budget that increases school funding by twice her originally planned 4% hike, after more than a month of public pressure and protests over proposed job cuts.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Climate champion Bill McKibben recruits people over 60 to join him for an activist 'Third Act',” by Anthony Brooks, WBUR.
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | — “Political consultant behind fake Biden robocalls posts bail on first 6 of 26 criminal charges,” by Holly Ramer, The Associated Press. — “Becky Whitley explains decision to drop out of 2nd District race,” by Caleb Richmond, WMUR.
| | | | A message from Choose Who You Use: Massachusetts’ utility customers have recently seen some of the highest electric rates in the country, but customers who chose retail electric providers could have saved hundreds of dollars over the last two years. The last thing we should be doing during this moment is eliminating this choice for Massachusetts consumers and forcing people to live under monopoly utility service.
Choose Who You Use is committed to protecting real electricity choice in Massachusetts. We believe the power to choose energy should be in the hands of the people. In Massachusetts, individuals should be able to choose the type of energy they want and how to pay for it. Learn more. | | | | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Adrian Jordan is Boston’s new chief of emergency preparedness; Matthew Kearney will serve as deputy chief. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, chair of the House Ways & Means Committee; former state Rep. and past Cambridge City Councilor Tim Toomey; Kevin Sprague and Isaac Luria. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: LISA’S LAST RODEO — Host Lisa Kashinsky hops in the saddle one last time to talk politics and polls with hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith. This wide-ranging episode covers #mapoli’s reactions to Donald Trump’s guilty verdict and Joe Biden’s border action, as well as new poll numbers on the state’s top politicians. 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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