| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | | Presented by |  | | | UNDERSTANDING THE ASSIGNMENT — In the frenzied aftermath of Joe Biden’s campaign-crushing debate performance, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said he was in favor of a “competitive process” to decide the Democratic nominee if the president did end up exiting the race. What Democrats got looks a little different. Party leaders and potential challengers quickly coalesced around Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden bowed out and backed his No. 2. And Patrick is okay with that. “The level of excitement and enthusiasm for the vice president has just exploded, the way so many groups, so many individuals, leaders and regular folks have galvanized around her candidacy — and now, as a practical matter, she has commitments from enough delegates to secure the nomination,” Patrick told Playbook over the phone Saturday, fresh off hosting Harris’ packed Pittsfield fundraiser alongside a star-studded lineup of performers. “I totally understand the appetite we all have had to move on from the inter-party conversation and take the case to the American people of where we want to take the country,” he added. But Democrats still need to do more than offer a name to punch on the ballot that isn’t Donald Trump, Patrick argued. “[O]nly part of the assignment is beating Donald Trump,” he said. “That is really important, but another important part of the assignment is offering a competing vision for where we want to take the country and how that [vision] is for and about everybody, everywhere.” “We can't be just a list of great policies,” Patrick added later. Harris brought “strength and conviction” in her speech she delivered to the crowd of roughly 800 donors inside the Colonial Theatre, he said, while more supporters (and some protesters) lined the streets outside. Playbook caught up with Patrick to talk about the campaign and more. Here are more excerpts from the discussion, edited for length and clarity: Is there anyone in particular you hope to see on the ticket with Harris? I think she's going to choose wisely. … I hope she selects someone who fills gaps that she may feel she has, not just in her politics, but in her ability to drive the ambitious agenda that she and Democrats have. Any interest in another presidential run yourself? That is highly unlikely and hardly the thing I'm thinking about right now. What I want is for all of us to acknowledge the fact that the dynamic increasingly in politics is not Democrat or Republican, it's inside or outside. If you don't live in a battleground state, so-called, you can easily think this thing doesn't have anything to do with you. If you are a Republican in a so-called blue state or a Democrat in a so-called red state, nobody talks to you. We have got to deal with how alienated so many voters feel from politics at large. Gov. Maura Healey is still waiting for the Legislature to deliver final versions of bills that she filed earlier this session. Any advice for her in dealing with legislative leaders? You know, I know what that feels like. I'm sure she's in conversation with leadership. She knows her way around that building. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks at a bridge dedication for Trooper Tamar Bucci at 11 a.m. in Stoughton; signs her IT bond bill, dubbed the FutureTech Act, with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll at 12:30 p.m; swears in Mikalen Howe and Alexa Flanders to the Probate and Family Court at 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively; and signs the FY 2025 budget alongside Driscoll and legislative leaders 1:45 p.m. in her office. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks at campaign events in Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs. Sen. Ed Markey, Reps. Stephen Lynch and Ayanna Pressley and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hold a press conference hold a press conference on Steward Health Care's plan to close Carney Hospital at 10:30 a.m. in Dorchester. Sen. Elizabeth Warren reintroduces the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act at 10 a.m. in Boston.
| | | | A message from Uber: Massachusetts Uber and Lyft drivers will now earn at least $32.50 while working on the app, making them some of the highest paid drivers in the country. This new rate sets a high standard for driver pay across the nation. Go deeper. | | | |  | 2024 WATCH | | — “Blue-state Dem dread turns to elation over Harris: ‘It’s all changed’,” by Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO. SPOTTED — greeting the VP at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport: Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, state Sens. John Velis, Jacob Oliveira, Jo Comerford; state Reps. Bud Williams and Carlos Gonalez; former Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee chair Candy Glazer, Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe; At the Colonial Theatre for the event: Driscoll, Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Ritchie Neal, former Gov. Deval Patrick, state Sen. Paul Mark, former Springfield City Council President Jesse Lederman, Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti. Protesting outside the event: members of the Worcester/Central Massachusetts chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. Driving in the motorcade: state Rep. Smitty Pignatelli (“Something I’ll never forget,” he told Playbook).
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State Rep. Smitty Pignatelli and other drivers in Vice President Kamala Harris's motorcade pose for a selfie. | Courtesy/Smitty Pignatelli | LOCAL ANGLE — “Many tried to get a glimpse of Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsfield. It wasn't easy,” by Greg Sukiennik, Ellie Davis and John Skavlem, The Berkshire Eagle. VEEPACHUSETTS — Democrats on Capitol Hill are rallying around Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly as a potential pick, and Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg’s veep-stock is rising. But over the weekend, a website began circulating looking to add another name to the list: former Boston Mayor and former Labor Sec. Marty Walsh. “A lifelong champion for working people, Marty Walsh is a dedicated advocate for organized labor and fair wages,” language included on the website said. The site (draftmarty.com) has since been locked behind a password. It’s still unclear who’s behind the website, which featured clips of past Walsh interviews, and a petition urging Vice President Kamala Harris to tap him for the Democratic ticket (less than 100 people had signed on as of Friday evening). But the website’s history shows it was created on Thursday, July 28 — two days before Biden ended his campaign.
| | BALLOT BATTLES | | MESSAGE TESTING A TESTING MESSAGE — A coalition opposing the ballot question that would end MCAS as a graduation requirement is releasing some of the first ads of the campaign cycle. The group, rebranded as “Protect Our Kids’ Future: No on Question 2,” is shelling out $250,000 to run the two spots across digital platforms for three to four weeks — with more to come, Opinion Diagnostics president Brian Wynne, who’s serving as one of the managers of the ballot campaign, told Playbook. The group expects to raise into the high seven or low eight figures to defeat the Massachusetts Teachers Association-backed question, according to Wynne, who previously served as campaign manager to former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker. The first ad features Jill Norton, a Concord mom who described how “reducing the expectations” for her son, a student with ADHD and dyslexia, would be harmful for him. And the second features James Conway, a Revere High School history teacher and member of the Massachusetts Teacher Association.
| | | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “In closed-door talks, legislative leaders hiked earmarks for top Democrat’s district ‘out of thin air’,” by Matt Stout and Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe: “During closed-door budget negotiations, Massachusetts legislative leaders inflated the money earmarked for Senate President Karen E. Spilka’s district by more than $500,000, nearly tripling the amount originally approved for a pair of her district’s pet projects. … Spilka and [Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael] Rodrigues did not address questions submitted to their offices about whether Spilka personally sought the increases. Instead, Gray Milkowski, a Spilka spokesperson, issued a brief statement saying Senate leaders were proud of the $58 billion spending plan, which includes proposed funding for tuition-free community college, fare-free regional transit, and increased mental health funding — issues Milkowski called ‘longstanding priorities of the Senate President.’” — “State treasurer racks up big legal bills in effort to remove cannabis chair,” by Walter Wuthmann, WBUR. — “Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center to be closed by bankrupt Steward Health Care,” by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: “Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer will shut their doors by the end of August. The two hospitals are among eight in Massachusetts that bankrupt Steward Health Care had attempted to sell this month, but in a statement sent to GBH News Friday morning, a Steward spokesperson said Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center did not receive any qualified bids.” — “Reaction to Steward Health Care’s Dorchester, Ayer closings: ‘Unfortunate yet predictable’,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald. — “Lawmakers plug fed gap in victim service funding,” by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: “More than 100 Massachusetts groups that provide services to victims of crime have been spared potentially devastating budget cuts after lawmakers approved new funding for the programs. A supplemental budget approved by the state Legislature includes $20 million for the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, which supports organizations that work with victims of homicide, rape, domestic violence, elder abuse, and children who have been sexually trafficked or abused. Gov. Maura Healey filed the supplemental budget in March, calling for tapping into $20 million in ‘repurposed’ federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to support the state’s victim service programs. She is expected to sign the spending plan.”
| | | | Pro Briefing: Kamala Harris and the World. What we expect on foreign policy and trade. Join POLITICO Pro for a deep-dive conversation with our specialist reporters about the vice president’s approach to foreign policy. Register Now. | | | | | | | FROM THE HUB | | — “Boston eying new plan to tackle revived Mass and Cass drug market: ‘We’re in a very tough spot,’” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A trio of elected officials who represent neighborhoods impacted by Mass and Cass are working with community and business leaders to revive a proposal that would implement an interim recovery campus to help clean up the troubled area by getting the addicts who frequently gather there into round-the-clock treatment. The facility would serve as a stop-gap solution for the problem until the city rebuilds a bridge out to a 35-acre recovery campus on Long Island, which could take at least another five years, officials told the Herald.” — “Bostonians are frustrated some city pools remain closed during another stifling summer,” by Amy Sokolow, WBUR.
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Massachusetts attorney says Cape Cod residents’ fear of migrants in shelter proposal is unfounded,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald.
| | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING | | — “Who will be Boston’s ‘next Jack Connors’?,” by Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe. — “Whitmer Stock High In Democratic Hotbed,” by Sam Doran, State House News Service (paywall): “Lawmakers and lobbyists pressed pause on unfinished Beacon Hill business and streamed into the UMass Club on Friday to hear Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's message and throw donations toward her nationwide political action committee. And even though Whitmer has taken herself out of contention as a national candidate for this cycle, the Beacon Hill crowd was effusive in its praise for the "common sense" governor from the middle west.” — “This family wants to redevelop their Roxbury home into much-needed housing. It isn’t working,” by Diti Kohli, The Boston Globe. — “Does state’s lead law spur landlords to nix families with kids under 6?,” by Namu Sampath, The Springfield Republican.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “First football clinic catches on,” by Danny Ventura, Boston Herald: “Bill MacGregor saw an opportunity to do something positive for the community and went out and made it happen. The state representative from the 10th Suffolk District hosted a free football clinic for more than 50 youngsters two weeks ago at Billings Field for residents in his district which consists of West Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain and Brookline. The response was so positive that MacGregor plans to make it an annual affair.” — “City denies claims of racism alleged in lawsuit against police,” by Teddy Tauscher, The Eagle Tribune: “More than two months after a lawsuit was filed against the police department over allegations of decades of racial discrimination, the city has filed a response denying those claims.”— “Interim Brockton Superintendent Priya Tahiliani suing former district over racism, sexism,” by Christopher Butler, The Brockton Enterprise.
| | | | The space economy is already woven into our lives in ways we don't always appreciate, creating a global backbone for communications, media, data, science and defense. It's also becoming an increasingly competitive zone among nations - and a venue for complex and important public-private partnerships. Join POLITICO on July 30 for a conversation about what Washington needs to understand is at stake – which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space, and what the role of government leaders is in both growing and regulating the explosion of orbital ideas. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | SPOTTED — At the Olympics in Paris: Utah Sen. (and former Massachusetts governor) Mitt Romney; former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Rep. Byron Rushing, Shelby Ashline, Hayley Fleming, Hirak Shah and Paul Bernon
| | | | A message from Uber: Massachusetts Uber and Lyft drivers will soon receive comprehensive benefits alongside their new pay rate. Benefits include health insurance stipends for those working over 15 hours a week, paid sick leave, and occupational accident insurance. These enhancements provide vital support and security for drivers, ensuring they have access to essential healthcare and financial protection. These new benefits mark a significant improvement in the quality of life for rideshare drivers.
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