| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS — A Republican running in one of Massachusetts’ more competitive state Senate districts is making a unique play: pledging, if elected, to donate his leadership stipend to charity. Nick Pirro, a small-business owner and political newcomer who’s challenging Democratic state Sen. John Cronin in the Worcester and Middlesex District, says that if he wins in November he’ll funnel whatever extra cash would be tacked onto his base salary as a lawmaker into a nonprofit he would create that would put the money back into the community. The non-profit “will ensure that any taxpayer-funded leadership stipend I receive goes directly back to the community, not for personal benefit,” Pirro said in a statement. Since the state's 40 senators each hold a leadership role — a perk of serving in the smaller chamber, even for the minority party — Pirro, if elected, would inevitably hold a position that comes with a salary bump. Those can run from just over $7,000 to more than $100,000 for the state’s top legislative leaders, according to 2023 data from The Boston Globe. It’s the latest play from a legislative candidate looking to turn Beacon Hill’s power structures into a campaign cudgel. Lawmakers’ stipends have been criticized by some for functioning as tools of control for legislative leaders. Concerns about centralized power and shadowy dealmaking on Beacon Hill dogged some lawmakers during the primaries — pushing a Democratic incumbent to narrowly prevail over a graduate student in a recount — aren’t going away. The Lunenburg Republican has made the Legislature’s lack of transparency central to his campaign in the purple district that lies to the north of Worcester — slamming the Legislature for “cutting backroom deals” and making “secretive decisions.” And Pirro is hoping it’ll help him seize a seat that has flipped back and forth between Republican and Democratic control over the past few years. Cronin won the seat in 2020, edging out embattled incumbent state Sen. Dean Tran, a Republican, who had been stripped of his leadership post at the time after an ethics investigation found he had staff doing campaign work while on the clock for the state. But Cronin handily fended off a challenge in 2022. And this year, Cronin has both the power of incumbency and the benefit of a presidential election that’s expected to have coattails for down-ballot Democrats in deep-blue Massachusetts. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The eighth bull was captured last night after more than day on the loose. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey holds a bill signing ceremony for legislation to help Massachusetts compete for federal funds at 1 p.m. at the State House. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at a groundbreaking of a new housing development at 11 a.m. in Boston. Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks at Boston Medical Center Health System’s Returning Citizens Roundtable at 11 a.m. in Boston. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and other members of Congress hold a hearing on Project 2025 at 2:15 p.m. in D.C. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com
|  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “State leaders celebrate schools with biggest drops in chronic absenteeism,” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald: “As the state continues to battle back the pandemic-era spike of chronic absenteeism in schools, state and city leaders stopped by East Boston’s Hugh Roe O’Donnell Elementary School on Monday to recognize the school’s success getting kids back in class with a signed Celtics basketball.” — “State uncovers $2.3M in welfare, food stamp fraud,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Investigators uncovered more than $2.3 million in welfare fraud in the most recent quarter, according to state Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office. The office’s Bureau of Special Investigations looked into more than 1,235 cases during the final quarter of the fiscal year, from April 1 to June 30, and identified at least 176 instances of public assistance fraud, about 80% of which was in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps.” — “State senators urge probe of welfare spending in Hawaii to Alaska,” by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald. — “Many LGBTQ+ veterans couldn’t get state benefits. There’s a path to ‘right that wrong,’” by Hannah Reale, GBH News.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Boston's older vets face unique challenges on the issue of homelessness,” by Esteban Bustillos, GBH News.
| | WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET | | CAMPBELL TAPS OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR — Attorney General Andrea Campbell tapped longtime attorney David Meier to lead the investigation into the death of Enrique Delgado-Garcia, a Massachusetts State Police recruit who died following a training exercise earlier this month. Meier previously served as chief of homicide in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and as special counsel for Gov. Deval Patrick during an investigation into a massive drug lab scandal. Meier will oversee the investigation “independently and impartially,” according to Cambpell’s office, and Massachusetts State Police “will have no role in the investigative team or decision-making process.” More from the Boston Globe’s Dan Glaun.
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “Mass. wins $472 million in federal money for replacing North Station Draw One Bridge,” by Shannon Larson, The Boston Globe: “In what state officials are touting as a “game-changer,” the MBTA has won its largest federal award to date — $472 million from the US Department of Transportation — toward replacing the North Station Draw One Bridge, which connects the cities of Boston and Cambridge, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced. The overall project is expected to cost roughly $1.2 billion. … Officials said the infusion of federal grant money for the project, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed into law by President Biden, will help to further modernize public transportation in the region by increasing train capacity and the frequency of rides.”
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | — “Trump, Harris, share ballot with fringe candidates,” by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris will have plenty of company on the Nov. 5 general election ballot, which will include several independents, third-party candidates and a fringe socialist group’s nominees. That’s according to Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office, which has approved six presidential tickets for November’s ballots after their campaigns met the state’s qualifications. It marks the first time since the 2008 elections that Bay Staters will have more than four choices for president, excluding write-in candidates.” — “Poll shows a romp for Elizabeth Warren,” by Gintautas Dumcius, CommonWealth Beacon: “A MassINC Polling Group survey, conducted for CommonWealth Beacon and WBUR, found Warren receiving 56 percent of the vote to Deaton’s 35 percent. Seven percent said they were undecided. The poll, made possible through a Knight Election Hub grant, surveyed 800 likely Bay State voters, through live telephone interviews and a text message link to an online survey, between September 12 and September 18. It has a margin of 4.1 percentage points.”
| | DAY IN COURT | | — “DA touts dozens of gun-related arrests in August,” by Matthew Medsgar, Boston Herald: “Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden said police across the district seized 58 firearms in the month of August, a high mark for police, but a number that points to lax gun laws in neighboring states. ... The numbers prompted the DA to point toward nine states where gun laws are lax compared to the Bay State, and where the DA says weapons traffickers are buying guns to sell in Massachusetts.”
| | BALLOT BATTLES | | — “Are ballot questions a good way to make law?” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Beacon. — “Poll: Mass. voters split on psychedelics, tipped wages, but support auditing the Legislature,” by Roberto Scalese and Walter Wuthmann, WBUR: “Most respondents said they want the state's auditor to have authority to investigate the Legislature, and a slim majority want to scrap a standardized test as a high school graduation requirement. But voters are still mulling if tipped workers should receive the general minimum wage and if therapeutic psychedelics should be legal. … The WBUR/CommonWealth Beacon poll of 800 likely voters (topline, crosstabs) was conducted Sept. 12 to 18, and has a margin of error of 4.1%. It was conducted by The MassINC Polling Group and supported with funding from the Knight Election Hub."
| | | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN | | | — “State picks New Bedford waterfront site for ocean energy center,” by Arthur Hirsch, The New Bedford Light: “The state’s alternative-energy development agency has chosen a waterfront spot for a center devoted to ocean-related power research, building and field-testing equipment, and cultivating new enterprises. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center wants to lease less than half an acre from the New Bedford Port Authority on MacArthur Boulevard encompassing the 19th-century Bourne Counting House and a parking area next to it.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Greenfield City Council, School Committee look to mend relations after transparency conflict,” by Anthony Cammalleri, Greenfield Recorder: “After a city councilor’s query into the School Department’s special education transportation budget led to a conflict over transparency, School Committee Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad and Superintendent Karin Patenaude hope to mend relations between the two bodies.” — “Using state-owned SUV, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi arrested for driving while intoxicated,” by Adam Frenier and Sam Hudzik, New England Public Media: “Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi was arrested for driving while intoxicated on Saturday evening in Springfield, Massachusetts, outside the MGM casino. Cocchi was charged with one count of operating a vehicle under the influence and was released on his own recognizance. The sheriff appeared at Springfield District Court on Monday morning for a brief arraignment. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Only hours later, his office released a statement saying Cocchi later changed his plea, admitting there were enough facts to convict him.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Mayoral election won't be held for 2 months,” by Teddy Tauscher, The Eagle-Tribune: “Residents will have to wait until at least December to vote for a new mayor. … It is unclear who will run for mayor but due to state law, the city will not be able to hold an election until 64 days after it is scheduled. Councilor D.J. Beauregard is the acting mayor. [Methuen Mayor Neil] Perry, serving his third term, died Saturday while surrounded by his family.” — “Full-body scanners for City Hall to be requested at City Council meeting Tuesday,” by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette. — “‘An epic failure’: National experts react to Tufts lacrosse team hospitalizations post-SEAL workout,” by Adam Piore, The Boston Globe.
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