| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | Presented by Mass General Brigham | CHECKS, PLEASE — The race to fill an open Cape Cod Senate seat is getting expensive. Democratic state Rep. Dylan Fernandes and Republican state Rep. Matt Muratore, both running to fill the Plymouth & Barnstable seat state Sen. Susan Moran is leaving to pursue a county clerk role, are battling for one of the most competitive seats up for grabs this cycle — and they’re spending like it. Fernandes raised more money in September than almost any other member (only House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz hauled in more), scooping up more than $30,000 as he sailed through the primary election without a challenger. His campaign also spent more than any other candidate — by a lot. Campaign finance data shows the Falmouth Democrat shelled out $195,953 last month. The next closest state legislative candidate in September spending? Thomas Moakley, who spent around $35,959 to fund his bid for the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket seat Fernandes is leaving behind. And Fernandes has spent nearly $300,000 this year to date, the most of any candidate (incumbent or otherwise) pursuing a Senate seat. Murtatore has ramped up his spending and fundraising since the summer, but both are dwarfed by the cash Fernandes has flowing in and out of his campaign coffers. The Plymouth Republican has collected $104,239 to Fernandes’ $287,567 this year to date, and he’s spent $82,606 to Fernandes’ $297,203. Republicans nabbed wins in two recent special elections as they try to pick away at the Democratic supermajority on Beacon Hill. In one of those races, Democrats failed to even field a candidate. While the results in the Plymouth & Barnstable district won’t shift the balance of power in the Legislature, a Republican victory in a competitive race could keep their momentum going. Money doesn’t always equal victory, but Fernandes’ raising and spending is a sign that Democrats aren’t dropping the ball this time. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are on “La Mega Radio” at 9:10 a.m. Sen. Ed Markey visits the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art at 10:15 a.m. and receives a briefing on the Hoosic River flood risk management study at 11:20 a.m. in North Adams before visiting local businesses at 1 p.m. in Pittsfield.
| | | | A message from Mass General Brigham: At Mass General Brigham, we harness the collective strength of our healthcare system to provide research-driven cancer care for the patients and communities we serve. Mass General Brigham is number one in hospital medical research. We perform the most cancer surgeries and have the most cancer specialists in New England. We have the region’s only proton therapy center and provide access to more than 1,000 clinical trials annually. We’re one against cancer. Learn more. | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Gov. Maura Healey officially implements Mass. gun law after signing emergency language,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Gov. Maura Healey officially declared a gun reform bill she signed into law more than two months ago an emergency measure Wednesday afternoon, arguing the statute is necessary to preserve the ‘public peace, health, safety and convenience’ of residents in the state. Her signature means many provisions in the 100-plus page bill took effect immediately rather than later in October. But even as some advocates celebrated the move, Second Amendment rights groups saw their effort to immediately suspend the measure for two years by collecting nearly 50,000 voter signatures crumble under Healey’s executive authority.” — “Budget watchdog: Investments in Affordable Homes Act not as much as you think,” by Namu Sampath, MassLive: “The Affordable Homes Act, touted as the largest housing bond bill in state history, will invest only about 40% of its total $5.16 billion into actual housing, according to a new report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The act, which is more than double the size of the previous housing bond bill passed in 2018, promises to produce more housing in the state, improve existing housing stock and introduce new policies to encourage housing production.” — “Velis, Cataldo To Lead Antisemitism Commission,” by Colin A. Young, State House News Service (paywall): “Westfield Sen. John Velis and Concord Rep. Simon Cataldo will lead the state's new commission on combating antisemitism, which they say will set out to stamp out Massachusetts' recent ‘ignominious reputation as a hub of antisemitic activity.’ ... The commission is supposed to report on data and trends in antisemitic activity here, study efforts Massachusetts has undertaken to combat hate and practices that are in use in other states, make recommendations to implement the federal government's strategy to counter antisemitism, and more."
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Carney 'working group’ still in formation; panel expected to finalize recommendations in 90 days,” by Dorchester Reporter Staff: “A working group meant to advise state and city leaders on the impacts of the closure of Carney Hospital— and next steps to replace it— is still in formation this week, seven days after Gov. Maura Healey announced its launch. The Dorchester group, and a second like it that will focus on Nashoba Valley, will include ‘key stakeholders’ including public health officials, labor leaders, doctors, and elected officials.” — “Boston Mayor Wu fundraiser invite ‘mistake’ raises campaign finance law violation questions,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A ‘South Boston for Mayor Michelle Wu’ fundraiser invite listed a public employee as a member of the host committee, an apparent violation of state law, but Wu’s campaign said it did nothing wrong and the name was listed mistakenly. Wu’s campaign said the employee, Gregory Lally — listed on city payroll records as an athletic director with the Boston Center for Youth and Families who was paid $57,827 in 2023 — is not a member of the host committee and the mistake has since been rectified by the campaign with new invites that don’t list his name.” — “Senior housing in Chinatown receives $3.2 million for climate resiliency,” by Meghan Smith, GBH News: “A housing development for seniors in Chinatown is receiving $3.2 million in federal funding to make the building more energy efficient and climate resilient. Department of Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman visited Mei Wah Village today to unveil the gift with Mayor Michelle Wu, and said that addressing the housing crisis should focus on preserving existing buildings in addition to creating new inventory.” — “Mental health support for BPS students has shrunk even as need remains high,” by Kathy Wang, GBH News: “As Boston schools stare down the Jan. 30 deadline to spend the last of more than $400 million in federal pandemic relief funds, some schools are already seeing the effects of cutbacks as they return to slimmer budgets. Last spring, Boston Public Schools eliminated seven school psychologist positions, leaving 25 city schools with part-time mental health coverage for students returning to school this fall.”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “Federal investigators examining the scene of Green Line derailment,” by Shannon Larson and Tonya Alanez, The Boston Globe: “Federal investigators arrived in Cambridge on Wednesday around noon to document the scene of Tuesday’s Green Line derailment in Cambridge. They began examining the train cars and equipment involved, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said.” BUT BUT BUT — “Healey Quickly Says Rails Not Derailment Cause,” by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): “Gov. Maura Healey said the Tuesday afternoon derailment on the Green Line is "not attributable to the rail or the track," and suggested that federal investigators are instead focusing on other factors including the operator as a potential root cause. … ‘IIt's not related to the rail, it's not related to the track,’ Healey told reporters at an unrelated event Wednesday. ‘Remember, we did all that repair work. When we came in as an administration, we had to redo the Green Line Extension because it wasn't done correctly the first time. We did that, and that rail is good, okay? So this is not attributable to the rail or the track. The look is at the operator.’”
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | ENDORSEMENT ALERT — A slate of Boston electeds have endorsed state Rep. John Moran in his bid for reelection in the 10th Suffolk District, including state Sens. Liz Miranda and Nick Collins; State Reps. Chynah Tyler, Christopher Worrell and David Biele; and Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, according to his campaign. — “Warren challenger in bitter battle with ex-partner over $1M from hernia settlement,” by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "The Republican seeking to oust Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren remains embroiled in a yearslong dispute over $1 million in legal fees that has exasperated judges in both Rhode Island and Texas, Target 12 has learned. … [John] Deaton’s role in a high-profile class action lawsuit — and the question of how much money he should get for his work on the matter — is still unresolved a decade after the case was settled. As of last week, the matter remained pending before the R.I. Supreme Court — one of at least seven courts where the two sides have faced off over the past decade." — “DiZoglio hits road to promote ballot question,” by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: “State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is hitting the road to rally voter support for her ballot campaign to open up the state Legislature’s financial books. DiZoglio said she plans to begin a 141-mile trek across Massachusetts to raise awareness for Question 1, which asks voters in the Nov. 5 elections to approve a performance and financial audit of the state Legislature, which she argues will ensure that it is operating in accordance with government rules and regulations.”
| | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN | | — “Buzzards Bay Coalition wants federal aid to fix New Bedford’s sewer problems,” by Adam Goldstein, The New Bedford Light: “$1.2 billion. That’s how much the Buzzards Bay Coalition says the federal government should spend to clean up New Bedford’s combined sewer system, after rains from summer storms caused its pipes to repeatedly overflow and spill raw sewage into the harbor.”
| | | | A message from Mass General Brigham:   | | | | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “O’Brien to Goldberg: ‘I did exactly what you asked me to do’,” by CommonWealth Beacon Staff: “In her testimony before Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, Shannon O’Brien testified the treasurer hired her as chair of the Cannabis Control Commission to be a change agent but then suspended and later fired her because she followed through.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Head Start gets federal funding for new $10M child care center in Westfield,” by Amy Porter, MassLive: “Community Action Pioneer Valley is making progress towards building a new Head Start center in Westfield. The agency recently received federal approval and funding from the Office of Head Start in the Administration of Children and Families to purchase a plot of land and build a new child care center. The total project cost, including the community’s in-kind contributions, will be just over $10 million.” — “The 'Project Skydrop' treasure has been claimed. But there's still a second-place contest afoot,” by Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Mass General Brigham warns of IV fluids shortage due to Hurricane Helene,” by Kay Lazar, The Boston Globe: “Mass General Brigham, Massachusetts’ largest hospital and health care system, warned in an internal email to employees Wednesday that it is experiencing a ‘serious and immediate IV fluid shortage,’ due to the devastation from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina that damaged one of the nation’s largest suppliers of IVs. ‘We must immediately act to conserve fluids,’ the email said. ‘A Mass General Brigham incident Management Team is monitoring this very dynamic situation and will respond with appropriate measures as this unfolds.’” — “'Like night and day': Brockton High teacher absenteeism sharply declines. What we know,” by Christopher Butler, The Brockton Enterprise: “Students at Brockton High School are no longer spending class time in the cafeteria, as teacher absenteeism has sharply declined from last school year, multiple Brockton School Committee members said Tuesday. During the 2023-2024 school year, large numbers of BHS teachers were absent without substitutes every day, leaving hundreds of students without an instructor, some for several class periods at a time. Those students were held in the cafeteria with only one adult staff member to watch over them.” — “Mass. child care providers say VP debate brought light to crisis, but fell flat on solutions,” by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe. — “Massachusetts library’s talk on males, females in sports stirs scheduling snafus,” by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald. — “Lynnfield Public Schools fires high school substitute teacher for his ‘alleged connection to hate-based ideologies’,” by Emily Sweeney and Tonya Alanez, The Boston Globe.
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Madonna Meagher, the DNC’s Veronica Martinez and Juan Gilces Coronel. Happy belated to the Boston Herald’s Joe Dwinell and Mike Corbelle, who celebrated Wednesday.
| | | | A message from Mass General Brigham: At Mass General Brigham, we harness the collective strength of our healthcare system to provide research-driven cancer care for the patients and communities we serve. Mass General Brigham is number one in hospital medical research. We perform the most cancer surgeries and have the most cancer specialists in New England. We have the region’s only proton therapy center and provide access to more than 1,000 clinical trials annually.
The vision for Mass General Brigham is to build a world-class center of cancer care, with the patients at the center of everything we do. New collaborations, new treatments, and innovative approaches. Leading to new hope and possibilities. At Mass General Brigham, we’re one against cancer. Learn more. | | | 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.
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