Middleboro Review: MASSterList: Everyone must choose, even Charlie Baker | Governor dissing Dems

Friday, February 26, 2016

By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan

Today: Walsh on the radio; Rosenberg at DCF

Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, himself once a foster child, visits the Greenfield office of the Department of Children and Families, 143 Munson St., Unit 4, Greenfield, 11:30 am.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on Boston Public Radio, WGBH-FM 89.7, noon.

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg swears in new members of the Asian-American Commission. Auditor Suzanne Bump takes part in the ceremony, Treasurer's Office, 2:30 pm.

Everyone must choose, even Charlie Baker

Gov. Charlie Baker's reluctance to embrace a candidate ahead of Super Tuesday has become a story. He has said it won't be Donald Trump, whose intemperate comments have shocked the governor. He has pointed out that liberal icon Elizabeth Warren is sitting on the fence, saying, "I haven't decided what I'm going to do and I certainly hope you're going to ask every other elected official in Massachusetts the same question," Baker said. Perhaps there's a double standard going on, but Warren's non-decision has come under intense scrutiny in the last few days as Super Tuesday is shaping up as an avalanche for the leading candidates.

Maybe Baker is hoping to get a pass before Tuesday's pivotal vote, in which Donald Trump is polling way ahead of the competition in Massachusetts (see below). When it's convenient, Baker likes to play the "I'm just a governor interested in statewide matters" card, but as the most popular governor in the country and a leader in pushing for moderation in the GOP, his opinion really counts, whether he likes it or not. Opines the Boston Globe editorial board today: "The governor ought to use some of his carefully amassed political capital to convince Republicans and unenrolled voters to back one of Donald J. Trump's opponents, with the goal of keeping the New York businessman's delegate haul from Massachusetts as small as possible." The Globe's Scot Lehigh weighs in as well, writing: "Yes, there's a risk for Baker. If his endorsement is seen as having little effect, people might question his clout. But somehow, I think, he'd survive." In the high-stakes political realm, Baker doesn't get to act like a private citizen. He must choose, and choose publicly.

Baker's 'culture of corruption' language raises hackles

Gov. Baker's famously bipartisan positioning is being challenged after campaign literature under his name ahead of the March 1 vote for Republican state committee members calls for the "End the Democrat Culture of Corruption on Beacon Hill," writes Colin A. Young of the State House News Service. Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Thomas McGee said: "I think it's an unfair characterization for the governor to make that, particularly when he works with us and talks about how we're all working together and we've been able to find common ground on some really intense and tough issues." Baker responded: "Look, I think you can always do more to improve on this stuff and I think a lot of the people who are here would agree with me on that."http://bit.ly/1Q7vE8p (paywall)

Late night transit rare around the world

Only a "tiny handful" of cities worldwide offer around-the-clock subway service and compared to the rest of the world, the MBTA's service hours fall in the middle-of-the-pack, Isaiah Thompson of WGBH reports. The T will fall back in the rankings, however, if as expected late-night service -- a major money-loser for the T -- is put back on the shelf. http://bit.ly/1QBxpIi

Brockton city government sues itself, again

The Brockton City Council has filed a lawsuit against Mayor Bill Carpenter, saying he overstepped his authority when he signed a deal with the developers of a gas-fired power plant, Marc Larocque of the Enterprise reports. The council says only it has the power to authorize the use of city's waste water, which the plant requires for cooling, because of a 2007 city ordinance. http://bit.ly/1OyxcEo

Who's lobbying whom?

Boston Magazine's Kyle Clauss poured through a report by the Center for Public Integrity and found the top five most active lobbying entities on Beacon Hill between 2010 and 2014. The leaders in the clubhouse: The Mass. Teachers Association, Fidelity Investments, Mass. Hospital Association, the Mass. Association of Health Plans and Greater Boston Legal Services. http://bit.ly/1QKcKrP

Activists pack Salem meeting on Latino voting concerns

An overflow crowd packed the Salem City Council meeting room Thursday night to call for action on what activists say is a pattern of harassment against Latino voters in recent elections, Dustin Luca of the Salem News reports. http://bit.ly/1OzTRjD

Progress seen on occupancy tax loophole

Rep. Sarah Peake is urging her legislative colleagues to give towns on Cape Cod the right to charge occupancy taxes to homeowners who use Internet marketplaces such as Airbnb to rent out their homes, K.C. Myers of the Cape Cod Times reports. Peake's legislation would allow communities to charge a tax of up to 11.7 percent to private homeowners, the same tax charged on motel rooms, with the revenue split between local communities and the state.http://bit.ly/1Rsle3w

Insurance change could drive up auto rates

A reduction in an incentive program for insurers that helps drive down rates in low-income communities is being considered, a change that would push more drivers into a high-risk pool, writes the Globe's Deirdre Fernandes. "The change could affect bad drivers -- as well as good drivers who live in poor and minority communities that insurers rate as risky because there are higher rates of accidents and fraud," Fernandes reports. http://bit.ly/1QBs4AH

Hillary tops Bernie in poll

Hillary Clinton is ahead of Bernie Sanders in Massachusetts in a new WBUR/MassINC poll that has Clinton up 5 points, 49 to 44 percent. One interesting data point: Clinton leads in the women over 50 demographic by 41 points while trailing by 21 points in men under 50. Meanwhile, Trump has a huge lead in Massachusetts, polling at 40 percent, more than double John Kasich and Marco Rubio at 19 percent. More from Gintautas Dumcius of MassLive here.http://bit.ly/1THNjar

Executive political giving: Big bucks for Clinton

As Super Tuesday nears, most of the biggest checks from local business and civic leaders have been directed toward Hillary Clinton, writes Globe columnist Shirley Leung. Leading the pack is philanthropist Barbara Lee, who has given $1.8 million to Clinton or groups supporting Clinton.http://bit.ly/1QjULTs

Count liberal activist and actress Susan Sarandon as a vote for Sanders, writes Globe columnist Joan Vennochi, who sat down with the movie star in Boston recently. "The Vermont senator, [Sarandon] said, is an 'odd little pocket of purity' who is pushing for change at a time when the country is experiencing 'a crisis of imagination.'" http://bit.ly/1LJs5RX

Sudders: A millennial at heart

Did you know the woman who oversees MassHealth and the Health Connector shares a lot in common with the Snapchat generation? During an enlightening panel discussion Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack revealed that Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders scored higher on an "Are you a millennial?" quiz than Pollack's 24-year-old daughter. Your correspondent tried to learn more whereupon Sudders displayed a quality uncharacteristic of Generation Y: discretion. "I'm not telling you," Sudders said, laughing. "It has to do with like how many holes you have in your ears and a few other little things." -Andy Metzger / SHNS.

Sunday public affairs TV

Keller At Large, WBZ-TV, 8:30 am. It's Clinton vs. Sanders surrogates' debate with former state Democratic Party chair Phil Johnston representing Sanders and Newton Mayor Setti Warren for Clinton.

On the Record, WCVB-TV, 11:00 am. This week's guest: Andy Card, the president of Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH and former White House chief of staff for George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006.

This Week in Business, NECN, 12:30 pm. Guests: Robert Desalvio,President of Wynn Everett will discuss the company's decision to freeze casino operations in Everett because of Somerville's environmental appeal; also, Fred Goff, CEO of Cambridge-based Jobcase.com talks about how the company helps blue collar workers with their networking efforts. He'll also touch on some of the more popular industries and regions in Massachusetts that are currently being searched on the site.