Monday, February 29, 2016
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Sara Brown
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Today: Bernie, Hillary (and John Kasich) in MA today
Bernie Sanders will hold a rally at Milton High School, 25 Gile Rd, Milton
with doors opening at 4:30 pm. The event will start at 7:00 pm. Organizers say RSVPs are strongly encouraged.
Hillary Clinton starts in Springfield at 10:45 am and will hold a rally at the Old South Meeting House in Downtown Crossing, Boston, at noon.
Republican presidential candidate John Kasich hosts a town hall in Plymouth, a day before Massachusetts voters weigh in on the presidential contest on primary day, 83 Court Street, Plymouth, 3:00 pm
More than 300 seniors plan to go office-by-office in the State House on Elder Leap Day to warn lawmakers that the state needs to take a "budget leap" to deal with the 46 percent increase in the elder population. Grand Staircase, 11:00 am.
The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board meets to discuss the elimination of extended weekend service and fare hikes ahead of a March 7 vote. The board will also discuss the Green Line Extension's "sunk costs and action to approve a contract for engineering support for ongoing construction services." MassDOT, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 3830, Boston, noon.
The GOP's deeply troubling Trump problem
The seemingly unstoppable Donald Trump is on course to cruise to a big Super Tuesday as the GOP establishment looks on in horror. The humiliation is being felt on the state level, as Gov. Charlie Baker favorite Chris Christie backed Trump on Friday. It was a stinger not only for Baker but also for anyone who's appalled by the bloviating "branding expert," as Trump was so perfectly described in the Wall Street Journal.
GOP power players are paralyzed about what to do, the New York Times reported in dramatic terms yesterday. "Behind the scenes, a desperate mission to save the party sputtered and stalled at every turn," according to a team of Times reporters. Kasich won't quit, Rubio has alienated those who have dropped out, and there's some passivity morphing into acceptance about Trump.
Baker may want to reshape the image of the Massachusetts GOP, but the one that's going to the polls tomorrow is expected to provide Trump with a landslide. A Suffolk University poll has Trump way out in front, 43 percent to Marco Rubio's 20 percent, with Kasich not far behind,reports the Globe's Jim O'Sullivan.
The irony of a Trump landslide in Massachusetts is not lost on Stonehill College's Peter Ubertaccio, writing for WGBH. He sees Baker's attempts to herd the Mass GOP into a more moderate direction as a tough task. "In the end, the biggest obstacle for Charlie Baker is this: he's hoping for sanity among a party base that looks poised to give Donald Trump a victory tomorrow." http://bit.ly/1WS3Fvl
Massachusetts' Democratic Party schism fears
The Clinton campaign seems to be battling back in Massachusetts, if recent polls are any indication. But the strength of Sanders in Massachusetts indicates a new wave of political thinking that could usurp the old guard, writes Jim O'Sullivan of the Globe. "If Clinton loses the March 1 primary or escapes with a narrow win, as recent polls suggest she could, the party establishment here risks backlash from left-leaning rank and file voters who back her opponent." http://bit.ly/24wFtEy
Strong turnout predicted on Tuesday
As many as 2 million Massachusetts voters will cast ballots tomorrow, Secretary of State William Galvin is predicting, a turnout that would surpass 2008 levels, Shira Schoenberg of MassLive reports. Galvin said the emergence of Donald Trump is likely to motivate many voters, as is the overall atmosphere of what has become a chaotic campaign season. While the GOP race in 2008 was akin to "a tennis match, this is more like world wrestling on the Republican side," Galvin said. http://bit.ly/1LPodyK
It's (still) good to have friends at City Hall
The Sunday Globe produced a case study in political access at City Hall by focusing on the close relationship political consultants Michael Goldman and Matthew O'Neil enjoy with the Marty Walsh administration. As Globe reporters Andrew Ryan and Mark Arsenault document by sifting through a trove of emails, Goldman and O'Neil offer free consulting to Walsh while ushering in clients with business before his administration. Their firm, O'Neil/Goldman, "has secured audiences with top city officials so clients can make a range of sales pitches -- from portfolio monitoring at the retirement board to software designed to speed police response to a school shooter." The story is the second on City Hall access, following an examination of the relationship attorney Sean T. O'Donovan with the Walsh administration. http://bit.ly/1Qn0TxM
T seeks techies to program better customer service
The MBTA is looking to hiring tech talent in hopes to improve customer service through programming, Adam Vaccaro of Boston.com reports. The agency plans to hire 10 software engineers with salaries ranging between $80,000 and $160,000 per year. A job listing describes the T's tech division as a "quasi-startup" although Davod Block-Schachter, the Ts new chief technology officer, stressed the "quasi," acknowledging it would be a "very small part of a very large organization," Vaccaro reports.
Stop and Shop workers vote to authorize strike
Stop & Shop workers voted Sunday to authorize a strike as the union representing the workers continues to negotiate with management. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 Stop & Shop workers say both sides are far apart on issues like pensions and health care. There is no date set for a strike, Aaron Nicodemus of the Worcester Telegram reports. "We are opposed to these unnecessary concessions that the company is demanding of our members. Unfortunately, this is another case of a profitable, foreign company seeking to take as much as they can out of the pockets of hard-working men and women, and suck even more income and resources out of our communities," said UFCW Local 1445 Jeff Bollen in a written statement. http://bit.ly/1XUMF8O
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