11/29/2017 07:00 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Rebecca Morin (rmorin@politico.com; @RebeccaMorin_)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Windy with a high of 58 in Boston today.
IT'S OFFICIAL - Gov. Charlie Baker is seeking another term, his team officially announced yesterday. It's a question that Baker has dodged for months, but insiders have viewed a bid for a second term for the nation's most popular governor as inevitable.
Consider the sizable war chest he and LG Karyn Polito, who plans to stay on the ticket, have amassed since 2014. Their campaign accounts together total close to $10 million; reports from back in May that said Baker and his team wanted to raise a whopping $30 million for the entire re-election bid.
But don't confuse this announcement with the actual campaign launch. That'll come next year. Baker, like his friend Marty Walsh in 2017, faces challengers with low name recognition and a fraction of the cash - there is no interest in giving oxygen to challengers by engaging in a race any sooner than absolutely necessary.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker heads to Fitchburg to campaign for state Senate candidate Dean Tran - Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb, DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson, and MBTA Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green announce a public awareness campaign to address the opioid epidemic - Rep. Joe Kennedy III appears on WGBH's Greater Boston at 7 p.m.
WHAT CITY HALL IS READING - "Boston paid nearly $1 million in penalties after IRS audit," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "The City of Boston paid nearly $1 million in penalties to the federal government after an IRS audit revealed wide-ranging problems with the city's payrolls, from schools paying stipends to individuals under the table to the city failing to deduct Medicare withholding taxes for many employees, according to findings released Tuesday by the city."
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
** A message from New England Clean Power Link: Poised to supply Massachusetts with 1,000 MW of clean, renewable power, the New England Clean Power Link is ready to roll. The only project with a Presidential Permit, full site control and full host state support, the innovative buried project will help Massachusetts meet its legislative requirements for lower carbon emissions. More **
- "Massachusetts Senate sexual harassment cases involved intern, visitor," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "The two sexual harassment cases investigated by Massachusetts Senate staff over the last three years involved an intern and a visitor to the building, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said Tuesday. ... Both cases, Rosenberg said, were resolved to the satisfaction of the person who reported the complaint."
- "Baker sees education, housing, MBTA as term two priorities," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "Gov. Charlie Baker confirmed Tuesday that he will seek a second term in 2018, vowing that with another four years he will be able to continue on the progress he said his administration has made to grow jobs, close the education achievement gap, fight the opioid epidemic and improve housing options for Massachusetts families. Baker, who was in Worcester touring the new Table Talk Pie processing plant, announced his re-election campaign over the din of pie ovens humming in the background."
- "Senate President Stan Rosenberg will seek third term as Senate president," by Shira Schoenberg, Masslive.com: "Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, plans to run for reelection and will seek a third two-year term as Senate president in 2018. 'If I'm reelected first by my constituents, then I'd ask my colleagues to consider giving me another round,' Rosenberg told reporters at the Statehouse on Tuesday."
- "Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joins 18 other state prosecutors in opposing proposed contraceptive coverage rollback," by Gintautas Dumcius, Masslive.com: "Healey and the other attorneys general filed an amicus brief in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, backing Pennsylvania's lawsuit against the federal government over new Trump administration rules that allow companies to claim an objection on religious or moral grounds."
- "Massachusetts bill could put medical professionals in prison for sexual assault," by Elisha Machado, 22 News: "Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said under current law, she cannot prosecute a medical professional when a patient believes touching is inappropriate if that patient consents. Ryan testified in support of a bill that would criminalize sexual assault by a medical professional."
- "Questions arise over profession spawned by opioid crisis: recovery coaches," by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker is the latest to seek answers, with his recent proposal for a commission to look into credentialing recovery coaches, a move that could lead to insurance reimbursement."
TRUMPACHUSETTS -
- "Geoffrey Diehl dodges on Liz Warren," by Meghan Ottolini, Boston Herald: "Republican state Rep. Geoffrey G. Diehl, who is running to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, sidestepped questions yesterday about President Trump's decision to mock his opponent by referring to her as 'Pocahontas' during a ceremony honoring Navajo code talkers."
- COUNTERPOINT: "Commentary: Trump's "Pocahontas" comment wasn't a racial slur," by Michael Graham, CBS News: "But 'Faux-cahontas,' 'Lie-awatha,' 'Rides In Limos' and the other nicknames Warren's been given by the Right aren't slurs against Native Americans. They're attacks on Warren and her play at identity politics (her claim of Cherokee heritage remains unproven)."
THE WARREN REPORT -
- "Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Trump has "no authority" to appoint interim CFPB boss," by David Brancaccio, Marketplace: "Dodd-Frank created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the law that Congress put in place specifically says the deputy director takes over when the director is absent or unavailable. So if we're going to have a deputy director who's going to take over on an interim basis, it ought to be done according to the law. There's no vacancy here for Donald Trump to fill."
ON THE STUMP -
SORRY CHARLIE - "Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg: I will support the Democrat for governor," by Shira Schoenberg, Masslive.com: "As governor, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, has worked closely with state Senate President Stan Rosenberg, a Democrat, on issues ranging from the state budget to the opioid epidemic. But Rosenberg, of Amherst, made clear Tuesday that Baker cannot count on his help in one major area: Baker's re-election. 'I will be supporting the Democrat,' Rosenberg told reporters at the Statehouse on Tuesday, the same day Baker officially announced that he was running for a second term."
DIEHL ON WHEELS - "GOP Senate candidate Geoff Diehl launches campaign bus tour across Massachusetts," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "State Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, announced Tuesday that he will bring his 2018 U.S. Senate campaign to voters all across Massachusetts through a statewide 'Diehl on Wheels' bus tour."
THE TSONGAS ARENA -
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK - Rufus Gifford is hosting a campaign kickoff cocktail reception/fundraiser in Boston tonight, with co-hosts including John Connors, John Fish, and Kathy Gasperine.
WOOD WAR - Herald: "SLAM DUNK!" "BAKER MAKES BID OFFICIAL," "ROCKET MAN'S FUN GAMES OVER." - Globe: "Boston pays nearly $1 million in audit," "Putting a real price on city land," "Tax overhaul nears a full Senate vote," "Holiday shopping gets off to a strong start," "THE POINT OF NO TURN"
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
ABOUT LAST NIGHT - "Hillary Clinton decries Republicans," by Matt Stout, Boston Herald: "Hillary Clinton in Boston last night called the GOP tax bill an 'abomination,' skewered President Trump for 'playing right into Russia's hands' and blamed Fox News for altering campaigns as we know it in a triple broadside against Republicans."
- "Blood suckers: Call center workers battle abusive customers, manager, bedbugs," by Eoin Higgins, Dig Boston: "After months of mistreatment, filth, and apparent abuse, workers at the Boston home security firm [SimpliSafe] are taking matters into their own hands-by petitioning the company to address their grievances and by forming an organization, United SimpliSafe Workers, that they hope will help to unionize their workplace soon."
- "Cape Wind fight spins on," by Tanner Stening, Cape Cod Times: "Opponents of the stalled Cape Wind project have appealed a federal agency's decision to allow the offshore wind energy developer to maintain its long-term federal lease in Nantucket Sound, where the company had planned to build 130 wind turbines."
- "Worcester panel favors 15 pot shops at most, and 3% local tax on marijuana sales," by Nick Kotsopoulos, Worcester Telegram: "A City Council standing committee favors limiting the number of establishments selling recreational marijuana in the city to 15 and having a 3 percent local tax assessed on their sales. Tuesday night, the Economic Development Committee unanimously endorsed those recommendations made by City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. as part of an overall package he submitted to the City Council detailing how the city should respond to the new state law that allows sale and use of marijuana ."
- "UMass to vaccinate all undergraduates against meningitis; CDC rules 2 diagnosed cases an 'outbreak,'" by Diane Lederman, Masslive.com: "The University of Massachusetts will begin a massive vaccination campaign against meningitis after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that two diagnosed cases should be considered an outbreak. University Health Services Executive Director Dr. George Corey said there is no need to cancel classes, but UMass instead will hold four clinics with the intention of vaccinating the entire undergraduate population."
MAZEL! - to Liz Goodwin, the Boston Globe's newest general assignment political reporter. She joins the paper from Yahoo News.
ALSO MAZEL! - to Thomas Curry, former United States Comptroller of the Currency, who is joining Nutter as a partner. Curry will co-lead the firm's Banking and Financial Services practice group and advise the firm's clients in a wide range of policy, regulatory, governance, and other matters.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to House Speaker Robert DeLeo's communications director Seth Gitell, Roslindale paralegal Katherine Forde, and Dorchester Reporter scribe Maddie Kilgannon.
THE HOME TEAMS DID NOT PLAY.
NEW: POLITICO is accepting applications for its fifth session of the POLITICO Journalism Institute (PJI), an educational initiative focused on newsroom diversity . The intensive program, which is designed for college students, will be held May 29 to June 9, 2018. It features hands-on training for up to 12 recent grads and university students interested in covering government and politics. Students also will have an opportunity to have their work published by POLITICO. All expenses are paid for the program, reflecting POLITICO's ongoing support of journalism education, newsroom diversity and recruitment of top-notch talent. Admissions are made on a rolling basis, so APPLY TODAY but no later than Jan. 15, 2018. https://www.politico.com/pji
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.
FOR MORE political and policy news from Massachusetts, check out: http://politi.co/1qNSlWx
SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh ... New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW ... Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 ... New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF ... Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v ... Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb ... California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl ... Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw ... London Playbook http://politi.co/2xfDPuK ... All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX
** A message from New England Clean Power Link : Poised to supply Massachusetts with 1,000 MW of clean, sustainable power, the New England Clean Power Link is ready to roll. The only project with a Presidential Permit, full site control and full host state support, the innovative buried project will help Massachusetts meet its legislative requirements for lower carbon emissions. The entire line will travel underground and underwater, and is expected to deliver low-cost electricity to the Commonwealth over the next 40 years. Massachusetts can expect to reap $19.9 billion in benefits over the next 20 years alone, while ratepayers can expect to save $655 million a year in energy costs. Most importantly, the project is 100% privately financed and comes with a fixed-price bid, protecting taxpayers and ratepayers alike from any cost overruns. The project's developers have also established a $20 million fund to assist low-income ratepayers in western Massachusetts. More **
POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA
No comments:
Post a Comment