11/16/2017 07:03 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Rebecca Morin (rmorin@politico.com; @RebeccaMorin_)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Showers, thunderstorms, and gusty winds are expected throughout the day. RIP to your umbrella.
STATE OF PLAY IN THE TSONGAS ARENA - The field continues to expand in the race to replace Rep. Niki Tsongas as three more Democrats have officially opened campaign accounts. This brings the total number of candidates to 13, 10 of which are Democrats, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
This week's entrants:
- Alexandra Chandler, a former senior naval intelligence officer and transgender woman from Haverhill. She made her run official in a campaign video launch on her website on Wednesday.
- James Patrick Littlefield, former director of the VA Center for Innovation and healthcare IT entrepreneur opened his campaign account with the FEC on Tuesday, though he has not publicly announced his bid beyond that. Littlefield has lived in Acton-Boxborough area with his wife and kids for decades, according to the Lowell Sun, and commuted to Washington D.C. for his VA job.
- Rufus Gifford, a long-rumored MA-3 entrant, made it official on Monday with a press release and launch video. The former US Ambassador to Denmark hails from Manchester-by-the-Sea (outside of the district), and just moved to Concord with his husband though he cites deep ties from his "ancestors who settled in Andover, Chelmsford and Concord."
Also in the race: Terry Ryan, chair of the Westford School Committee and director of the Merrimack Valley Small Business Center, former LG candidate Steve Kerrigan, state Rep. Juana Matias, CEO of a hotel management firm Abhijit "Beej" Das, Cambridge City Councilor Nadeem Mazen, former chief of staff for Rep. Marty Meehan Lori Trahan, and former chief of staff to the mayor of Boston Dan Koh. State Sen. BarbaraL'Italien publicly mulled a run but has not yet filed paperwork to make it official.
Among the Republicans, three have filed official statements of candidacy: Mass Fiscal Alliance founder Rick Green, Fitchburg's Louis Marinowho recently sought the seat being vacated by state Sen. Jenn Flanagan, and Navy veteran Scott Gunderson. Gunderson filed paperwork to run for the seat back in April.
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 and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr speak at the Retailers Association of Massachusetts' 99th annual meeting - WGBH News' The Scrum tapes a live episode of its podcast at Dorchester's own The Banshee Pub with The Boston Globe's Meghan Irons, the Bay State Banner's Yawu Miller, and the Dorchester Reporter's Jennifer Smith, joining hosts Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis to parse lessons from Boston's recent election. Doors open at 6 p.m., taping starts at 6:45 - The Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus holds its 30th Annual Tribute to Abigail Adams at the Fairmont Copley Plaza tonight, honoring Kristen Lepore, chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Baker (who will offer intro remarks), State Street's Rakhi Kumar, philanthropist and investor Linda Whitlock, and Rep. Niki Tsongas.
** A message from PhRMA: Are middlemen really holding down the cost of medicines? Biopharmaceutical companies set the list prices for their medicines, but it's your insurer that decides how much you pay out of pocket. More than one-third of the list price is rebated back to middlemen, but these savings aren't always shared with patients. http://onphr.ma/2AB3jW4 **
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "Kerry Gilpin, A 23-Year Veteran, Is Named New Superintendent Of Mass. State Police," by Lisa Creamer, WBUR: "Kerry Gilpin, a 23-year veteran of the force, was sworn in by Gov. Charlie Baker Wednesday as the agency's new superintendent and colonel. Gilpin was most recently the department's deputy division commander of the division of standards and training. The governor said in a statement he has the 'utmost confidence' Gilpin will excel in her new post, which is effective immediately."
- "Charlie Baker and the curious case of the judge's daughter," by Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe: "The curious case of the judge's daughter, whose arrest record was edited to remove embarrassing statements she made to state troopers, is getting more curious. After Governor Charlie Baker ordered a review, the head of the state police suddenly retired. Then his deputy did too. Baker has called what happened a mistake and said that Daniel Bennett, the secretary of Public Safety, had nothing to do with it. But buffered by high poll numbers and the distraction known as President Trump, he has no plans to formally present any findings."
- "Single-payer supporters focus on Mass. House," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "The Senate last week voted overwhelmingly to measure potential costs of single-payer health care, and advocates are now turning their focus to the House, and to their own holiday dinner tables. 'When we get together for Thanksgiving and you sit around the table - and trust me, the kids are listening and everybody's watching -- talk about single-payer and why it's important,' Sen. Paul Feeney told participants in a single-payer lobby day Tuesday."
- "A transgender woman is suing Mass. over placement at male prison," by Michael Levinson, Boston Globe: "Being assigned to an all-male prison was traumatic enough. But a transgender woman incarcerated at MCI-Norfolk says she has been subjected to groping and taunting by male prisoners and correctional officers who routinely harass her because she identifies as a woman. Now, the 52-year-old prisoner, who has lived as a woman and received hormone therapy for nearly 40 years, is suing the Massachusetts Department of Correction in a bid to force the department to move her to the state women's prison, MCI-Framingham."
- "When It Comes To Teaching English, Beacon Hill Says One Size Doesn't Fit All," by Max Larkin, WBUR: "After several attempts, Massachusetts lawmakers have all but confessed there may be no single right way to teach English to students who don't already know it. A compromise version of the LOOK Act - short for 'Language Opportunities for Our Kids' - has sailed through both chambers of Beacon Hill Wednesday and will be heading to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk. The bill would allow school districts to decide whether and when to use students' native languages, or a dual-language approach, as they build English proficiency."
TRUMPACHUSETTS -
- "Baker Appeals To White House To Let Temporary Residents Stay," by Mike Deehan, WGBH: "Gov. Charlie Baker is asking the Trump Administration to let thousands of refugees from Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras to stay in the country. ... Baker sent a letter [Tuesday] to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke urging her to take into consideration what Baker called the ongoing crises going on in Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras."
- "DOJ warns of sanctuary city consequences," by Dan Atkinson, Boston Herald: "The Justice Department has fired off a threatening letter to Lawrence and 28 other 'sanctuary cities' across the U.S., sending a shot across the bow of communities who shield illegal immigrants that federal grant money could be denied."
ON THE STUMP -
- "WBUR Poll: 3 State Ballot Initiatives Enjoy Overwhelming Support," by Fred Thys, WBUR: "A new WBUR poll finds three proposed 2018 statewide ballot initiatives are enjoying overwhelming support from Massachusetts voters. The live telephone poll was conducted by the MassINC Polling Group for WBUR. The initiatives would raise the income tax on earnings greater than $1 million a year; lower the state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 5 percent; and require employers to provide paid family medical leave."
- "Election behind, councilors eyeing what 2018 will bring," by Jennifer Smith, Dorchester Reporter: "The city council is staring down the last month of its legislative term, the election behind them and a diverse slate of councillors stepping up to the plate in anticipation of the new year. This year's race reaffirmed their focus on at least one sentiment, councilors say: The city is feeling a crunch and Boston now needs to grapple with its growth, and the quagmire of equity and infrastructure issues that come with it."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "SWEEP IT UNDER RUG," "HOLDING COURT" - Globe: "Bilingual education advances in Mass.," "Small e-cigarettes are teens' latest tactic," "AT THE CORNER OF CAUSEWAY AND NIRVANA," "Long-shot bid gains traction in Alabama," "Berklee confirms another sexual misconduct case," "POLICE LEADER CHOSEN."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Marty Walsh aims high to avoid drag on cannabis coffers," by Dan Atkinson, Boston Herald: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh is urging councilors to tax legal weed to the max at every pot shop in the city as the nearly $2 billion Bay State marijuana market is set to sprout in July."
- "Caught in a financial crisis, UMass Boston begins to cut jobs," by Laura Krantz, Boston Globe: "University of Massachusetts Boston officials began a first round of layoffs Wednesday, the latest step in the university's effort to help solve its major financial problems. Layoffs are expected to continue on Thursday. In all, administrators plan to lay off 36 people this week and reduce the hours of seven more, all of them staff who clean the school, help run academic programs, work in the student health office, or in other ways support the daily operations of the university."
- "8 innovative things 'Gateway Cities' in Massachusetts are doing to bounce back from the Great Recession," by Gintautas Dumcius, Masslive.com: "Activating waterfront property that once drew mill workers along the Merrimack River. Turning an historic Worcester park into an art gallery. A 'pop-up restaurant' to help advance the careers of food entrepreneurs in Fitchburg. Those were some of the initiatives underway across the Bay State, meant to serve as catalyst in their respective 'Gateway Cities' as they recover from the Great Recession."
- "The Gangs Of Nantucket: The Partnership," by Phillip Martin, WGBH: "Massachusetts has a reputation as a relative safe haven for undocumented immigrants, such that since 2016, dozens of Central American families have made their way from Texas - known for its harsh immigration policies - to the Bay State with the help of volunteers and sanctuary communities, including those associated with the Needham Area Immigration Task Force. But when it comes to suspected members of transnational gangs, especially MS-13 and 18th Street, many of these same municipalities cooperate closely with ICE, sharing information and coordinating operations. And that's what's happening on Nantucket."
- "The Gangs Of Nantucket: Fear And Politics," by Phillip Martin, WGBH: "Conservative politicians across the country in recent election campaigns used the specter of MS-13 and the rival 18th Street gang to whip up support and, some say, to get rid of thousands of unaccompanied youth from Central America who've come here over the past few years - including to the island of Nantucket. Henry Lemus Calderon was one of them. He had imagined walking across the stage of Nantucket High School with the rest of the class of 2017. ... Instead, this 19-year-old Salvadoran is sitting in a high-level immigration detention ward in Bristol County."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Milford Rep. John Fernandes, Josh Gee of Boston's department of innovation and technology, conservative activist Brad Wyatt, and deputy director of community affairs at the Middlesex Sheriff's Office Valentino Capobianco.
DID THE HOME TEAMS WIN? No! - The Bruins fell to the Ducks 4-2.
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
And ICYMI: AN ELECTION RECAP EDITION OF THE HORSE RACE - Election Day has come and gone and we're here to parse who landed in the winner's circle across the state. Also, a surprise appearance by Sam Hammar, chair of the Melrose Democratic City Committee, to discuss why a partisan city committee got involved in a non-partisan municipal election. Subscribe and listen now on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
- And tickets are now available for The Horse Race live event on Nov. 28!: MassINC Polling Group's Steve Koczela and yours truly will preview the big elections facing #mapoli voters in 2018 and look at a key issue for the year ahead: Women remain drastically underrepresented in the State Legislature and the Massachusetts Congressional delegation. What are the roots of this, and what can be done to change it? Featuring special guests Jenn Nassour of Conservative Women for a Better Future and Puja Mehta, Board Chair of Emerge Massachusetts, bringing insight from both sides of the aisle.
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 Playbookhttp://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 tipsheetshttp://politi.co/1M75UbX
** A message from PhRMA: Are middlemen really holding down the cost of medicines? Ever wonder who decides what you pay for your medicines? It's not who you might think. Biopharmaceutical companies set the list prices for their medicines, but it's your insurer that ultimately determines how much you pay out of pocket. More than one-third of the list price of a medicine is rebated back to middlemen, like insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These rebates and discounts create savings of more than $100 billion, but these savings aren't always shared directly with patients. Patients share the costs. They should share the savings. http://onphr.ma/2AB3jW4 **
POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA
No comments:
Post a Comment