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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
'CRUELTY' OF ELECTIONS PROCESS KEEPS PATRICK OUT OF 2020 — Deval Patrick's decision to skip a 2020 presidential run came down to the impact the "cruelty of our elections process" would have on the people close to him, he said in a statement published Thursday morning.
"I've been overwhelmed by advice and encouragement from people from all over the country, known and unknown. Humbled, in fact," the former governor said in a statement posted to Facebook . "But knowing that the cruelty of our elections process would ultimately splash back on people whom Diane and I love, but who hadn't signed up for the journey, was more than I could ask."
Those close to former President Barack Obama had urged Patrick to run for president in 2020, seeing him as able to run an inspirational campaign as a Washington outsider with business and legal experience. Patrick had been open about considering a presidential run, and was among potential candidates who met with former President Barack Obama earlier this year.
Patrick informed close allies of his decision not to seek the presidency on Tuesday. In his statement released Thursday, the former governor says Democrats have a "clear chance" to win the respect and help of voters across the country with values that have "roots in the founding aspirations of America."
"America feels more ready than usual for big answers to our big challenges. That's an exciting moment that I hope we don't miss," Patrick said. "I hope to help in whatever way I can. It just won't be as a candidate for president."
Some of Patrick's closest advisers launched a political action committee over the summer aimed at "promoting Governor Patrick's positive vision for Democrats to rally around in 2018" and used it to support midterm candidates. The PAC still has meet-up events planned across the country, according to its website.
Patrick left public life in 2015 after two terms as governor and now works for Bain Capital, the firm Democrats used against Senator-elect Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential run. But Patrick stepped back into the political arena for the 2018 midterm elections, traveling to states including Texas, Florida, Georgia and Illinois to support Democratic candidates in tight House races.
"The people I met don't fit in a box. They are much more than some oversimplified 'voter demographic,' with all the presumptions that go with that," Patrick said. "They sense that most of the time most of the political establishment sees only a cartoon version of them or overlooks them altogether."
After Patrick won the governorship in 2006 , his family struggled with the shift to public life. His wife Diane Patrick was hospitalized for depression and exhaustion shortly into his first term, and at one point Patrick considered resigning his post, according to the Boston Globe.
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TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito hold a press conference with outgoing Secretary of Public Safety and Security Daniel Bennett and incoming Secretary Thomas Turco. Baker and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders attend the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative National Law Enforcement Summit. OCPF holds a hearing on rules to define a political committee.
Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Amal Clooney and others attends the Massachusetts Conference for Women. Polito attends the BusinessWest Women of Impact Awards in Springfield. The Boston City Council Committee on Government Operations holds a hearing. State Rep. Andy Vargas and Sen. Elizabeth Warren's deputy political director Chelsey Cartwright are among speakers at a Net Impact Boston "Run For It" seminar.
Rep. Katherine Clark holds a town hall in Medford. Former Secretary of State and Sen. John Kerry is at the Kennedy Institute to talk about his memoir with journalist David Bernstein. Senate President Karen Spilka and AT&T host a virtual reality experience to combat texting and driving at the State House. Author and advocate Chris Gardner talks about youth homelessness in Boston. Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards, former Senate candidate Beth Lindstromand former state representative candidate Gretchen Van Ness speak at a Women in Democracy Dedham event.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "ECONOMISTS WARN STATE BUDGET WRITERS OF SLOWDOWN ON THE HORIZON," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "Despite a strong economy, last year's $1 billion budget surplus and revenue collections that are outperforming expectations so far this year, the potential for an economic slowdown and future recession loomed as the budget-writing process for next fiscal year kicked off on Wednesday. At an annual Ways and Means Committee hearing, economic experts offered their financial forecasts for the year ahead, estimating state revenue collections will grow somewhere between 2 percent and 3.4 percent in fiscal 2020."
- "McNAMEE THE 'WRONG CHOICE' FOR FERC, HEALEY SAYS," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "Attorney General Maura Healey and several of her counterparts officially joined opponents of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nominee Bernard McNamee, saying he's an ally of coal plants and hostile toward renewable energy. 'Bernard McNamee's plans to subsidize uneconomic coal plants and his open hostility toward clean energy production make him the wrong choice for the job,' Healey said in a statement Wednesday."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi calls U.S. Bureau of Prisons 'rogue agency' that denies inmates health care," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Two years out of prison, former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi has harsh words for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which he calls a 'rogue agency' that denies prisoners health care. 'I can give examples of inhumane and cruel treatment in prison for lack of medical care,' DiMasi said in an interview Wednesday on WGBH News. 'Every other day someone in my unit would die, and they would do nothing about it.'"
- "Ayanna Pressley praised, honored at one of her last Boston City Council meetings," by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe:"Ayanna Pressley looked out at the crowded City Council chambers. Her fellow councilors, at their desks, had spent the last hour showering her with praise and tearful goodbyes. In the gallery, she could see congresswomen-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit, both elected alongside Pressley as part of the grass-roots wave of progressive Democratic victories."
- JUMPING IN THE RACE: "I want you to be the first to know," from the Alejandra St.Guillen campaign: "I am running to serve as your next At-Large Boston City Councilor to address growing inequalities, from income to public safety to education. To do this, I plan to build cross-neighborhood and cross-sector partnerships that focus on improving equity in educational outcomes and the impacts of public safety practices."
- "With fewer autopsies, what is the state medical examiner's office missing?" by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "After years of trying, and failing, to turn out timely reports explaining how people died, the state's chief medical examiner's office had good news to report last month: Dr. Mindy J. Hull said her office is now completing more than 90 percent of its collective autopsy reports and death certificates within 90 days, meeting a long-elusive industry standard."
- "Progressive Marriott union contract could have ripple effects," by Katie Johnston, Boston Globe: "A series of settlements hammered out over the past few weeks between Marriott and its striking workers in Boston and seven other cities are ushering in groundbreaking benefits that could set a precedent not just for the service industry but for workers nationwide. The Boston agreement, reached after workers spent a month on the picket lines, marching and chanting in the wind and rain and snow, includes a roughly 20 percent increase in wages over four and a half years, a 37 percent increase in pension contributions, and six weeks of paid maternity leave, plus two weeks for spouses."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Massachusetts campaign finance law on union donations appealed to U.S. Supreme Court," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Attorneys for the Goldwater Institute filed a petition on Wednesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge of a Massachusetts campaign finance law that bans political contributions from businesses but allows contributions from unions."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "What Deval Patrick's 2020 decision means for Elizabeth Warren," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "Whether former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick would be the one to emerge from a very large pack to directly challenge fellow Massachusetts resident and US Senator Elizabeth Warren in a 2020 Democratic presidential nomination is something we'll never know. Patrick, sources told the Globe, has decided to forgo a run for president. But here is what we do know: If he had run, he would have been the person who irked Warren the most by his mere presence in the primary."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "US Sen. Ed Markey slams Facebook for allegedly offering advertisers access to user data," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: " Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, condemned Facebook and its executives Wednesday following reports that the social media giant offered advertisers special access to user data. Markey, who sits on the Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, slammed the release of new documents revealing internal discussions regarding Facebook's data sharing policies."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Baystate Business: George H.W. Bush," Bloomberg Radio: On the Wednesday, December 5 edition of Bloomberg Baystate Business we talked about the life and legacy of President George H.W. Bush with MIT Professor Richard Schmalensee, who served on the President's Council of Economic Advisors. Congressman Seth Moulton talked about how Bush inspired him to service ."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "JUDGES BROOM, ICE SWEEPS," — Globe: "It's idea time for the commuter rail," "Marriott workers' pact breaks ground," "A farewell to 'the last great soldier-statesman." |
| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Mass. officials have big ideas — and big decisions — for the MBTA commuter rail," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "How often should trains run? How much should a ride cost? And who's going to operate the trains, anyway? As state transportation officials chart the future of the region's commuter rail system, four years before a new contract is awarded, they are asking a range of far-reaching and fundamental questions about the network's mission."
- "T, disability advocates ink changes to major settlement," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The T and disability-rights advocates have signed an agreement to refocus the sweeping settlement the two sides signed 12 years ago following a high-profile class-action lawsuit. ... The updated version of the pact between the MBTA and the BCIL, one of the entities that brought the suit, mandates that the T undertake initiatives including a project to improve the accessibility at Downtown Crossing and the development of accessibility design standards."
- "Nobody knows why there's a fake tree at Park Street station — and the MBTA didn't put it there," by Steve Annear, Boston Globe:"The tree showed up sometime after Thanksgiving. MBTA workers are clueless about its origins, and no one from the transportation agency has taken responsibility for putting it there — though that's what some riders presumed happened."
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| NO PLACE LIKE THE CITY OF HOMES |
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- "Take My Council, Please: Lifting Lamps and a Golden Door," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "After nearly two hours of debate, City Councilors nudged Springfield closer toward new rules that would keep the city away from immigration enforcement. The Welcoming Communities Trust (WCT) Ordinance did not pass final step as expected after councilors raised some concerns. Despite the slowdown and a mayoral veto threat, passage still seems inevitable."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Salem home-rule petition languishes atop Beacon Hill," by William J. Dowd, WickedLocal Salem: "Lawmakers are eyeing new revenues from taxes on short-term rentals and the regulated lodging industry has been clamoring to see legislation passed. The situation comes months after the Salem City Council and Mayor Kim Driscoll sent state lawmakers a home-rule petition, seeking permission to assess a local 6 percent tax on short-term rental transactions. T hat petition has languished untouched."
- "Vital surf clam harvesting grounds closed by New England Fisheries Management Council," by Michael Bonner, Standard-Times: "Clamming captains, business-owners and attorneys huddled in the lobby of the Viking Hotel on Tuesday sharing disbelief and despair over a decision by the New England Fisheries Management Council that will close vital harvesting grounds."
ONE MORE THING - "Ambassador Scott Brown qualifies for world triathlon championship for his age bracket," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "United States Ambassador Scott Brown, long known as a rock 'n' roll and fitness buff, could be headed to Switzerland next summer to test his chops as a triathlete on the world stage. Brown, 59, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts, shared the news in a weekend Twitter post from New Zealand."
SPOTTED: At Boston City Hall yesterday for Congresswoman-elect Ayanna Pressley's farewell speech ... Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman-elect Ilhan Omar and Congresswoman-elect Rashida Tlaib. Twitter pic.
SPOTTED: At the National Cathedral yesterday for former President George H.W. Bush's funeral ... Former Massachusetts First Lady Jan Cellucci, Bush 41 and Cellucci alum Dave Balfour, Kim Kimball, Cellucci and Bush 43 alum Ed Cash, Andy and Kathi Card, Ron Kaufman and Ronan Tynan.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Spencer Rep. Peter Durant and Hanna Switlekowski, legislative director in Sen. Paul Feeney's office.
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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