Who will PRESSLEY pick — WARREN’s dog steals spotlight — TRAHAN’s trouble

Mar 04, 2019

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRAHAN'S RECEIPTS — Boston's digging out from under a foot of snow this morning. And while the state legislature delayed its first Joint Committee on Ways and Means hearing of the fiscal 2020 budget season until tomorrow, two rookie members of the congressional delegation are making more than enough news to hold us over.

Rep. Lori Trahan is facing scrutiny for last-ditch spending that political watchers say put her over the top in the crowded 2018 Democratic primary in the state's 3rd District. Trahan spent heavily on a TV ad blitz close to voting day, and it's not clear where the money came from. Trahan says she drew from personal money for a campaign loan. The problem? It's not clear she had that much cash to give, according to a Boston Globe report.

The September primary ended on a tense note — Trahan and candidate Dan Koh finished so close together that Koh requested a recount that lasted almost two weeks. Trahan pulled off the win, getting fewer than 150 votes more than Koh and securing her seat in Congress.

While Trahan clears up last year's receipts, a number of 2020 Democrats are angling for Rep. Ayanna Pressley's endorsement . Pressley, the first black woman to represent Massachusetts in the House, captured lightning in a bottle when she defeated incumbent Rep. Mike Capuano in the 2018 midterm and continues to cut a high profile. One example: Pressley's much-quoted line of questioning at the Michael Cohen hearing in Washington, D.C. last week.

For his part, Capuano's got a new job. He's starting as public affairs director at international law firm Foley & Lardner LLP according to WBUR.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker meets with House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka. UMass President Marty Meehan delivers a State of the University address. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition holds an Immigrants' Daylobby day at the State House, speakers include Senate President Karen Spilka and Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh talks about the snowstorm on WGBH. Non-emergency state executive branch employees have an 11 a.m. delayed start time. The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers hosts an exhibit highlighting the state's social workers at the State House.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

- "Governor Baker: Lack of new housing threatens booming economy," by Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press: "Ask Gov. Charlie Baker what the biggest threat is to the state's sizzling economy, and he's likely to say the sluggish growth in new housing. The paucity of new housing — according to Baker — is driving up rental and mortgage costs, forcing workers to move farther and farther from where they work, putting extra pressure on the state's overburdened transportation system and in turn making it harder for the firms fueling the state's economic surge to find the employees they need."

- "U.S. attorney: Lawrence a regional hub for fentanyl," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Lawrence has become a pipeline for heroin and fentanyl distribution, according to the top federal law enforcement official working in Massachusetts, who says traffickers are exploiting the city's location, depressed economy and large immigrant population to peddle the drugs throughout New England. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling says the city's geographic location, adjacent to two interstate highways, makes it an easy jumping-off point for traffickers using the city as a hub to move large quantities ofdeadly opiates into major cities in New Hampshire and Maine, where low-level dealers distribute the drugs."

- "Michael Capuano lands a new gig at law firm," Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Two months after leaving Congress, former Representative Michael E. Capuano isn't roaming far from Washington, D.C. The Somerville Democrat is joining the firm Foley & Lardner LLP, where he plans to shuttle between its Boston and Washington offices as a new public affairs director, the company announced Friday. Capuano will be part of the Milwaukee-based firm's Government Solutions division, which helps guide clients through "steps of the government bid process" and advises on campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics compliance issue, according to its website."

- "Does the state's school building reimbursement formula hurt poor cities and towns?" by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "A formula created in 2004 to ensure the state was giving poor cities and towns enough help building new schools includes a quirk that some say is now hurting the same communities it was meant to help. "It perpetuates inequity," said state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who introduced a bill to change the formula. The Massachusetts School Building Authority provides state funding for school building projects that is matched with money from cities and towns."

- "Report: Baker got re-election boost from super PAC spending," Associated Press: "Republican Gov. Charlie Baker's re-election campaign got a big boost from independent expenditure political action committees — also known as super PACs. A report by the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance released this week found that super PACs spent about $6.8 million to support or oppose candidates in last year's state election. Nearly all of that — about 97 percent — went to support Baker."

- "New formula could deliver teachers, pipeline in the works," by Scott O'Connell, Telegram & Gazette: "With a long-awaited update to the state's public school funding formula on the horizon, local schools and colleges are already preparing for a potential challenge created by that major investment: finding the teachers more districts suddenly might be able to afford. Fixing the state's antiquated foundation budget formula - one of the top priorities of state officials this year - could open up $1 billion in additional aid to schools across Massachusetts, and much of that money would likely be invested in new classroom staff."

FROM THE HUB

- "Boston city councilor renews push for 13th optional year of school," by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: "The data are troubling: Nearly half of Boston students who enter college do not graduate within six years, researchers say. City Councilor Michael Flaherty is pushing something he thinks will help: Year 13, an initiative he said would provide an "extra layer of support" for high school graduates to make it through college."

- "Six new fears keeping GE execs awake at night," by Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal: "One could argue that General Electric Co. has already gone through the worst, after its massive stock decline, the sale of several business lines and a major upheaval in upper management in recent years. But the company's annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission suggests that executives still have a lot on their minds in 2019."

- "The Embrace chosen as King monument on Common," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE NONPROFIT KING BOSTON has selected a sculpture featuring two pairs of arms in an embrace as the winning design for a monument on Boston Common to Rev. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, a couple who met in Boston in the 1950s and then nurtured a transformational civil rights movement. The art committee of King Boston last week chose The Embrace, a polished metal sculpture that blends realism and abstraction as it depicts the couple's disembodied, loving arms holding one another. The official announcement will be made on Monday."

- "City Council hearing to discuss safety measures, needles at Boston schools," by Jonathan Ng, Boston Herald: "City Councilor At-Large Annissa Essaibi George will hold a hearing to address safety measures and discarded needles at Boston Public Schools. Essaibi George, chairwoman of the council's education committee, said in a statement that after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. last year, school teachers and administrators have voiced concerns to her office that there were "inadequate safety measures in their schools, particularly their inability to lock all classroom doors and secure school entryways." BPS representatives and other city officials will speak at the hearing, Essaibi George's office said, adding that discussions include analysis of the school system's prevention strategies and how schools respond to incidents of violence, natural disasters and medical emergencies."

- "This Boston Teen Turned Ayanna Pressley's First House Speech Into A Song," by Cintia Lopez, WBUR: ""Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the occupant of the White House." Those were Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley's first words on the House floor after taking office this January. And that speech is what got Danny Rivera's "creative juices" flowing for his song, "We're On Our Way Up." The 18-year-old Boston singer-songwriter said in a recent email that when he found out his high school, Boston Arts Academy, was giving Pressley the Champion Award, 'I knew that I wanted to sing something special for her.'"

THE OPINION PAGES

- "Massachusetts needs a student loan bill of rights," by state Sen. Eric Lesser, Boston Globe Magazine: "Many students, especially those from families with limited assets, must take out loans with aggressive repayment terms, only to find themselves in entry-level jobs, barely able to make payments that will last for decades. Worse, student loans are like the cockroaches of debt — they never go away. Even bankruptcy generally doesn't get rid of them. Defaulting can mean a ruined credit rating, without relief from paying back the loans. Students take on debt because people with college degrees on average see far higher earnings than those without. But there is growing evidence that for some born in the 1980s, student debt is eroding the collegiate wealth advantage — college graduates still get paid more, on average, but their debts prevent them from building more assets."

THE TSONGAS ARENA

- "Questions raised about source of late funds that helped carry Rep. Lori Trahan to victory," by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: "It was just two weeks before the September primary in the state's third Congressional district, and the latest poll had Lori Trahan in fourth place. That's when Trahan poured hundreds of thousands of dollars of new money into her campaign, dramatically increasing her TV advertising from previous weeks. In the closing days of the race, she overtook her rivals, beating second-place finisher Dan Koh by just 122 votes, then going on to easily defeat the Republican candidate in November. But where did the money for the 11th-hour advertising spree come from?"

WARREN REPORT

- "Warren's top surrogate is big on social media and has 4 legs," by Natasha Korecki, POLITICO: "He shared the stage at Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign launch. He's featured in her online fundraising pitches and stars on her social media accounts. He even has his own selfie lines at organizing events. Bailey, Warren's fluffy, cheerful golden retriever, has emerged as the senator's top surrogate and a phenomenon in his own right."

- "Warren takes aim at Pence: He's not a 'decent' man," by Justin Wise, The Hill: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reportedly said Saturday that she does not believe Vice President Pence is a decent man. "I'm sorry. I followed Pence's history on LGBTQ Americans, and I don't think that is a decent position," Warren said, according to Iowa Starting Line. "I disagree." Asked if she thinks Pence is a "decent" man, Warren said "no." The Massachusetts senator, who launched her 2020 presidential campaign earlier this year, made her opinions known just days after former Vice President Joe Biden faced scrutiny for calling Pence a 'decent guy.'"

EYE ON 2020

- "Ayanna Pressley Is Mapping A New Direction For The Democratic Party. Its Presidential Candidates Want Her Support." by Darren Sands, BuzzFeed News: "Ayanna Pressley was one of the most surprising congressional candidates of 2018, upsetting a longtime Democratic incumbent in one of last year's most closely watched primaries. Now, as she cultivates a national profile that reflects the political yearnings of a movement of black women in the Democratic Party, candidates are engaging in a high-stakes fight for her backing in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary."

TRUMPACHUSETTS

- "Richard Neal, Jerrold Nadler up ante in Trump investigations," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "U.S. Rep. Richard Neal of Springfield is moving toward requesting President Trump's tax returns, making him one of several potential powerful Democratic House committee chairmen preparing major investigations into the president. Neal, who's represented western Massachusetts in the House for three decades, now leads the House Ways and Means Committee — which is preparing to formally ask the Internal Revenue Service for the tax returns, according to NBC News."

THE CLARK CAUCUS

- "US Rep. Katherine Clark revamps push to mandate presidents disclose business interests," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "With her previous proposals seeing little-to-no action in the last GOP-controlled Congress, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark reintroduced a bill this week that would require presidents to disclose and divest of any financial conflicts of interest. The Melrose Democrat joined U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, in again offering the "Presidential Accountability Act," which would amend a 1978 ethics law to mandate that presidents and vice presidents must disclose their business interests, including the name of every person with whom they are in business and the assets and liabilities of every business in which they have a major financial stake."

MOULTON MATTERS

- "Seth Moulton Says He's Thinking of Running for President in 2020," by Lisa Weidenfeld, Boston Magazine: "Seth Moulton is back to talking about running for president in 2020 again. The congressman has long harbored presidential ambitions and tried to set himself apart in the past as an agent of change. But after spending the months leading up to the mid-terms in a failed attempt to oust Nancy Pelosi from her leadership position, he got a little quieter about the prospect. But apparently he's recovered from losing a battle he once said he thought he had a "100 percent chance" of winning."

ABOVE THE FOLD

— Herald: "A LIFE FOR A LIFE," — Globe: "'Embrace' will be Boston's tribute to Kings," "Funds fueling Trahan's win raise questions."

FROM THE 413

- "Stretched too thin: Rural school districts go on the offensive for legislative help," by Greta Jochem, Daily Hampshire Gazette:"As the state eyes changing the way it funds public education, rural schools are asking that the law take into account the unique challenges their districts face and establish rural school aid. The Massachusetts Rural Schools Coalition, led by Michael Buoniconti, the superintendent of the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School districts, went to Boston on Thursday to push for these changes to Chapter 70 state education funding on behalf of rural schools."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

- "Legislators fight MBTA fare hikes," by Lauren Frias, Telegram & Gazette: "The MBTA proposal to hike fares on subways, trains and commuter rail is causing an uproar throughout greater Boston, and among Worcester-area legislators. For Worcester, which is located in Zone 8 of the commuter rail system, commuters can expect a 75-cent increase, raising the fare from $11.50 to $12.25. According to a letter signed by 15 Central Mass. legislators to the MBTA, that works out to a $25 monthly increase. Rep. Daniel Donahue, D-Worcester, who signed the letter, said there's a correlation between fare hikes and ridership decreases."

- "Proposal prevents Brockton cops from reporting info to ICE," by Marc Larocque, Brockton Enterprise: "The goal of the ordinance is to give members of the immigrant community, who may not be lawful permanent residents, peace of mind when they are seeking protection from Brockton police. But not everyone is fully on board. One provision in the "Brockton United" ordinance, which was first heard by the City Council Ordinance Committee last week, and must receive final approval by Brockton City Council as a whole to become law, is causing concern for at least one elected official."

- "Consensus lacking on strategies to prevent Cape shark attacks," by Michael Levenson, Boston Globe: "There will be tourniquets and blood-clotting bandages on the beaches this summer, packed inside medical kits in case of attack. Beach parking lots will have 911 call boxes, while roving EMTs will patrol remote areas that ambulances cannot easily reach. Cape Cod officials stress they are doing everything possible to try to keep safe the 4 million visitors who will arrive this summer, one year after a 26-year-old on a boogie board was attacked by a shark off Wellfleet and died before rescuers could get him to a hospital. But some residents remain anxious, frustrated, even angry — concerned that officials have been slow to act, given the increase in great white sharks seen over the last five years."

- MEANWHILE IN MAINE: "Beaten down by the resistance? Activists turn to yoga for sustenance in the age of Trump," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "For liberal activists, it has been a punishing two years of protest, waging battles over health care, tax breaks, family separation, and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Resistance, it turns out, is exhausting. "People are getting burnt out," said Marie Follayttar, a Portland artist who founded an activist group called Mainers for Accountable Leadership after the 2016 election. If liberals are feeling increasingly beaten down by the never-ending demands of activism in the age of Trump, then perhaps no one is more dispirited than Maine activists, who for two years have been on the front lines of the nation's most heated fights."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Rene Fielding, former City of Boston Director of Emergency Management, now director of emergency management at Tufts University (h/t Ed Cash), Henry Barrett and the Daily Hampshire Gazette's Bera Dunau.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Beth Myers, who celebrated with a surprise party in San Francisco with Romney alumni (pic of her blowing out her cake ...another pic) (h/t Jackie Rooney) and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who celebrated Sunday.

DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Rockets beat the Celtics 115-104.

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