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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
PATRICK's WARM UP ACT — Was Deval Patrick's presidential campaign hiding in plain sight?
Patrick is expected to make his 2020 presidential campaign official today. The former Massachusetts governor will appear on CBS News at 8 a.m., where he's likely to confirm he is running for the White House. His announcement video is already on YouTube, and he's spoken with the Boston Globe about his campaign.
The reactions I've heard to Patrick's presidential plans ranged from shocked to skeptical to downright confused. But as we await Patrick's reasoning for getting into the 2020 primary at the last second, his recent appearances as a CBS News contributor make his thoughts on the primary field crystal clear. The network reported it was "discontinuing" its relationship with Patrick in light of his presidential news.
In hindsight, Patrick's musings on the state of the race and his criticisms of the leading candidates were a warm-up act to the main event: his own campaign. "The president I want is like the president I think most Americans want, which is someone who is not going to spend their day every day figuring out how to divide us but instead to bring us together," Patrick said on CBS in September.
And Patrick had tough words leading candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, who he emphasized that he respects and likes personally, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who he has a friendly relationship with.
"I have always felt that his support was soft and it feels like his campaign is contracting rather than expanding," Patrick said in reference to Biden, after the last debate on CBS News in October.
Patrick called it "enormously frustrating" when Warren did not elaborate on how to pay for Medicare for All during the last debate. The Massachusetts senator rolled out her Medicare for All plan shortly after. Back in September, Patrick bucked the Medicare for All trend, saying it is important to have a healthy private insurance industry along with government health care because of innovation that can come from the private sector.
Above all, Patrick has emphasized the need for unity during his CBS appearances, and says he believes people hold common feelings of economic and social anxiety "across the board." Being an upbeat and optimistic candidate with an ability to unify people was a hallmark of Patrick's gubernatorial campaigns.
"What we have to do is project a politics that says we don't have to agree on everything before we work together on anything," Patrick said on CBS News. "We have to be talking about what comes after a successful Democratic campaign. What is our vision for how we serve not just the people who voted for Democrats but for everybody?"
EXCLUSIVE: KENNEDY BUILDS POLITICAL TEAM — Rep. Joe Kennedy III is adding three new hires to his Senate campaign. Ramon Soto, Jacquetta Van Zandt and Joe Caiazzo are joining Kennedy's political team, which already includes advisers Marty Walsh (not the mayor) and Tracey Lewis. The new aides "have built strong relationships on the ground" across Massachusetts, Kennedy campaign manager Nick Clemons said, with experience in the state's black, Latino and progressive communities. Engaging voters from marginalized groups has been a key strategy in the early days of Kennedy's campaign.
Soto previously served as the Massachusetts policy director at the college affordability nonprofit uAspire, and as director of external relations and opportunity gap initiatives under Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
Van Zandt comes to the campaign from Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer's leadership team. Spicer was the first black woman elected mayor in Massachusetts. Van Zandt has a long background in political organizing and has advocated for causes including affordable housing, reproductive rights, socio-economic development and gender and racial equity.
And Caiazzo previously served as Bernie Sanders' New Hampshire state director, and is now a Sanders aide based in Massachusetts. Caiazzo managed Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's reelection campaign in 2018, was the Rhode Island state director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 bid and has worked on a number of Democratic campaigns in Massachusetts.
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, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Senate President Karen Spilka, and state lawmakers gather to sign An Act to Support Improved Financial Stability in Higher Education. Polito makes a MassWorks announcement in Worcester. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends a Toys for Tots campaign kick-off in South Boston.
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 | BREAKING NEWS |
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- PATRICK SPEAKS: "Deval Patrick to launch 2020 presidential bid in N.H. today: 'I feel I have something to offer,'" by Matt Stout and Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "Deval Patrick, who rose from childhood poverty on Chicago's South Side to the upper echelons of corporate and government power, will launch a late-stage bid for the White House Thursday, emphasizing themes of hope and unification that lifted him to two terms as Massachusetts governor. "I don't think that we need to, or ought to, trade unity for dealing with big, entrenched serious problems," Patrick said in a Globe interview Wednesday night. "I think we have to set a tone that says we don't have to agree on everything to work together on anything."
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Baker names Christopher Mason as new State Police commander," by Matt Stout and Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday named Christopher S. Mason as the new colonel of the Massachusetts State Police, elevating a seasoned detective who investigated homicides on Cape Cod and most recently held the number two job on the force. Mason, 56, succeeds Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, whose two-year tenure was largely marked by the fallout from federal and state criminal investigations into overtime fraud within the department, including newly public allegations that supervisors regularly ordered rank-and-file troopers to skip overtime shifts that they were paid for."
- "Massachusetts House votes to ban all flavored tobacco products -- including menthol -- and to tax e-cigarettes," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "In a bill hailed as a major step toward stopping teenagers from vaping, the Massachusetts House on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol, and impose a 75% excise tax on electronic cigarettes. The bill passed 127-31. It will now go to the Senate, which is expected to take it up next week."
- RELATED: "Rep. John Velis: Flavored tobacco ban is 'overreach,'" by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "State Rep. John Velis, a Westfield Democrat running for state Senate, was one of just five Democrats, and the only one from Western Massachusetts, to break with his party leadership Wednesday and vote against a bill banning the sale of all flavored tobacco products. The bill, Velis said, was "overreach." "What's next? Is it sugar, is it saturated fat, is it alcohol, what's next?" Velis said. The bill, framed as a way to protect teenagers from becoming addicted to nicotine through vaping, would ban the sale of flavored vaping products, but also mint and menthol cigarettes, tobacco chew and other flavored tobacco products."
- "Kaufman: 'No diversity of opinion' in DeLeo's inner circle," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "FORMER REP. JAY KAUFMAN continued his recent lambasting of House Speaker Robert DeLeo during a panel discussion Wednesday about the lack of racial and gender diversity in Massachusetts government. The Lexington Democrat, who spent roughly a decade as DeLeo's Revenue Committee chairman until last year when he declined to seek re-election, said the leadership ranks of the House all share the same basic mindset. "There is virtually no - if not absolutely no - diversity of opinion," Kaufman said Wednesday, comparing the lack of differing viewpoints to the lack of racial diversity."
- "DeLeo unsure about tax bill timeline," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo expressed some uncertainty Wednesday afternoon about whether the House will be able to advance a tax package before the end of the year. "Right now we're still working on it. It's still something that we're working on," DeLeo said after a Democratic caucus. "I would advise you to stay tuned in terms of whether we're going to be able to cross the finish line by next week. I'll probably know better today or maybe even tomorrow in terms of where we are." Next Wednesday is the last day of the year when either the House or Senate can hold roll call votes, which would almost certainly be necessary to pass a controversial bill of that magnitude."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Mejia's lead narrows over St. Guillen in contested Boston City Council race," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "A razor-thin margin between two candidates battling for the fourth at-large seat on the City Council got even thinner on Wednesday after election officials found previously uncounted ballots, leaving Julia Mejia just five votes ahead of challenger Alejandra St. Guillen — all but guaranteeing the looming recount. "We remain hopeful," Mejia campaign spokesman Eldin Villafane told the Herald Wednesday afternoon. Mejia emerged from election night 10 votes ahead of St. Guillen, who despite conceding earlier in the night vowed to call for a recount when she realized how close the tallies were ."
- "Walsh, mayors back 15-cent gas tax hike," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "Dozens of Boston-area municipal leaders on Wednesday endorsed new or expanded transportation revenue options, including a 15-cent increase in the state's 24-cent per gallon gas tax, as House lawmakers approach a vote on the topic. The Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, the North Shore Coalition and the Commuter Rail Communities Coalition penned a joint press release calling for the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker to approve "significant new revenue" to enable investments in state roadways and transit. The North Shore Coalition consists of 18 cities and towns north of Boston."
- "MIT Study: Boston Evictions Happening 'Orders Of Magnitude' More In Low-Income Neighborhoods," by Simón Rios, WBUR: "Evictions in Boston are happening at rates "many orders of magnitude" higher in low-income, majority nonwhite neighborhoods than in more affluent neighborhoods, according to new research from MIT grad student David Robinson. "In Roxbury, which is the Boston neighborhood with the highest private market eviction rate, one in 10 private market units had an eviction filing over three years," Robinson said."
- "Was it an oversight? Police complaint board down to two members, hasn't released reports," by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: "Two years ago, Mayor Martin Walsh announced sweeping changes to the underperforming Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel board, the group responsible for reviewing police misconduct investigations by the Boston Police Department's Internal Affairs Department. While not a civilian review board, the COOP board was designed to provide civilians unhappy with police investigations another avenue to pursue complaints of police misconduct. In its first 10 years of operation, however, criminal justice reform activists complained that the board heard few cases and did little to help people who accused police officers of misconduct and abuse."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "'Sorry for the Uncomfortable Commute,' MBTA Says to Passengers Who Almost Fell Out Train Door," by Alyssa Vaughn, Boston Magazine: "Some of us have enough trouble staying upright on a Green Line trolley creeping through Government Center. Now imagine trying to keep your balance on a full speed Commuter Rail train as frigid evening air rushes by from a wide open door right next to you. Yes, this was the case for a handful of commuters on an evening Middleborough/Lakeville train Tuesday. Because the after-work train was packed, several travelers were stuck standing in the vestibule of the train when—oopsie!—a door popped open and remained ajar as the train made its way down the tracks at full speed. Passengers were left to helplessly "hold on for their lives" as the outside world zoomed by."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Elizabeth Warren buys CNBC commercial time to blast billionaires in a fiery new campaign ad," by Brian Schwartz, CNBC: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren is launching a new attack on the billionaires who have criticized her proposed taxes and policies with a new ad set to air on CNBC this week, according to a campaign aide. Titled "Elizabeth Warren Stands Up to Billionaires," the ad takes aim at longtime investor Leon Cooperman, former CEO of TD Ameritrade Joe Ricketts, former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel. The ad will premiere Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," which airs at 9 a.m. ET, and Jim Cramer's "Mad Money," which airs at 6 p.m. ET, in all New York and Washington, D.C., markets, the aide added. The ad will be part of a digital buy, as well."
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| THE PRESSLEY PARTY |
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- REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY UNVEILS SWEEPING PLAN TO RESHAPE AMERICAN CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM," by Kira Lerner, The Appeal: " Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts unveiled a sweeping resolution today calling for state and local governments to decrease prison populations by 80 percent, abolish cash bail, and end the system of charging people fines and fees to fund local court systems, among a host of other proposals. Pointing to the scale, racial disparities, costs, and harms of the United States's vast prison system, Pressley's resolution lays out dozens of concrete proposals that would result in a smaller prison system."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Excessive idling by Encore Boston Harbor shuttles sparks lawsuit threat," by David Abel, Boston Globe: " Every few minutes, another large, black bus putters to a curb at the Wellington MBTA station, where it joins a line of shuttles that await a steady flow of patrons and employees heading to the nearby Encore Boston Harbor casino. On a recent morning, five of them queued up in front of the station, their engines humming, fumes spewing from their exhausts. "Nobody has told us that we shouldn't idle," shuttle bus driver Carol Tilton said as she waited for passengers with her engine rumbling. That may change soon."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "HEART & SOUL," — Globe: "A day of repetition and revelation," "Patrick is expected to start run today," "In Worcester, another fallen hero." |
| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "Elizabeth Warren files for N.H. presidential primary ballot," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "Capping off more than 11 months of campaigning for president, Senator Elizabeth Warren officially filed to place her name on the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot Wednesday. The Cambridge resident entered the New Hampshire State House and was met by hundreds of supporters lining the hallways, chanting, "Win with Warren!" "This is a great day for me. The day when I am officially in the race for president of the United States, something that in a million years I would have never dreamed I'd end up doing," Warren told reporters shortly after filing. "But now I am in this fight, and I am in it all the way." Warren's remarks in Concord came less than 48 hours after news reports that former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick is actively considering jumping into the race."
- "Bill Weld files for N.H. primary," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "Former Massachusetts governor William F. Weld filed to place his name on the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary ballot in person Wednesday just moments before the US House began public impeachment hearings into Weld's primary opponent President Trump. After handing over the one-page form and a $1,000 check to New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner inside of the State House in Concord, Weld acknowledged the juxtaposition of his filing to replace Trump at a time when impeachment proceedings were beginning was poignant."
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| FROM THE 413 |
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- "What happened to Paul Overby?" by Roy Greene, Boston Globe: "Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan said Tuesday they had agreed to free American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks in a prisoner exchange with the Afghan government. The two professors at American University of Afghanistan were captured in Kabul in 2016. But the fate of another captive in the region remains unknown. Paul E. Overby Jr., a 76-year-old author from Western Massachusetts, was abducted in May 2014 in eastern Khost Province as he sought to interview the head of a notorious Taliban faction, the Haqqani network. Before he disappeared, he suggested that he was planning to cross into Pakistan, according to the FBI."
- "State House hearing on glyphosate draws local testimony, comment," by Maureen O'Reilly, Greenfield Recorder: "Local activists were among those who packed a hearing Tuesday by the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture about the chemical glyphosate, which is the main ingredient in herbicides like Roundup. "The breadth of the state was represented," said the Rev. Thaddeus "Thad" Bennett, of Conway, adding that testimonies at the State House were given from those living everywhere from the Berkshires to Cape Cod. Bennett organized transportation for a handful of Ashfield residents, most of whom are part of the group People Against Toxic Herbicides (PATH). The Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) also organized Western Massachusetts residents to attend the hearing, Bennett said."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Fire Lt. Jason Menard mourned in Worcester," by George Barnes, Telegram & Gazette: "Lt. Jason Menard became the ninth Worcester firefighter in two decades to die in the line of duty, losing his life while battling a blaze on Stockholm Street early Wednesday morning. The 39-year-old veteran of the Worcester Fire Department had planned to travel to Disney World later that day with his wife Tina and three children. He died heroically, his colleagues said, helping fellow firefighters escape the inferno after they became trapped on the third floor of the building."
- "Chamber backs free bus service in Worcester," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "TUCKED INSIDE this week's transportation funding proposal from the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce was an unusual request. In addition to offering support for a statewide tolling initiative, a hike in the gas tax, and an increase in rideshare fees, the business group said some of the new revenue should be used to experiment with doing away with fares on the buses operated by the Worcester Regional Transit Authority."
- "With state funding, veteran housing units move forward in Dracut," by Meg McIntyre, The Lowell Sun: "The road to this point has been a long one. But housing for veterans is finally coming to Dracut. As Interim Town Manager Ann Vandal puts it, the town has been pushing for affordable veterans housing for "probably forever." And thanks to the Lowell-based community development corporation Coalition for a Better Acre — and about $1.8 million in state funding — that long-held dream is set to become a reality by the end of 2020."
- "MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: "Local legislator called out for tweet," by Julie Huss, Eagle-Tribune: "A local state representative's words on Twitter recently sparked a backlash from those saying it was a hurtful attack on presidential Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and not productive in today's political climate. Longtime state Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, removed a recent tweet he had posted, but stood by his words, saying it was the truth. Baldasaro also serves as co-chairman of President Donald Trump's New Hampshire campaign."
EXCERPT:
Longtime state Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, removed a recent tweet he had posted, but stood by his words, saying it was the truth.
Baldasaro also serves as co-chairman of President Donald Trump's New Hampshire campaign.
Baldasaro's tweet read: "Kamala, stop using the race card and dividing our country. Horse thieves, bank robbers and murders were lynch (sic) many years ago. It was the Democrat KKK, that lynched African Americans. Rumor has it Kamala that you are not African American. Is that true? Stop the Political BS!"
The message was in direct response to Harris' views following Trump's own Twitter comments recently when he used the word "lynching" to describe the ongoing impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A statement from the New Hampshire Democratic Party's African American Caucus called out Baldasaro, saying "We in the first in the nation primary state find these tweets unacceptable. This is not who we are. We hope everyone joins us in the condemnation of this tweet."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "At Harvard and beyond, student journalists face increasing scrutiny from peers," by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "Haley Lerner, the editor of Boston University's student-run newspaper, has been thinking hard about how to cover campus protests. She has covered her fair share of them, and BU students are expected to protest Wednesday evening, when conservative lightning-rod and political podcaster Ben Shapiro is scheduled to speak on campus. But Lerner, 20, and her staff at the Daily Free Press are also keenly aware that student journalists have landed in the middle of firestorms in recent weeks about what it means to be an independent newspaper, the fundamental ways in which campus reporters do their jobs, and whether student journalists should be taking sides on some of the most polarizing issues of the day."
- "How Boston's Last Alt-Weekly Has Survived For Two Decades," by Adrian Ma, WBUR: "The walls of DigBoston's small Charlestown office are lined with old issue covers, books on Boston history, journalism award plaques and, hanging above it all, a bright yellow "W" — the logo for the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. "This is a group of artists who actually did things on their own terms, have largely answered to no one but their own crew, and have had unbelievable success," said the Dig's editor-in-chief Chris Faraone, who wrote about Wu-Tang earlier in his career. "Absolutely, without a doubt, Wu-Tang is my chief inspiration." For the past couple of years, Faraone — along with executive editor Jason Pramas and publisher John Loftus — have tried to put out over 30,000 copies of a free newspaper every week and do it on their terms, in an era that has not been easy for print media."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Todd Feathers, a Lowell Sun alum; and Tamika Olszewski.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Celtics beat the Wizards 140-133.
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