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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
WHAT HARRIS' EXIT MEANS FOR MASS. — California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a shockwave through the 2020 presidential field when she dropped out of the race yesterday. Her exit leaves a few well-known supporters as free agents late in the primary contest.
The end of the Harris campaign comes at a time when some Democratic hopefuls are looking to Boston to raise money before the year ends. Former Gov. Deval Patrick held a fundraiser on Monday at the home of Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder Joshua Boger. Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Ind. mayor, will raise money in Boston tonight. And tomorrow, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Attorney General Maura Healey (a Warren surrogate) will attend the Democratic National Committee's fourth IWillVote Gala of 2019 in Boston. DNC chair Tom Perez will also be in town for the party fundraiser.
While Harris lagged in the polls here — an October survey showed her at 3 percent — she had cashed checks from some big-name donors in Massachusetts. Early in the 2020 cycle, former Attorney General Martha Coakley, now on the government affairs team at Juul, attended a Harris fundraiser . The event was hosted at the home of Boston philanthropist Georgia Murray and her husband Mark Maloney. Sean Curran, who is now raising money for Patrick, was a co-host of that Harris fundraiser.
Just a month ago, Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell traveled to Iowa to support Harris after endorsing her in September. And while he hasn't endorsed anyone, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh in May listed Harris as one of the three Democrats he thought had a good chance at beating President Donald Trump.
The end of Harris' presidential bid also frees up a campaign aide with Boston ties. Katie Prisco-Buxbaum, who served as Southwest finance director on the Harris campaign, was Campbell's campaign manager during her 2015 city council race. Harris' national finance director, Jennifer Liu, left the campaign before Harris dropped out of the race. A former Patrick aide, the ex-governor had offered her a position on his campaign, according to a Washington Post report. Liu previously served as finance director on Coakley's campaign for governor and Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian's congressional bid.
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, First Lady Lauren Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito hold a Gold Star Families tree dedication at the State House, and host the State House Christmas tree lighting and holiday open house. Baker and state Rep. Michelle Ciccolo to participate in a ribbon cutting for Thermo Fisher Scientific's new clinical and commercial gene therapy manufacturing site in Lexington. Baker and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone make a MassWorks announcement in Somerville. Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg holds a fundraiser in Boston.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Dead mice, crumbling concrete: Education reform won't fix the sorry state of some schools," by Malcolm Gay and Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: "Step into Kaitlyn Lausier's basement classroom, and years of financial neglect in this once-prospering city can be seen everywhere: the long fluorescent tube lights, the bare brick walls, the flaking radiator that warns in English and Spanish not to touch its scorching sides. Gateway cities like Lynn, mid-size urban centers whose lower property values are a draw for lower-income households, are slated to be among the big winners in the sweeping school-funding reform bill signed into law last week by Governor Charlie Baker. Such districts are expected to see millions in fresh spending from the new law — a down payment meant to reverse yawning student achievement gaps fueled by years of underinvestment."
- "Tougher child rape penalties pushed," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Convicted child rapists who commit new crimes could be sentenced to life without parole under a proposal by Gov. Charlie Baker to toughen sex offender laws. Baker's proposal, which went before the Legislature's Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, would increase the penalty for rape of a child with force by someone who has already been convicted of sexual offenses to life without parole. It establishes new charges for the rape of multiple children with force, which would carry a mandatory life sentence. It also would require a hearing by a new, five-member "sexual dangerousness review board" of psychologists to resolve disputes over the release of a sex offender held under the state's civil commitment law. The opinions of two "qualified experts" are currently all that's required to certify a sex offender as non-dangerous and eligible for release from custody."
- "Petition to block state taxpayer funding for abortions falls short," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "For the third time in five years, a petition drive aimed at ending state taxpayer funding for abortions has failed to garner the support it needed to land on the election ballot. The Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion alerted supporters Tuesday that its petition-gathering drive had not reached the threshold necessary to start the process to amend the constitution by ballot question. Taxpayer funding for abortions is prohibited on the federal level by the so-called Hyde Amendment (except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.) But Massachusetts is one of 16 states where abortions are covered by Medicaid."
- "Senate's Israel Trip A New Wrinkle in Supp Saga," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "If bad optics and the state comptroller's threat to take action on his own weren't enough impetus for Senate President Karen Spilka to want to cut a budget deal with the House, the Ashland Democrat may have another reason to soon bring the protracted negotiations with the House to a close. Spilka, who is just the third Jewish president of the Senate, is scheduled to lead a delegation of 10 senators to Israel for a 10-day trip that begins on Thursday. The group, which plans to return home on Dec. 15, includes Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues and Ways and Means Vice Chair Cindy Friedman, who both sit on the three-member Senate conference negotiating the close-out budget with three House conferees."
- "As other states take on housing crunch, Mass. still stands pat," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "In a sign of how difficult it has been for Massachusetts to tackle its mounting housing crisis, a modest bill that would make it easier for cities and towns to build more homes — only if they want to — has been in legislative limbo for two years and counting, despite broad support and a months-long push for passage by Governor Charlie Baker. During that time, other states facing similar housing shortages have taken action."
- "Charlie Baker defends EBT card 'integrity' after Herald reports Hawaii, Las Vegas spending," by Joe Dwinell and Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "Despite evidence of EBT spending in vacation hot spots like Hawaii and Las Vegas, the Baker administration is standing by the "integrity" of the tax-funded welfare program. The state Department of Transitional Assistance said Tuesday the agency has hired more staff to target EBT card abuse. But, as the Herald reported Monday, EBT card transactions were recorded at hotels in Hawaii on Hanalei Bay and Waikiki Beach. The agency said both transactions prompted an investigation. The DTA was not able to share that information Monday when asked to explain why EBT cards were used at the Princeville Resort on the island of Kauai for a total of $400 in November of last year and $140 in January at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu."
- "Nursing home funding ballot campaign files signatures," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "Supporters of a potential 2020 ballot question updating rates paid by state government to nursing homes say they are positioned to advance to the next stage in the process. The Massachusetts Senior Coalition announced Tuesday that it has submitted 87,000 locally certified voter signatures to the Secretary of State's office and said the total will rise to more than 95,000 before Wednesday's filing deadline. Ballot questions need 80,239 certified signatures to keep their proposals alive."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Amid backlash over plan to evict artists, Boston Center for the Arts delays new residency program," by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: "Responding to broad criticism of its plan to evict dozens of longtime artists, the Boston Center for the Arts has proposed delaying a new residency program by a year and offering at least 25 percent of its studios to artists who currently rent space in its sprawling South End complex. The center's leaders on Monday told artists who rent heavily subsidized workspace on Tremont Street that the residency program will not begin until June 2021, and that 10 spaces will be set aside for applicants from among the approximately 40 artists who work there now, many of them for decades."
- "Striking Harvard Grad Students Hope to Send a Message 'Nationwide,'" by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "Chanting "What's up? Time's up!" and marching down the winding paths in Harvard Yard, a small army of grad students at the nation's wealthiest and most prominent university walked off the job Tuesday morning. It's a move they hope will help secure a better contract for the thousands of teaching and research assistants at Harvard, and will send a loud-and-clear message at a time when student workers have been asserting themselves on private college campuses."
- "South Boston home where 'Whitey' Bulger's victims were buried may be torn down," by Emily Sweeney, Boston Globe: "The home that James "Whitey" Bulger called "The Haunty" may get torn down. The Boston Landmarks Commission recently received an application from owner Mark Little to demolish the residence at 799 East Third St. in South Boston "to make way for a new 4-unit townhouse style development with 8 garaged parking spots." Located in City Point, one of Boston's hottest neighborhoods, the cozy-looking home has been advertised as a developer's dream in a prime location, complete with architectural plans and renderings to build anew. But what the real estate listings haven't said is that it once served as a secret burial ground for Bulger's gang."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Warren, Patrick looking to make moves in an unsettled Democratic field," by Adrian Walker, Boston Globe: "Deval Patrick is arriving at the party just as the early guests are starting to leave, and Elizabeth Warren is frantically looking for her next move. Barely two months before the New Hampshire primary, a presidential campaign that should be coming into focus looks as opaque as it has at any point, and two Massachusetts candidates are searching for the way forward. After a summer in which Warren appeared to be the most dynamic Democratic candidate, the narrative of her campaign has shifted. Now she is the candidate who inspires worry among the party faithful as much as any other emotion, the policy nerd who may have ridden the wave of fresh ideas as far as it will carry her."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "To balance its budget, T to seek additional funds," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "IN A SIGN OF MOUNTING pressures on the MBTA's operating budget, the Fiscal and Management Control Board is preparing to take a portion of a legislative appropriation that had been set aside for capital projects and use the money to cover the authority's rising expenses. In and of itself, the shift of funds would not be a big deal - the money is there. But sources say the need for more operating funds at the T reflects a new fiscal reality at the agency."
- "The New Orange Line Cars Are Making an "Uncommon Noise" Now," by Alyssa Vaughn, Boston Magazine: "Well, this is a new one. As first reported by the Boston Herald, the new Orange Line cars have once again been taken out of service—this time for emitting an "uncommon noise" from their undersides. MBTA representative Lisa Battiston would not reveal any further details on what the noise sounded like, but explained that it was discovered by vehicle engineers who have been monitoring the trains' performance. Battiston says that the cars are being removed from service "out of an abundance of caution" for an investigation."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "FAA needs 'stern review' of Boeing after Milton sky fall: U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch on Tuesday called for a rigorous federal review after a 100-pound evacuation slide fell from a Boeing aircraft and landed in a Milton front yard Sunday, in what he called a potentially "fatal error." "We want the FAA to do a stern review of the aircraft, and make sure this is not something systemic," Lynch told the Herald. He added that Milton residents should have a "very high" level of concern following Sunday's incident, when a silver 6-foot escape slide dropped from a Boeing 767 onto an Adams Street yard. The slide came from the wing of a Delta plane traveling from Paris to Boston's Logan International Airport. No one was struck by the slide, which crashed through the trees and landed just feet away from residents outside."
- "Push to 'Save Minor League Baseball' continues," by Aaron Curtis, The Lowell Sun: "The battle to keep Minor League Baseball in Lowell — and 41 other communities across the nation — continued on Tuesday with the formation of the Save Minor League Baseball Task Force, headed by U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan and Dave McKinley, of West Virginia. "Together along with our colleagues we will make perfectly clear that Congress is ready to defend our communities, which stand to lose out in MLB's proposal to slash the number of Minor League teams," said Trahan, a Lowell Democrat. Dave Heller, owner of the Lowell Spinners, along with several other minor league baseball owners, converged on Capitol Hill on Tuesday for the launch of the bipartisan task force."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "ORANGE LINE LEMONS," — Globe: "Report makes case for impeachment," "Other states take on housing crunch, but Mass. stands pat." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "'We feel them in our hearts;' on 20th anniversary of the Cold Storage fire, the Worcester 6 are remembered with emotional tribute," by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: "Hundreds of firefighters and civilians gathered on the cold pavement on Worcester's Franklin Street Tuesday night, a chill still in the air from the season's first snowstorm. Exactly 20 years ago, hundreds of firefighters were at this spot, heat and smoke in the air from a massive fire that would claim the lives of six firefighters. The group stood somberly, reflecting on the incredible loss the Worcester Fire Department and city suffered on Dec. 3, 1999, when flames consumed the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building, changing the department, and the families of the fallen, forever ."
- "State nears approval of power line to run through Sudbury, Hudson, Stow," by Cesareo Contreras, MetroWest Daily News: "An Eversource proposal to build a 9.7-mile, 115-kilovolt transmission line primarily on a former rail bed that extends from Sudbury through Stow, Marlborough and Hudson is a step away from earning state approval. After more than two years of deliberation, the state Energy Facilities Siting Board on Monday made a "tentative decision," indicating that it was in favor of the project. The towns of Hudson, Sudbury and Stow, as well Hudson Lighting and Power and citizens group Protect Sudbury, will have until next Tuesday to file written comments in response to the decision."
- "Councilors may seek billboard review with outside attorney," by Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger: "Town councilors say they want the attorney general's office to advice them about their options for forcing the owner of a controversial digital billboard on Route 3 to take the structure down and halt plans to build a second further south on the highway. The town council on Monday night voted to send a letter to the attorney general's office seeking input on the glowing digital billboard, which has been fiercely opposed by nearby neighbors. Council President Michael Smart also said he will look into whether the council can legally hire its own attorney to explore the town's options in getting out of the billboard agreement the town entered with Cove Outdoor LLC."
- "Passed bill is prelude: Student Opportunity Act win sets stage for big school district decisions," by Bill Shaner, Telegram & Gazette: "A windfall of state money dedicated to historically underfunded school districts is on its way, and the Worcester Public Schools is one of the districts set to benefit the most. Governor Charlie Baker signed into law a bill that promises an additional $1.5 billion in school funding over the next seven years. The Student Opportunity Act delivers more money to both large urban school districts and small rural ones to address funding inequities which have disadvantaged those school districts for years."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "Boston Herald Editor Joe Sciacca Jumps To Channel 7," by Callum Borchers, WBUR: "Boston Herald fixture Joe Sciacca said Tuesday he is leaving as editor-in-chief of the shrinking newspaper to join Channel 7 as the station's enterprise editor. Sciacca exits a year after the Herald's parent company, Digital First Media, expanded his portfolio to include the Lowell Sun, the Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg and four other publications. Sciacca joined the Herald in 1983 and has led it for almost a decade. "I'm trying to find out if they can teach an old dog new tricks over in television," he said on WBUR's Radio Boston."
TRANSITIONS - Bernie Sanders' Massachusetts state director, Joe Caiazzo, is no longer with the campaign. Link.
REMEMBERING EDWARD J. DOHERTY ... via the Boston Globe: "Known throughout his Globe editing career for his dependable news judgment, Edward J. Doherty was often the go-to managing editor tapped by the newspaper's ombudsman to explain why certain photos were published. ... Mr. Doherty, who began working in newspapers 70 years ago, while helping to financially support his mother and sisters, died Thanksgiving morning. He was 91, lived in Marshfield, and previously was in Melrose for many years." Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Springfield state Rep. Angelo Puppolo, Marina McCarthy, Sarah Baron, deputy director of the states team for Elizabeth Warren's campaign; Jennifer Taub, and Maureen Forry.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Bruins beat the Hurricanes 2-0.
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