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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish on Monday, Jan. 20. I'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
WARREN PLANS WOMEN-FOCUSED WEEKEND — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is doubling down on her message that a woman can win the presidential race, and sending two of her high-ranking Massachusetts supporters to drum up support during a "Women's Weekend of Action" in New Hampshire.
Reps. Katherine Clark and Lori Trahan will hold canvass kickoffs at Warren campaign offices in the Granite State. Clark will host events at Warren's Epping, Portsmouth, and Dover offices on Saturday, and Trahan will host an event in Hudson on Sunday.
Warren is also sending New York state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merill, and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former New Hampshire state Sen. Molly Kelly to canvass kickoffs.
The women-focused weekend comes after a tumultuous week for the Warren campaign, which largely focused on her electability and gender. In case you need a refresher, here's what happened. On Sunday, a POLITICO report found Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign had sent volunteers a script with negative messaging about Warren to use when they knocked on doors. The Sanders campaign confirmed the canvassing script was sent to volunteers in two states, but later retracted it.
A day later, CNN reported that Sanders told Warren he did not think a woman could win the presidency during a 2018 meeting between the two lawmakers. Sanders denied making that comment, while Warren released a statement confirming the report.
That brought us to the debate stage on Tuesday night, where all eyes were on Sanders and Warren after the flare up — the first major rift between the two progressives.
During the debate, Sanders denied telling Warren a woman couldn't win, while Warren pivoted to a broader point about a woman's ability to win the White House. The conflict seemed to have smoothed over until they were caught on camera in a tense post-debate exchange, which became the most viral moment of the night.
And then last night, CNN released the audio from the microphones Sanders and Warren were wearing after the debate. Warren told Sanders he had called her a liar on national television, and Sanders responded by saying Warren was the one calling him a liar, and that they should talk about the issue at another time.
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 holds a press conference at the Massachusetts State Police training academy, and addresses members of the State Police's 85th Recruit Training Troop. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito celebrates funding for Innovation Pathways grants in Brockton. Polito attends a domestic violence high risk teams announcement in mansfield, and makes a MassWorks funding announcement in New Bedford.
The Senate meets in formal session. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh visits the STRIVE-Wentworth recycling base. Rep. Lori Trahan speaks at a press conference with fellow House members and the End Citizens United Action Fund to announce a new Congressional caucus called "End Corruption" in Washington, D.C. Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards and Treasurer Deb Goldberg are guests on WGBH.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Black Business Group Demands City And State Leaders Commit To Boosting Minority Contracts," by Paul Singer and Mark Herz, WGBH News: "An influential Massachusetts black business council called on local elected officials Wednesday to use next week's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to commit to significant expansion of contracts for minority businesses, in the wake of reports by WGBH News showing that contracting to minorities has declined statewide over the past two decades. "Especially as we're coming up on Martin Luther King Day, I think all of us, especially in the black community, are used to the same statements that we hear every year," Segun Idowu, Executive Director of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts told WGBH News ."
- "Massachusetts House passes bill to create registry of caregivers who abuse people with disabilities," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "The Massachusetts House unanimously passed a bill that would create a registry of caretakers who are accused of abusing a person with a disability, joining 26 states that have similar registries. "Families and people with disabilities are waiting for this and really appreciate the vote today," said Leo Sarkissian, executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts, an advocacy group for people with disabilities. The bill creates a registry to track Massachusetts caregivers who are credibly found to have mentally, emotionally or financially abused people with disabilities."
- "State Senator Says DOC Is Not Implementing Criminal Justice Reforms Required Under 2018 Act," by Deborah Becker, WBUR: "The state senator who co-chairs the Legislature's joint Judiciary Committee says the Department of Correction is not implementing reforms across state prisons in accordance with legislation, and is partly to blame for a violent incident at a max security prison last week that left three correction officers hospitalized. A DOC video shows inmates attacking the officers at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Facility in Shirley last Friday. After the incident, the state's correction officers union released a statement claiming that the Criminal Justice Reform Act is to blame for the violence."
- "Speaker DeLeo 'concerned' about lack of support for TCI," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo is "concerned" about the lack of support garnered from New England states for the Transportation Climate Initiative as neighboring governors express doubts about the measure. "There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of support for the concept, at least that I see now," DeLeo told reporters Wednesday. "What I'm especially concerned, what I was looking for as we went through this process, was to make sure especially that the New England states would be on board." Governors in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont and Maine have already cast a shadow on the Transportation Climate Initiative, which would implement a gas fee to reduce carbon emissions."
- "State budget gap pegged at $900 million in new report," by Michael Norton, State House News Service: "With a slowdown in tax revenues expected and spending pressures escalating, Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature will grapple with a gap between likely revenues and spending of nearly $900 million, according to a new report. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation on Wednesday predicted the upcoming budget cycle will differ significantly from the last two, during which tax receipts shattered projections and enabled the state to bulk up its cash reserves, pass one-time investments, and push the state budget up to $43.3 billion."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Wilnelia Rivera Is Fighting for Democracy, One Campaign at a Time," by Abby Bielagus, Boston Magazine: "I'm a strategic disruptor. My role is to bring people together who can actually get something done. To get results, you have to build alliances with constituencies and stakeholders that might make you uncomfortable. Rivera Consulting has lots of exciting work coming up. Right now we are managing Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse's challenge to Congressman Richard Neal in western Massachusetts. I think we do a great job getting congressional campaigns launched, and now we want to focus a little more on Beacon Hill, at the state level."
- "Julia Mejia's first order in Boston City Council calls for 'sanctuary' schools after news of ICE seeing BPS incident reports," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Julia Mejia's first order as city councilor calls for creating "sanctuary" schools, libraries and other spaces for children that would restrict what information federal immigration agents can obtain about students. Mejia, a Dominican-born Dorchester resident and Boston's first Afro-Latina city councilor, filed an order requesting a public hearing on sanctuary schools, citing concerns about racial profiling and federal immigration policies. She introduced the order at Wednesday's Boston City Council meeting, expanding the order to include other potential "sanctuary spaces."
- "Encore has its best month yet, while other two casinos slump," by Andy Rosen, Boston Globe: "Encore Boston Harbor took in $54 million in gambling revenue during December, marking the Everett casino's best month since its opening last June. The results, published Wednesday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, come during what can be a slow season for casinos. The other Massachusetts casinos, MGM Springfield and the Plainridge Park slots facility in Plainville, both reported their lowest monthly gambling revenues to date. Encore in recent months had also reported a series of disappointing revenue figures."
- "Boston Public Schools Superintendent's Strategic Plan Focuses On Equity And Inclusion," by Carrie Jung, WBUR: "Outlining her strategic vision for Boston Public Schools over the next five years, Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says she wants to focus on providing equitable funding for schools and improving access to high quality academic programming. Cassellius provided a broad overview of her plan to school committee members Wednesday night, but the details of the plan — like which schools will see additional funding and resource investments — will be released Feb. 5."
- "FATE OF THE CITY," by Jason Pramas, DigBoston: "When Mayor Marty Walsh went to the podium to deliver his annual State of the City address, January 2020 was already on course to be one of the hottest Januaries on record in Boston—starting with a string of days in the 40s and 50s. By the following weekend, two consecutive days—both Saturday and Sunday—would see temperatures over 70 F in the middle of a New England winter for only the second time since meteorological records started being kept over 100 years ago. The first year that unheard of situation occurred being 2018. Just two years back."
- "The Billion-Dollar Blight Changing Harvard Square," by Kyle Paoletta, Boston Magazine: "Strolling through Harvard Square recently looking for a bite to eat, I had a hard time recognizing the iconic neighborhood. The windows on JFK that used to look into Uno Pizzeria are papered over; the doors to the old Fire + Ice, on Church Street, are shuttered; and the storefront of what was once Hidden Sweets stands dark. Empty since 2016, these spaces are only a few of the 20-plus vacant storefronts in the Square, making the area look more like a forgotten urban wasteland or a hollowed-out mill town than a vibrant college neighborhood. But what's plaguing the Square is neither neglect nor economic hardship."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Indivisible Endorses Alex Morse for Congress in MA-1," from the Morse campaign: "Congressional candidate Mayor Alex Morse was endorsed by Indivisible, a national grassroots organization with more than a million active members credited with helping to build the Blue Wave of 2018. Indivisible's thousands of volunteer-led local groups are committed to electing progressive leaders, defeating the Trump agenda, and realizing bold progressive policies."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Officials probing college scam heard call between ringleader and Lori Loughlin," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "Investigators in the college admissions cheating scandal captured conversations between William "Rick" Singer, the scam's admitted ringleader who wore a wire for federal prosecutors, and the women he dated, court records show. Federal prosecutors in Boston made the disclosure in a recent filing in the closely watched case against Loughlin and several other defendants. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly paid Singer and his sham charity $500,000 to help their daughters be admitted to the University of Southern California as fake crew recruits."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "'It's so bad': How Warren and Klobuchar are navigating sexism," by Elena Schneider and Alex Thompson, POLITICO: "Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar are running against more than just their opponents. The pair are speaking more openly, in different ways, about what their campaigns see as an obstacle they alone face: sexism on the campaign trail. Three years after the Women's March and one year after a wave of female politicians rode into Congress — backed, largely, by female voters — the Democratic Party could exit Iowa and New Hampshire without a woman in the top three slots, according to early-state polling."
- "Elizabeth Warren is betting on an electability-focused message to win Iowa — but even with her well-oiled campaign machine, it's a gamble," by Ben Jacobs, Business Insider: "Over the past three months, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has fallen out of first place in Iowa and has received steady criticism from skeptics in both wings of the Democratic Party over her Medicare for All proposal. Her rivals have hammered her on the debate stage and pundits have raised questions about her path to the nomination. But, in the phrase Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell famously used to chastise her on the Senate floor in 2017, "nevertheless she persisted." The two-term Massachusetts senator is relying on a political organization that even rivals concede is the best in early states and an unwavering commitment to execute a strategy laid out a year ago to carry her to the nomination."
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| PATRICK PRIMARY |
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- "Deval Patrick's New Hampshire Pitch: Politics Is A Two-Way Street," by Adam Reilly, WGBH News: "On a wintry weeknight in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, Deval Patrick introduced himself at the New England College Convention, an event for students interested in the New Hampshire primary. His stump speech was brief, featuring references to his hardscrabble childhood on Chicago's South Side and his accomplishments as governor of Massachusetts. But Patrick spent a considerable amount of time taking questions from the audience — and asking them himself."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Senate leaders 'getting close' on transportation bill," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "SENATE LEADERS INDICATED on Wednesday that they are getting close to unveiling a transportation policy bill, and there were indications they are starting to look at various revenue measures. The Senate's transportation working group, a body of senators, advocates, and analysts that has been meeting on and off since last spring, held a 90-minute private meeting at the State House. According to people who attended, a sheet was distributed with five transportation goals and 10 possible resources."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Marijuana entrepreneur says her outbursts aimed at cannabis commissioners brought results," by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: "A Boston entrepreneur said she waited 610 days in limbo with no answers as to why her application to open a marijuana shop was delayed — even though she was in a program meant to fast-track groups hit hardest by the war on drugs. To vent her frustration, Leah Cooke Daniels interrupted two recent meetings of the Cannabis Control Commission, at times shouting at officials. On Tuesday, the commission said Cooke Daniels's proposed Holyoke marijuana store, Alchemy League, would be recommended for a provisional license Thursday, a major step toward opening. She said she believes that speaking out paid off."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "HOLY CROSS GRIEVES," — Globe: "Holy Cross rower killed, 12 hurt in Florida crash," "After procession, the fate of Trump in Senate's hands." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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MASSACHUSETTS 2 SENATORS ARE SPEAKING OUT ABOUT A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAT IMPACTS A COMMUNITY.
WHERE IS KENNEDY? SILENT & ABSENT!
- "Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey urge federal government to 'take immediate action' on State Street TD Bank closure in Springfield," by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: "Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey on Wednesday pressed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to meet with community leaders to hammer out potential solutions for more than 3,000 residents impacted by the planned closure of a TD Bank branch in Springfield. The branch at 958 State St., which TD Bank said in October was set for a Jan. 31 closure, is the only full-service bank in the Mason Square neighborhood. The imminent closure, the senators wrote in a letter this week, threatens to render thousands of individuals "unbanked or underbanked" by the end of the month."
- "FEATURE FOLLOW-UP: COP BLOCK," by Maya Shaffer, Jamie Truman and Jamie Truman, Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism: "An issue I have with the author of the complaint, Maya Shaffer, is that their only purpose is to attack, and attempt to cause issues with our page, and our department. This has been an issue for 5 years." That's from a letter that Chicopee Police Department Public Information Officer Michael Wilk wrote to the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin in an exchange about ongoing coverage of CPD's mishandling of public records that one of these reporters, Maya Shaffer of Crit News and the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, has been reporting since 2016."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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Christine M. Cedrone, state Republican Party official
- "Ex-Quincy School Committee member sentenced for financial crimes," by Joe DiFazio, The Patriot Ledger: "A former Quincy School Committee member and state Republican Party official convicted of stealing money from an elderly client has been sentenced to at least 90 days behind bars. Christine M. Cedrone pleaded guilty in Norfolk Superior Court last month to embezzlement by a fiduciary and larceny of more than $250 from a disabled or elderly person. Judge Thomas Connors sentenced her to two and half years in jail but only required her to serve 90 days."
Christine M. Cedrone pleaded guilty in Norfolk Superior Court last month to embezzlement by a fiduciary and larceny of more than $250 from a disabled or elderly person. Judge Thomas Connors sentenced her to two and half years in jail but only required her to serve 90 days. The rest of the sentence was suspended for three years, meaning she won’t have to serve it if she complies with the terms of her probation during that time.
Cedrone was also ordered to pay $144,000 restitution. She is due back in court April 13 for a hearing on her ability to pay back restitution.
The charges in the case stemmed from the theft of money from the estate of a dead woman whose case Cedrone had handled at her now-closed law firm. In a civil lawsuit settled in Plymouth County, Cedrone agreed to pay back more than $150,000 to the estate she set up and then stole from.
Cedrone, who was a Republican State Committee member, served as a member of Quincy’s school committee from 1995 to 2003 and was on the city’s housing authority board for more than a decade starting in 1994. Cedrone went on to a position at the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Cedrone was prohibited from practicing law after submitting an affidavit of resignation to the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, which has jurisdiction over disciplinary proceedings for lawyers in Massachusetts. Cedrone admitted in her resignation that the Office of Bar Counsel had enough evidence to prove that she had misappropriated more than $164,400 from her client’s estate and had only repaid about $20,000, according to the Board of Bar Overseers.
Cedrone had a history of playing fast and loose with client’s money.
In 2014, Cedrone’s law license was suspended for a year after she admitted that she intentionally misused one client’s money and negligently misused money belonging to three others. In the first case, she was hired to manage a friend’s money but instead deposited nearly $26,000 into her own account, which was overdrawn, and immediately used about $300 to pay back the money she owed. She then spent about $1,400 from the account on things unrelated to the friend, though she later repaid the money.
Cedrone was also reprimanded by the Board of Bar Overseers in 2010 for mishandling a client’s money.
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "Jon Keller says his 30-year run at WBZ radio is over amid sweeping iHeartMedia layoffs," by Nikolas DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "After three decades, Jon Keller says his run on WBZ radio is over. But he'll still be on TV. "This morning's commentary was my last on WBZ Newsradio 1030," Keller tweeted Thursday afternoon, as the station's parent company announced layoffs across the country. The Cambridge-bred political pundit added that it had "been an honor to share my take with WBZ listeners for the past 30 years. In a follow-up tweet, Keller hoped his radio fans would "continue to follow my work on WBZ-TV," where he has done political interviews and commentary since 2005."
- "For newsrooms in Fall River, Salem and elsewhere, it's inevitable: They're moving to smaller digs," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "Even when they manage to stay in business, newspapers are getting harder to find — literally. Witness The Salem News and The Herald News, the latest papers to move out of their longtime digs to occupy smaller places or to consolidate offices. On the North Shore, The Salem News staff has set up shop in a much smaller office in Danvers, while The Herald News will close its Fall River office, with the employees joining colleagues in New Bedford. The moves are part of a decadelong trend, as newspaper publishers from Los Angeles to Miami move to smaller offices to save money and to cash in on the real estate."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Jonathan Hankin.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Pistons beat the Celtics 116-103.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR VOTE - On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray talk about the recent Democratic presidential debate, and where things stand in Iowa for the 2020 hopefuls. Liberty Square Group founder Scott Ferson joins to talk about the Welcome Party, a group that's reaching out to independent voters in New Hampshire. Later, Evan Fulchuk of Voter Choice Massachusetts talks about ranked choice voting and how it could impact the Bay State. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
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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POLITICO Pro's Top 10 Policy Storylines of 2020. Nothing gets done in an election year, right? NONSENSE! We are preparing to cover an intensive year of market-moving legislation, regulation, court cases and executive orders. Check out POLITICO Pro's top ten storylines for 2020.
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