Wednesday, November 4, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Keith Regan
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Today: Gov. launches substance abuse anti-stigma campaign; O'Malley in town
- Gov. Baker joins Lt. Gov. Polito, Health and Human Services Secretary Sudders and DPH Commissioner Bharel to launch a substance misuse anti-stigma campaign, Grand Staircase, 10:30am.
- Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley is in town, visiting Boston to host a Civic Innovation Pitch Competition and New Leadership Reception, District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston, 5:30pm.
Counting the votes from yesterday
Voters in more than 50 cities and towns went to the polls Tuesday. Here's a look at some notable results:
* In Quincy, one of the most expensive mayoral races in the city's history ended with incumbent Thomas Koch handily defeating former Mayor William Phelan, earning a four-year term in the process. http://bit.ly/1LPHQsg
* Voters in Weymouth, meanwhile, opted for change in a big way, electing Sen. Robert Hedlund to replace Mayor Sue Kay by a wide margin. http://bit.ly/1QbABOB
* Another state lawmaker-Democratic Rep. Stephen L. DiNatale-will be leaving the State House for a corner office, having won election as mayor of Fitchburg by a four-to-one margin. http://bit.ly/1SnSQzz
* Worcester re-elected Mayor Joseph Petty to a third term. http://bit.ly/1QbCGdb
* And it was an upset in Revere, where incumbent Mayor Dan Rizzo narrowly lost to City Councilor Brian Arrigo. http://bit.ly/1WywrQA
Newcomers carry day in Boston
The voters who turned out in Boston went for change in a big way, ousting two long-serving members of the City Council in favor of political newcomers, the Globe reports. Annissa Essaibi George claimed the at-large seat long held by Stephen J. Murphy, while Andrea Joy Campbell defeated Charles Yancey in District 4-a district only ever represented by Yancey. The changes double the number of women on the council. http://bit.ly/1RuX6fN
Voter turnout in Boston: 14 percent
Why Guv's support was no big Diehl
If the special Senate race was supposed to be a proxy of something, it wasn't very heartening news for the state GOP. They got steamrolled in Brockton yesterday. One could point to several reasons Rep. Geoff Diehl didn't win: Mike Brady's Brockton roots are very strong -- he won 73 percent of the vote in Brockton -- and the Democrats wanted to send a message. Diehl, however, won the suburban towns in the district. But there's another factor in the outcome: While Diehl's campaign benefited from Charlie Baker's support, the governor is not a rabble rouser about the opposing party. Quite the opposite: He seems to have affection for, if not outright love Democrats, which may make it just a little tougher for a hard-line Republican to gain traction.
Cooperation and nonpartisanship is working quite well for Baker as he builds coalitions to try to fix a lot of broken stuff and get some new programs started. But his I'm OK, you're OK approach also elevates the Democratic leadership, who become problem-solvers and team players under the governor's tent rather than party ideologues.
Along comes a conservative Republican like Diehl, who needed to tap into a level of voter anger against the Democrats that just doesn't exist. For Baker, gone is the language of there needing to be two teams on the field (he got one, it's just badly outnumbered). There's no finger-pointing. If there's one big happy family on Beacon Hill, why not bring another Democrat into the Senate? Welcome, Senator Brady. Evan Lips of NewBostonPost has a good take here: http://bit.ly/1So0I41
Also in Brockton political news, an 18-year-old won a council seat. Jack Lally, a political science major at Bridgewater State University, says voters "wanted young blood," and they certainly got some. Here's more in the Brockton Enterprise: http://bit.ly/1HqFNXN
UMass (still) faces a $10.9M problem after funds evaporate in Senate
After seeing nearly $11 million in funding for contracted raises disappear in the Senate Ways and Means Committee and never reappear in the final 2015 closeout budget, UMass officials remain confused and angry. Midyear cuts will now have to be made at the five UMass campuses, including $5 million at UMass Amherst. Here's what seemed to have done wrong, according to Laura Krantz's story in today's Globe: UMass received a significant increase in this year's budget and also jacked up student fees -- and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg made a public appeal for UMass to reduce them. When that didn't happen, it appears a political miscalculation was made. When the State House News Service's Colin Young covered this flap a week ago, Senate Ways and Means chair Karen Spilka said this: "I think that there was some discussion about trying to get some of the student fees returned." Krantz's story: http://bit.ly/1SmIlMV
Wrapping up FY '15 budget in Nov. could be a problem
The spending bill to close out accounts for the fiscal year ending in June finally reached the governor's desk Nov. 2, and Comptroller Thomas Shack is not enthused. "This is a troubling pattern and puts the accuracy and integrity of the Commonwealth's accounting and audit responsibilities at risk when compressed against strict statutory filing deadlines," Shack wrote in a letter to an array of government officials, including Gov. Baker. SHNS's Matt Murphy has more: http://bit.ly/1KXjLfg (paywall)
Pot alert: Marijuana legalization defeated in Ohio
The pot parade ran into a roadblock in Ohio yesterday as voters soundly defeated a legalization measure, and looked like it would lose in all 88 Ohio counties. Like Massachusetts, Ohio is coping with a drug epidemic, which factored into the vote. An estimated $25 million was spent by advocates for legalization, the Columbus Dispatch reports. http://bit.ly/1SmJV18
San Franciscans nix Airbnb regulations
Airbnb prevailed against San Francisco housing advocates who wanted to place strict regulations on short-term housing site. Opponents of the ballot question spent an estimated $8 million. The AP via MassLive has more: http://bit.ly/1ks4qxW
City Hall looks to rev up Grand Prix deal
The office of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is looking to refine the agreement signed with Boston Grand Prix, with an eye toward getting the Indy car racing sponsor to cover all municipal costs associated with the event, the Herald reports. Walsh signed a five-year agreement in May that the administration now says is not a final, detailed contract. The Herald also reports that City Hall will receive 1,000 tickets to the races that will be passed on to school kids. http://bit.ly/1WvMX99
Clerks fret over early voting costs
Even as this year's votes were still being tallied, some are already looking ahead to next year's Presidential election cycle, including city and town clerks who are worried about shouldering the costs of early voting approved by lawmakers two years ago, the Gloucester Times reports. Statehouse reporter Christian Wade says public interest groups plan an educational campaign around early voting, while Secretary of State William Galvin is currently drafting rules for communities to follow. http://bit.ly/1H6T10X
Baker expands opportunities for minority contractors
The Baker administration has released new guidelines for encouraging the hiring of minority-owned firms as state contractors, including businesses owned by gay and transgendered individuals, the Boston Business Journal reports. Changes in these state's Supplier Diversity Program means higher targets for the number of female- and minority-owned businesses doing work with the state and enhanced status for businesses owned by veterans and by LGBT individuals, which the BBJ says may be the first such preferences in any state in the nation. http://bit.ly/1PlQBge
Parking is precious: The $650K listing
A parking spot on Beacon Hill has been listed for $650,000, which would set a parking spot record for the city, Donna Goodison of the Herald reports. The space is 171 square feet, or $3,801 per square foot http://bit.ly/1ksabvC
STAT officially launches
STAT, the health and life sciences site that has been running parallel with the Globe newsroom (and often intersecting in the Globe's news pages), has officially launched today. The initiative is funded by Globe publisher John Henry. He explains here what compelled him to start STAT: http://bit.ly/1KXlql7
REMEMBER: To send your tips to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Op-eds and other commentary invited for publication on Massterlist.
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