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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. I'm in Nashville for the National Conference of State Legislatures 2019 Legislative Summit. I'm operating on Central Time, so your newsletter is coming a little later than usual. Drop me a line if you're here in Tennessee: smurray@politico.com.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: FORMER PATRICK AIDE BACKS MARKEY'S REELECT — John Walsh, former campaign manager to Gov. Deval Patrick, will throw his support behind Sen. Ed Markey in a message to his email list this morning. Markey is up for reelection in 2020 and already has two Democratic primary challengers.
"I am proud to publicly declare my support for the re-election of US Senator Ed Markey in 2020 and I promise to do what I can to help him win," Walsh will write to his email list. "I'm proud every day to have Senator Markey be my voice in the Senate on so many issues and to have his vote be recorded representing mine. But I choose to make an early endorsement because I am certain what he does today and has done over so many yesterdays is less important than what I trust him to do in the future."
Walsh has served as chair of the state Democratic Party , and is a co-founder of the Reason to Believe PAC, an organization that promotes Patrick's vision. Walsh plans to share his statement supporting Markey on social media as well.
"Ed Markey is a leader with principles. He has wisdom. He has experience and he has guts. He has my support and I urge others to join me in assisting his campaign," Walsh will write.
Markey faces two primary challengers in 2020: executive Steve Pemberton and labor attorney Shannon-Liss Riordan. Pemberton is working with political consultant Doug Rubin, the former Patrick chief of staff and another co-founder of the Reason to Believe PAC. Liss-Riordan has several former Patrick aides on her staff, too.
And there's speculation that a bigger-name candidate could be eyeing the 2020 Senate race. A mysterious telephone poll testing Rep. Joe Kennedy III against Markey in a head-to-head matchup was in the field last month. A Kennedy spokesperson declined to comment on whether the congressman commissioned that poll.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends National Night Out. Rep. Jim McGovern tours Curaleaf in Worcester. Attorney General Maura Healey is a guest on "Greater Boston." Rep. Seth Moulton tours Raytheon in Andover, Arc Technologies in Amesbury and visits Cape Ann Lobstermen. State Rep. Shaunna O'Connell talks about her plan to run for mayor of Taunton.
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POLITICO AT #TRIBFEST19 — We are excited to partner with The Texas Tribune Festival to bring some of the top journalists from our newsroom to downtown Austin on September 28 for the premier gathering of policymakers and citizens engaged in the most pressing issues of our time. From fixing America's broken politics to understanding how immigration and border policies are shaping the 2020 landscape, join us for big-thinking conversations with top leaders and experts in the field. Learn more about the festival HERE. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email Us
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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— "Amid criticism it is skirting requirements, RMV to meet with local police," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Registry of Motor Vehicles leaders are meeting with local law enforcement this week to discuss how the agency notifies authorities about trouble drivers, weeks after dozens of police chiefs said the RMV wasn't regularly alerting them as required by state law. The meeting, scheduled for Thursday at the Department of Transportation's Park Plaza headquarters, comes as the Registry faces intense scrutiny over a raft of other administrative failures, namely that for years it ignored notices from other states about traffic violations by Massachusetts drivers."
— "Why didn't Deveney sound the alarm?" by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "IN MID-MAY, Erin Deveney was at a regional conference of registrars when she bumped into Elizabeth Bielecki, her counterpart in New Hampshire. The two registrars started talking about information-sharing, and Deveney urged Bielecki to resume sending notifications to her office about Massachusetts drivers who commit violations in New Hampshire electronically rather than by mail. "I didn't have any authority to compel New Hampshire to resume their electronic sharing of information with Massachusetts," Deveney told lawmakers at an oversight hearing last week. "I did raise it as an issue and concern with New Hampshire." But Deveney apparently did not mention why electronic notification was such a priority."
— "Taunton Mayor Hoye to step down for new job; O'Connell announces bid to replace him," Taunton Gazette: "After eight years in office, Mayor Tom Hoye will be stepping down to accept an appointment as Bristol County Register of Probate, he said Monday. Hoye said it was a difficult decision but in the end he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family. He and his wife, Stephanie, have three children, ages 14, 12 and 8. "This has certainly been a job I love, but it's secondary to my family. ... I don't want to keep missing things," said Hoye. "I've loved the ups and downs, more ups than downs, but it's time to do something different. I'm extremely grateful to the citizens of Taunton to have given me this opportunity." Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced Hoye's appointment. The appointment still needs to be ratified by the Governor's Council, which meets again on Aug. 21, Hoye said."
— "Merrimack River task force gets a second chance," by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: "Lawmakers are moving ahead with plans to create a commission to study how to improve the health of the Merrimack River by reducing sewage discharges. On Monday, the state Senate approved a proposal to create a Merrimack River District Commission to study contamination from sewage treatment plants and report back to the Legislature with recommendations for dealing with it. The commission must also be approved by the House and Gov. Charlie Baker. "We are looking for ways to update infrastructure and need to make sure we receive help from the federal delegation while also working for funds at the state level," said Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen, primary sponsor of the bill creating the commission. Lawmakers set aside $50,000 in the current budget to get the commission up and running, but the amendment creating it didn't survive budget negotiations."
— "Watchdog: Ethics Commission should scrub Speaker DeLeo's P-card spending," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "A watchdog group is calling on the Ethics Commission to investigate Robert DeLeo's state-issued credit card to see if the House Speaker is spending more on food for lawmakers after the Herald reported last week the Winthrop Democrat billed taxpayers almost $5,000 for Chinese food during a budget debate in April. "There doesn't seem to be many lawmakers who have an appetite to take on the Speaker and this is another tool the Speaker uses to keep everybody in lockstep with what he wants to do," MassFiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney said of the takeout feast. Craney also said that in past years, the Speaker used his campaign committee to fund "lavish meals" for legislators. But after comparing DeLeo's yearly spending through campaign finance records, Craney is questioning if DeLeo is shifting the cost of meals to the taxpayers."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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— "Waltham company supplying DNA test kits to ICE," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "FEDERAL OFFICIALS ARE USING RAPID DNA testing kits produced by a Massachusetts biotechnology company to verify the family connections of immigrants at the US-Mexico border. The kits, developed by Waltham-based ANDE Corp., were tested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a three-day trial in May in El Paso, Texas, that was extended for several months in July at a total cost of $52,000. The kits are now being used at five more locations along the southwest border. Britney Walker, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said members of 84 families suspected of fraud were tested over the initial three-day period. The DNA tests indicated 16 of the families included children who were not related to their alleged parents."
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| ON THE STUMP |
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— "Rep. Aaron Michlewitz endorses Kenzie Bok for Boston City Council," from the Bok campaign: "State Representative Aaron Michlewitz (D - 3rd Suffolk) endorsed Kenzie Bok for Boston City Council, to represent the District 8 neighborhoods of Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway, Audubon Circle, Mission Hill, and the West End. Rep. Michlewitz represents parts of Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the West End."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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— "Lawyers for Newton judge, ex-court officer seek evidence to decide on separating cases," by Gal Tziperman Lotan, Boston Globe: "Attorneys for a Newton District Court judge and a former court officer who are accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade a federal agent asked for more evidence from prosecutors on Monday to decide whether they want to separate the cases. Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of a federal proceeding. She and her co-defendant, former court officer Wesley MacGregor, have both pleaded not guilty. They were not in court Monday, but their attorneys requested transcripts from grand jury testimony and notes federal agents took during their investigation."
— "Judge 'very likely' to let immigration suit continue as a class action," by Aidan Ryan, Boston Globe: "Chief Judge Patti B. Saris of US District Court in Boston is "very likely" to allow a complaint that the government has denied due process to detained immigrants to proceed as a class-action lawsuit, she said Monday. The ACLU of Massachusetts and the ACLU of New Hampshire filed suit in June, alleging the federal government had unlawfully detained three plaintiffs after flawed detention hearings. The civil liberties groups said the detainees were unconstitutionally required to show they posed neither a threat to others nor a flight risk."
— "Former police commissioner testifies in Boston Calling case," by Maria Cramer, Boston Globe: "In 2014, when Crash Line Productions was trying to set up its second music festival of the year on City Hall Plaza, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans wasn't aware of the tensions bubbling between the company and the stagehands union that wanted jobs at the concert, he testified Monday. "I had no clue that was even going on," Evans said via video in federal court as testimony wrapped up in the extortion trial of two City Hall aides accused of strong-arming Crash Line into hiring members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 11 for the Boston Calling festival ."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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— "These are the winners of the post-debate media competition," by Elena Schneider, POLITICO: "Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren bounced out of the second round of debates in Detroit with the most name-mentions in network and cable news coverage last week, according to an analysis by a digital analytics firm shared first with POLITICO. Deep Root Analytics, a Republican-aligned consulting firm, tracked the number of times Democratic presidential candidates were mentioned in the 48 hours after the two debates last week. The firm modeled those mentions against their projections for the number of swing voters watching the six network and cable stations during that time."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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— "President Donald Trump 'morally responsible' for inciting racial violence, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey says in remarks on El Paso, Dayton mass shootings," by Shira Schoenberg, MassLive.com:"In the wake of two deadly mass shootings this weekend in Texas and Ohio, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, called President Donald J. Trump "morally responsible" for inciting racially motivated violence. "It is no coincidence a disturbed individual thought that he should open fire on a community at our border, a community of color," Markey said at a press conference in Dorchester on Monday."
— "Despite mass shootings, gun control still hot topic," by Christian M. Wade Statehouse Reporter, The Salem News:"Members of the state's congressional delegation want tougher gun control and are criticizing President Donald Trump's response to this weekend's shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, that left 31 dead and dozens wounded. Sen. Ed Markey said the shootings are another example of the need for Congress to pass comprehensive background checks for gun sales and ban military-style weapons. The Democrat blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for blocking gun control measures from coming up for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate and called on his colleagues to cancel their August recess to take up the proposals."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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— "Trump Calls For A 'Red Flag' Gun Law, Which Mass. Has Had For A Year," by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: "Speaking Monday in response to two mass shootings over the weekend, President Trump pushed one gun control measure that's been adopted by Massachusetts and more than a dozen other states: a so-called "red flag" law. "We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms, and that if they do, those firearms can be taken through rapid due process," Trump said in prepared remarks. "That is why I've called for red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders." Red flag laws aren't new; Connecticut enacted its version in 1999, according to The Associated Press. As of earlier this year, 14 states have laws allowing gun seizures, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "A mother's love," — Globe: "Trump urges action, skips details."
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| FROM THE 413 |
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— "Amherst trustee raises environmentalist ire," by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "An Amherst College graduate and current trustee at the school is drawing the ire of an environmentalist advocacy group. The organization Mighty Earth recently took aim at the agricultural behemoth Cargill in a report titled "Cargill: The Worst Company In the World," which slams the corporation's record on deforestation, labor exploitation and other abuses. And David MacLennan, Cargill's CEO who began a six-year tenure as an Amherst College trustee last July, was not spared criticism."
—"State sweetens deal for towns building own fiber networks," by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle: "From state offices in Boston, the unexpected cost Windsor faced, in its quest to build a fiber-optic network, might seem paltry. After all, $450,000 represents just more than one hundred-thousandth of this year's $43.3 billion state budget. But that shortfall in what Windsor officials thought it would cost to prepare utility poles to receive new fiber cables would have been felt by taxpayers, in one of about 20 Western Massachusetts communities that opted to build their own broadband networks with state help. Rather than have to dig in local pockets, Windsor secured an additional $450,000 from the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development to cover "make-ready" costs not anticipated years ago, when a study badly miscalculated how much small towns would need to invest in utility poles. In all, the state office has so far marshaled $3.5 million from a contingency fund to cover unforeseen costs for seven towns, including three in Berkshire County: Alford, Becket and Windsor."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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— "State delays key review for Weymouth compressor station," by Jessica Trufant, Patriot Ledger: "A state agency has further delayed its review of a proposed 7,700-horsepower compressor station, making it even less likely that the gas company will start construction on the project this year. The state Office of Coastal Zone Management was scheduled this month to wrap up its review of the compressor station proposed by Algonquin Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of Spectra Energy-Enbridge. But in a letter to the company, Robert Boeri, acting assistant director for the state agency, said vetting is still ongoing to determine whether the proposal is consistent with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act."
— "Methuen mayor accuses city councilor of break-in," by Breanna Edelstein, Eagle-Tribune: "City Councilor James McCarty said he was taken aback by the subject line of an email from City Hall that flashed across his phone Thursday evening: "McCarty incident." He said he thought it might be about a lawsuit filed by his stepfather, Daniel Tulley, against Mayor James Jajuga several days prior. McCarty was mentioned in the lawsuit, but the problems spelled out were between Tulley, who is a city employee, and the mayor. Jajuga and McCarty have publicly disagreed about how to address the economic consequences of a pricey contract between the city and the superior police officers' union. The agreement, if fulfilled, would have paid high-ranking officers enormous salaries requiring layoffs of patrolmen. McCarty objects to the agreement, which would apply to Jajgua's son, who is a police captain."
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Artificial intelligence. Facial recognition. Lightning fast networks. Rapid technological change is transforming the consumer experience, upending entire industries, and challenging the way lawmakers craft policy. How are some of the world's leading companies innovating to avoid extinction? Tune into POLITICO's "Global Translations" podcast to hear from Stephen Bird, the CEO of Citi's Global Consumer Bank and Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, in a special branded episode by Citi. Subscribe and listen now: Apple Podcasts -Spotify - Stitcher |
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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— "GateHouse-Gannett merger will have ripple effect in Mass." by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "The country's two largest newspaper publishers consummated their long-rumored courtship on Monday, unveiling plans to merge into one behemoth by the end of the year. The implications could be significant for New England: GateHouse owns 15 dailies in the six-state region — including the main papers for Worcester, Providence, Portsmouth, N.H., Fall River, Quincy, and Framingham — and dozens of weeklies. (Gannett's only daily in the region is in Burlington, Vt.) GateHouse parent New Media Investment Group is acquiring a controlling interest in Gannett, for an estimated $1.4 billion worth of cash and stock. The deal values Gannett's stock at $12.06 a share, a 12 percent premium to the closing price on Friday."
TRANSITIONS — Ryan Migeed, communications director to state Sen. Eric Lesser, leaves his role on Friday to attend George Washington University Law School in the fall.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — To Maeve Duggan, research director of the MassINC Polling Group; and Evan Ross, a member of the Amherst Town Council (h/t Max Clermont).
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Red Sox beat the Royals, 7-5.
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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