| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | Presented by USA-IT | WU TOPS MAYORAL POLL — CommonWealth Magazine’s Michael Jonas wondered just yesterday if the Boston mayor’s race was City Councilor Michelle Wu’s to lose. A new poll makes it seem like it. Wu holds a commanding 32-point lead over rival City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George in a survey out this morning from the MassINC Polling Group in conjunction with WBUR, the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston Foundation. The poll showed Wu with 57 percent support, compared to 25 percent for Essaibi George, with a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percentage points. The poll delivers a blow to Essaibi George just hours before she squares off against Wu in the first televised debate of the general election, at 7 p.m. on WBZ. Essaibi George also trails Wu in fundraising and has watched several major endorsements break for her rival over the past few weeks. A strong debate performance could help give Essaibi George a boost, but time’s running out with just three weeks until Election Day and early voting starting even sooner. GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. New state legislative maps aim to amplify voices of color in a diversifying state, but they're also prompting criticism over how some communities would be divided — particularly in the Senate. THE TOP LINES — The House would have 33 majority-minority districts under the proposed redistricting map unveiled yesterday, up from the current 20. The House map includes four incumbent-free districts centered in Chelsea, Lawrence, Brockton and Framingham. “There is not a single place on the House map where you can draw a majority-minority opportunity district where we haven’t,” said Assistant House Majority Leader Mike Moran, the House chair of the redistricting committee. The Senate would see five majority-minority districts on its new map, up from three currently. That includes a new district centered in Lawrence and another that includes Everett, Chelsea, Charlestown and Cambridge. THE BLOWBACK — Mapmakers split majority-Latino and immigrant Lawrence from its current whiter-skewing Senate district and paired it with Methuen and downtown Haverhill precincts to create a Latino-centric Senate district. The move drew plaudits from advocates for empowering Latino voters, but anger from Haverhill electeds who want to keep their city whole. “It’s literally cutting the heart out of the city,” said state Rep. Andy Vargas. “The most diverse and lower-income precincts are segregated from the rest of the city. Latino voices are being diluted into Lawrence." Vargas, who’s Latino, is currently running for the Senate seat Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) is vacating to run for state auditor. The Haverhill Democrat would now be in the newly created Lawrence-based district. He told me when it comes to challenging the maps, “all options have to stay on the table.” Senators also proposed lumping a portion of Dorchester's Ward 16 in with Boston's suburbs, a move that's prompted state Rep. Dan Hunt to again threaten legal action. SPECIAL ELECTION SCRAMBLE — Two special elections are underway for districts that will likely end up looking different next year. Cambridge is getting carved out of what’s currently the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex Senate district, where Revere School Committee member Anthony D’Ambrosio and Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards are running to replace former state Sen. Joe Boncore. Former GOP state Rep. Brad Hill’s 4th Essex District would be split into four districts under the new map. Moran said that while Republicans “theoretically” lose a district there, voting patterns show an incumbent-free “Republican-leaning” district that combines parts of Northborough, Southborough, Westborough and Framingham. INCUMBENT PROTECTION PROGRAM — No Senate incumbents would be pitted against each other under the new maps. Several pairs of representatives — Boston state Reps. Liz Malia and Nika Elugardo, Framingham state Reps. Maria Robinson and Jack Patrick Lewis, Berkshire state Reps. Paul Mark and John Barrett III, and Easton state Rep. Claire Cronin and Brockton state Rep. Gerry Cassidy — could be. But few, if any, of those clashes are likely to materialize. Robinson and Cronin are awaiting confirmation to Biden administration posts. Malia said she’s retiring in 2022, and Elugardo will decide in coming days whether she's going to run for the state Senate seat being vacated by governor hopeful Sonia Chang-Díaz. Mark is said to be eyeing the state Senate seat Adam Hinds is vacating to run for lieutenant governor. Hinds started telling lawmakers about his plans weeks ago, POLITICO reported. The Boston Globe reported his official launch plans last night. TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker participates in a FEMA climate resiliency virtual discussion at noon and gives remarks at the Offshore WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition at 2 p.m.. Baker, HHS Sec. Marylou Sudders, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka receive the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health Partners in Progress award at 7:30 p.m. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito presides over a Governor’s Council meeting at noon and attends a Vigil for Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence at 6:30 p.m. in Shrewsbury. Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey call for robust federal investments in housing at a 4 p.m. press conference at the JFK Federal Building Plaza. Essaibi George visits Shirley’s Food Pantry in Mattapan at 10 a.m. Wu holds a rally for transit equity and receives endorsements from transit leaders at 11 a.m. at Hyde Park’s Readville Station. State Sen. Eric Lesser and advocates unveil new analysis on an East-West Passenger Rail at a virtual 1:30 p.m. media availability. Rep. Jake Auchincloss meets with the North Attleboro Town Council. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com. | |
| | A message from USA-IT: Illegal trade is $464-billion-a-year business that robs governments of much-needed revenue to provide essential services to Americans. Instead of helping taxpayers, that money is pocketed by dangerous criminal organizations. That’s why we’re bringing together experts from the private and public sectors, academia, as well as government & law enforcement agencies, combining our collective expertise to curb illegal trade for the benefit of our Massachusetts communities. Learn more. | | | | |
| | THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider” newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don’t miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 4,466 coronavirus cases over the long weekend, hospitalizations on the decline,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The state Department of Public Health also reported 4,034 breakthrough cases from last week, which was a bit up from 3,741 cases during the previous week.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “‘Nero’s Bill’ to protect K9s receives favorable report, moves toward becoming law,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “A bill that would allow emergency medical service personnel to treat police dogs injured in the line of duty has cleared a major legislative hurdle, receiving a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, and will be headed to the Senate and House for further consideration.” – “O'Flaherty Opening Lobbying Firm’s Boston Office,” by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service (paywall): “Former Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty is back, if he ever left. The former Judiciary Committee co-chairman who went on to work as the City of Boston's top lawyer during Mayor Martin Walsh's administration is leading the expansion of Ballard Partners into Massachusetts.” | | MAPMAKER, MAPMAKER |
| – MALIA’S MOVE — Veteran Boston state Rep. Liz Malia is retiring next year to spend more time with her partner — but not without first putting in “serious work to try and build a recovery movement.” Malia, who was first elected in 1998, led the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery for more than a decade. She told me “we lost ground” in those areas amid the pandemic and that more needs to be done to “really provide the resources we need to deal with things like [the addiction crisis at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard].” Reflecting on her career, Malia, who is openly gay, said the early 2000s debate over gay marriage was “one of my formative times.” Here's more on House and Senate redistricting proposals: – “Springfield keeps 2 state senators; Western Massachusetts districts get bigger as lawmakers adjust to 2020 census,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “ Proposed state legislative districts unveiled Tuesday show Springfield retaining two senators and the four counties of Western Massachusetts retaining six senate seats.” – “New House map would scatter Paul Mark's district, expand John Barrett's,” by Danny Jin, Berkshire Eagle: “Berkshire County would drop from four to three House districts under a new legislative map released Tuesday. Under the proposal, Rep. Paul Mark's territory would be split up into five separate districts — including the one currently represented by Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams. Barrett's district would gain four additional communities in the new configuration.” – The Eagle-Tribune’s Christian M. Wade has more on the changes in and around Lawrence: “Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Belmont, co-chair of the [redistricting] committee, said the changes are aimed at alleviating a ‘polarized’ Senate district where white people have traditionally voted for the white candidates, while Hispanics tend to vote for the Hispanic candidates. ‘The grouping is such that the Hispanic candidates from Lawrence are consistently defeated,’ Brownsberger said Tuesday. ‘This is a very clear voting rights violation and one that we are intent on correcting.’" – CommonWealth Magazine’s Shira Schoenberg breaks down some of the changes incumbent lawmakers are seeing to their districts and the efforts to boost representation for Boston's communities of color. – Lawmakers are taking public comment on the proposed maps through Monday and will soon unveil proposed congressional and Governor's Council districts. | | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “Facing staffing shortages, Baker activates Massachusetts National Guard to assist with COVID-19 testing in public schools,” by Felicia Gans, Boston Globe: “In response to staffing shortages that caused COVID-19 testing delays in many Massachusetts school districts, Governor Charlie Baker activated up to 200 members of the National Guard on Tuesday to assist with testing in public K-12 schools. Though more than 2,200 public and private schools have signed up to participate in at least one of the state’s three coronavirus testing programs, only about 1,350 had reported testing data as of Oct. 7.” The move follows pressure from state Rep. Mindy Domb. – “COVID vaccine requirement expected to cause staffing shortage at Mass. DOC, National Guard to assist with transportation, security efforts,” by Tom Matthews, MassLive: “Gov. Charlie Baker will activate up to 250 Mass. National Guard personnel to assist the Massachusetts Department of Correction ahead of an anticipated staffing shortage due to non-compliance with an order that requires all executive department employees to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19 by Oct. 17.” – “Here’s the first Massachusetts school allowed to lift its mask rules for vaccinated individuals,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Hopkinton High School is the first public school in Massachusetts allowed to lift its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals, state officials said Tuesday.” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Boston suspends 812 workers over coronavirus vaccine mandate,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The city of Boston has suspended 812 employees without pay who didn’t come into compliance with its coronavirus vaccine mandates, leaving the city ‘implementing contingency plans’ as it finds itself short more than 4% of its workforce.” – “Her son went missing at Mass. and Cass, and her desperate search to find him began,” by Deanna Pan, Boston Globe: “On the morning of Sept. 29, before setting off for Boston with just two changes of clothes in the back of her car and a vague sense of where Andrew had been the night prior, [Christina Frost] posted a message in a public Facebook group called The Mass Ave. Project Inc. … Here, Frost found some solace, in this group of 6,000 people that has emerged in recent months as an online clearinghouse and support network for desperate family and friends, searching for loved ones in the chaos of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, epicenter of Boston’s homelessness and addiction crisis.” – “Movement on Mass and Cass as Charlie Baker’s group meets again, neighborhood organizations start up effort,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Multiple efforts are moving forward on Mass and Cass, with the governor’s heavy-hitter roundtable convening again, a new community-led working group starting back up and the Suffolk County sheriff forging ahead with his plan to house homeless addicts in an unused building at the South Bay jail.” – “'Bad Art Friend' fallout: Boston's GrubStreet writing center launches investigation into events in viral article,” by Amelia Mason, WBUR: “The article in question, ‘Who Is the Bad Art Friend?’, concerns a legal dispute between two writers who once ran in the same Boston-area literary circles. Dawn Dorland and Sonya Larson, who met at GrubStreet eight years ago, have been fighting in court since 2018 over a short story written by Larson titled ‘The Kindest.’ The story was inspired (to what degree is up for debate) by Dorland’s decision to donate her kidney to a stranger. Dorland accused Larson of plagiarizing, in the story, a letter she (Dorland) wrote to the real-life recipient of her kidney.” – “These images show what Boston landmarks will look like underwater depending on the climate choices we make,” by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe. | |
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| | | | | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| – Essaibi George has had it with people talking about her Boston accent. “It’s official. I literally cannot open my mouth…no wonder they never cover me seriously or print what I’m speaking to voters about. It’s not that they don’t like what I say. It’s that they don’t like how I talk,” she tweeted in response to a column from the Boston Globe’s Renée Graham headlined “When a Boston accent becomes a dog whistle: How Annissa Essaibi George speaks offers kinship to her white base in a city that increasingly looks and sounds less like them.” Graham’s point, in the end, was that the two remaining mayoral rivals should be judged on what they say, not how they say it, which for Essaibi George has become a hot topic of conversation in recent media interviews. But Essaibi George called the whole thing “hurtful to say the least.” – “A comedian told a crowd he was supporting Michelle Wu for mayor. He didn’t realize Annissa Essaibi George was in the audience,” by Steve Annear, Boston Globe: “[Karl] Xie, a data analyst from Allston who moonlights as a comedian, was on stage Saturday at a fundraiser hosted by the Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston when he told the crowd that he was excited that City Councilor Michelle Wu was running for office in November. But unbeknownst to Xie, Wu’s opponent, City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, was sitting in the crowd, enjoying an evening that featured several other standup comedians to raise money for the group’s annual scholarship fund. … The surprise moment led to Essaibi George jokingly asking for her money back and then walking to the stage and introducing herself to Xie.” – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: EMILY’s List has endorsed Ruthzee Louijeune and Tania Anderson for Boston City Council at-large and District 7, respectively, per the organization. “As a lawyer, advocate, and civic leader, Ruthzee Louijeune has been a champion for families in her community — in particular Black and Latinx families — on issues like housing, education, and civil rights. Tania Fernandes Anderson has been an advocate for holding police accountable, making her community safer, and working to support at-risk youth,” EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler said in a statement. EMILY’s List previously endorsed incumbent councilors Lydia Edwards, Kenzie Bok, Liz Breadon and Julia Mejia. – ENDORSEMENT ROUNDUP: The Roxbury-based Boston Ward 12 Democratic Committee has endorsed Wu for mayor; at-large Boston City Councilors Julia Mejia and Michael Flaherty for reelection; David Halbert and Ruthzee Louijeune for the other two at-large seats, and Tania Anderson for District 7, per the committee. State Rep. Nika Elugardo has endorsed Carla Monteiro for Boston City Council at-large. | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “SJC rules former Sex Offender Registry Board chair can pursue whistleblower complaint 7 years after being fired by ex-Gov. Patrick,” by John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: “The former chair of the Sex Offender Registry Board can pursue her whistleblower complaint seven years after former Governor Deval Patrick fired her after she challenged the way Patrick’s brother-in-law was classified by the board, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday.” – “Suspensions and a reprimand proposed for prosecutors admonished in drug lab scandal,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “On Tuesday, a special hearing officer for the board that reviews attorney misconduct released recommended punishments for three former Massachusetts assistant attorneys general who prosecuted one of the state's drug lab scandals. The proposed sanctions against the attorneys ranged from a public reprimand to a two-year law license suspension.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “Mass. recovers Hamilton letter from 1780,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “On July 21, 1780, Alexander Hamilton wrote a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette warning of imminent danger to French troops in Rhode Island. … Last Wednesday, a US Appeals Court judge ordered Hamilton’s letter returned to its rightful owners – the people of Massachusetts – decades after it went missing from the state archives. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said the letter will be displayed in the Commonwealth Museum for special events.” – “Nurses working at St. Vincent Hospital say they want to be 'respected' for their decision,” by Cyrus Moulton, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “A group of nurses working at St. Vincent Hospital said they understand why many of their colleagues are out on strike. They said they just want their colleagues and the community to understand why they are not. ‘Let’s all work together. It’s all for the common goal: patient care,’ nurse Brenda Valery said. ‘They do it their way, we do it our way.’” – "Bourne school board member says she was fired from teaching job over social media posts," by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: "Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae says she was fired from her new teaching position at Hanover High School over her social media posts." HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Corinne Falotico. 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. | |
| | A message from USA-IT: Illegal trade is a $464-billion-a-year business, and it’s growing. Criminals get rich from illegal trade by peddling fake and stolen goods, ultimately robbing governments of much-needed revenue to provide essential services to Americans. Instead of helping taxpayers, that money is pocketed by crooks who traffic in illegal narcotics, apparel, counterfeit medications, tobacco, weapons, wildlife, and even people. That’s why we’re bringing together experts from the private and public sectors, academia, as well as government & law enforcement agencies, combining our collective expertise to curb illegal trade for the benefit of our Massachusetts communities. Learn more. | | | | |
| | “A FOREIGN POLICY BUILT FOR WOMEN” – JOIN US THURSDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION: Building a foreign policy agenda with women at the center has shown that it can advance broader social, economic and political goals. It also requires having women in influential decision-making positions. Join POLITICO Magazine senior editor Usha Sahay for a joint conversation with Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the State Department’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, and Ambassador Bonnie Denise Jenkins, undersecretary for arms control and international security, focused on the roadblocks preventing more women from rising through the ranks of diplomacy and why closing the foreign policy gender gap matters. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | |
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