| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | MODERATE MARKER — Voters gave Michelle Wu a clear mandate for her progressive policies when they handed the city councilor a resounding 28-point win in the Boston mayor's race. But down the ballot, voters put an interesting asterisk on a mayoral race that’s offered plenty of insight into the city’s political shifts over the past decade-plus. Progressives and moderates split the at-large council seats 2-2, with one incumbent councilor and one newcomer apiece. For those keeping score, that's Councilor Michael Flaherty and newcomer Erin Murphy on the moderate side, and Councilor Julia Mejia and newcomer Ruthzee Louijeune on the progressive side. Some of the at-large precinct results follow traditional Boston trends. Murphy, a daughter of Dorchester like former mayoral candidate City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, ran up the score in the neighborhood's whiter and more conservative Ward 16. Murphy snagged the fourth at-large seat, making it onto the council on her second try. But Flaherty finished first overall in part by topping the ticket in precincts Wu won in Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Charlestown and Allston, according to a MassINC map and the city's unofficial results. Name recognition is the likely answer why. That’s what operatives and activists across the political spectrum said when I asked them yesterday. Flaherty’s been a city councilor on and off since 2000 and even ran for mayor — though he got drubbed by then-incumbent Mayor Tom Menino. He’s built up a lot of name ID and goodwill across the city. He didn’t rest on his laurels this fall, sending out mailers and putting out an ad on streaming services (yes, let’s acknowledge the speculation he wants the Suffolk District Attorney seat Rachael Rollins would vacate if she’s named U.S. attorney for Massachusetts). Incumbency can also be a big boost in a multi-way council contest overshadowed by a big-ticket mayor's race. The mixed-bag at-large results aren’t the biggest check on Wu’s progressive agenda. Voters lined up behind progressive incumbents and newcomers for many of the council seats, including Tania Fernandes Anderson in District 7 and Boston Democratic Socialists of America-backed Kendra Hicks in District 6. A few moderate voices on the council can’t do too much in this strong-mayor city, though they could be more of a factor now that voters approved a local ballot measure giving councilors more power in the budgeting process. Still, it’s an interesting footnote to a contest hailed as a big win for progressives on an otherwise lackluster night nationally, and locally as a culmination of years of progressive gains on the council. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. For those of you asking (and there are a lot of you) I still haven't really slept. TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker makes a pediatric Covid-19 vaccine announcement at 10:30 a.m. at Boston Children’s Hospital. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey participates in a bus-lane ribbon-cutting ceremony in Roxbury at 9:30 a.m. and gives remarks at the unveiling of new public artwork in Jamaica Plain at 4:30 p.m. Wu attends a "Mass and Cass" briefing at 1 p.m. at City Hall. Rep. Jake Auchincloss hosts a virtual press conference to unveil gun violence prevention legislation at 2 p.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com. | |
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|  | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| – THE ELECTION MAPS: “This map shows where the Boston mayoral candidates got their support,” and “Precinct-by-precinct results from the Boston mayoral election,” via the Boston Globe. – “Michelle Wu won the Boston election in a landslide. Could she have beaten Marty Walsh?” by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: “It’s all hypothetical and academic. We can never truly know the answer. But it’s well worth asking the question after [City Councilor Michelle] Wu dominated throughout the city in Tuesday’s race and won many of [former Mayor Marty] Walsh’s former strongholds, including his home precinct in Lower Mills.” – “Rep. Ayanna Pressley: Wu's Boston Victory Shows Democrats Need To Enact ‘Politics Of Transformation’,” by Greater Boston staff and Hannah Reale, GBH News: “Rep. Ayanna Pressley celebrated Michelle Wu's victory on Greater Boston Wednesday night — and warned that she won't tolerate Black and progressive leaders being blamed for Democrat Terry McAuliffe's loss in Virginia Tuesday. With City Councilor Wu's victory, garnering 64% of the vote ahead of Annissa Essaibi George, Pressley said that Wu had received a clear mandate to move forward with her agenda.” – “Halbert concedes to Murphy, who wins fourth at-large seat on the Boston City Council,” by Tiana Woodard, Boston Globe: “David Halbert, a former City Hall and State House staffer, conceded Wednesday evening in the at-large race, making way for Erin Murphy, the fourth-place finisher, to be sworn into office next year along with incumbents Michael Flaherty and Julia Mejia, and newcomer Ruthzee Louijeune.” – “What Michelle Wu said to Annissa Essaibi George after Boston’s mayoral race,” by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: “‘...to see your example as a mom who’s just going to get it done, no matter how many things are on the plate with the kids, with community; with your dedication to showing up in every space, no matter how many people are going to be at a meeting, no matter if any of the attendees are voters … you’re there,’ Wu told Essaibi George. ‘ And you’ve shown up for Boston time and again.’” – "7 big cities elected mayors Tuesday. Crime and policing shaped the results," by Maya King and Lisa Kashinsky, POLITICO: "Tuesday’s municipal elections tested some of Democrats’ most ambitious policies and candidates in more than half a dozen big cities. Most of them didn’t make the cut. ... [but] on a lackluster night for the left across the map, progressives got a big win in Boston with Michelle Wu." | | WU TRAIN |
| – "Michelle Wu rides T to City Hall after becoming first woman and person of color elected mayor of Boston," by Jonathan Hall, WHDH. – “Previous elected mayors had two months to gear up to serve. Michelle Wu has fewer than two weeks,” by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: “At noon, Wu joined her fellow city councilors at her final meeting in that role, down the hall from the mayor’s office on the fifth floor of City Hall. By mid-afternoon, Wu huddled with Acting Mayor Kim Janey for an hour to go over transition priorities, and she wrapped up her day by attending a 5:30 p.m. virtual meeting of the Boston School Committee.” – “A day after historic election, advocates call on Wu to change city’s Mass. and Cass course,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “A day after the historic election of Michelle Wu, advocates called on the mayor-elect to stop clearing encampments in the area know as Mass. and Cass that is the heart of Boston’s opioid and homelessness crises. A coalition of public health, housing, and civil rights advocates urged Wu to ‘stop the sweeps and meet basic sanitation needs while developing immediate non-congregate shelter options.’” – "For Progressives, Michelle Wu Points to a Way Forward," by Ellen Barry, New York Times: "Ms. Wu’s campaign — and particularly her 'years of infrastructure building and engagement' — should be a model for progressive candidates across the country, said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which endorsed her." | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “How did a ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ highway sign end up in West Roxbury?” by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: “...an electronic highway sign placed on the side of West Roxbury Parkway near Centre Street displayed the phrase, ‘Let’s go Brandon,’ a subtle dig at President Joe Biden that’s a stand-in for an expletive directed at the commander in chief.” – “Boston voters supported an elected school committee. Now what?” by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: “The Question 3 ballot measure, which passed with 78.7 percent of the vote, was nonbinding, meaning it doesn’t carry legal weight. But councilors say it will prompt them to push for changes that will democratize school decision-making and empower communities of color who have long felt ignored by the appointed committee.” | | THE LOCAL ELECTIONS ROUNDUP |
| – BARRIER BREAKERS: Boston will have its first Haitian-American city councilor in Ruthzee Louijeune, its first Black female councilor in District 6 with Kendra Hicks, and its first Muslim, first Cape Verdean, first African immigrant and first formerly undocumented councilor in District 7's Tania Fernandes Anderson. The firsts don’t stop there. North Adams elected its first female mayor in Jennifer Macksey. Holyoke elected its first Latino mayor in Joshua Garcia. Chicopee elected its first Latina city councilor in Delmarina Lopez. Thu Nguyen became the first nonbinary person elected in Massachusetts and the first Southeast Asian American elected to the Worcester City Council. Etel Haxhiaj is the first Muslim woman elected to the Worcester City Council. Judy Pineda Neufeld and Beatriz Gómez Mouakad are adding Latina representation to the Somerville City Council, and are joining a mix of incuments and newcomers including Kristen Strezo, Willie Burnley Jr., Charlotte Kelly, Jake Wilson, Matt McLaughlin, Ben Ewen-Campen, Jesse Clingan, J.T. Scott and Lance Davis. Many of these barriers were broken by women. Amanda Hunter, executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, said “each time a woman takes office in a seat historically held by white men, she shatters the ‘imagination barrier’ and shows voters that women are capable of leading in executive office.” But two incumbent female mayors lost their reelection bids Tuesday: Yvonne Spicer in Framingham and Sefatia Romeo Theken in Gloucester. Spicer was Framingham’s first mayor and the first popularly elected Black female mayor in Massachusetts. BLFF research shows “voters often do not assume women executives are doing a good job in office,” Hunter said. “Women have to work twice as hard as men to prove they are effective leaders as incumbents.” – “Lowell election brings more diversity, promises future gains in participation,” by Alana Melanson, Lowell Sun: “While the first general-election run of the city’s new hybrid at-large and district system Tuesday didn’t produce the immediate, radical change in composition or massive boost in voter turnout that some had hoped for, it laid the groundwork for future increased involvement of people across the city. There were diversity gains.” – “New Lawrence mayor could be sworn in Nov. 12,” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “[Mayor-elect Brian] DePena defeated Interim Mayor Kendrys Vasquez in Tuesday’s election by a 6,093 to 5,338 vote. DePena’s swearing-in ceremony is now eyed for Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. — when the 10-day waiting period after the election elapses as required, officials said.” – “Cambridge voters elect two city councilors, support changing city charter,” by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “Burhan Azeem and Paul F. Toner, former president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, will join the City Council, according to unofficial results from the city, which include ballots scanned at the polls but not mail-in ballots. … Cambridge voters reelected councilors Dennis J. Carlone, Alanna M. Mallon, Marc C. McGovern, Patricia M. Nolan, E. Denise Simmons, Quinton Y. Zondervan, and Sumbul Siddiqui, the city’s current mayor, to serve on the nine-member panel. Councilors will vote to determine the next mayor after they are sworn in in January.” – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: State Senate hopeful and Revere School Committee member Anthony D’Ambrosio has been endorsed by the Revere Teachers Association. | | FEELING '22 |
| – “Super PAC looks ahead to 2022,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “The chairman of the Massachusetts Majority super PAC said on Wednesday that his organization fared well in this week’s elections and, with $600,000 in available cash, is well-positioned to do the same in 2022. … Leominster developer Greg Lisciotti, the chair of the super PAC, said 16 of the 24 candidates won their election contests, a 75 percent success rate. Of the six candidates who lost, three were Republicans, two were unenrolled, and one was a Democrat.” – “A year after Morse campaign against Neal, 1st District progressives see challenging path ahead,” by Danny Jin, Berkshire Eagle: “A year after Alex Morse challenged U.S. Rep. Richard Neal in a widely followed Democratic primary, no one has stepped up to run against Neal in 2022. … And it might get even harder, with the district likely to expand into more conservative towns at its southeastern edge, while shedding upper Pioneer Valley communities that favored Morse, as proposed in redistricting maps released Monday.” | | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Half a million Massachusetts residents have gotten COVID booster shots; state reports 1,290 new cases, 15 deaths Wednesday,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive: “The milestone for booster shots comes as Massachusetts officials reported 1,290 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths on Wednesday as the state approached 800,000 confirmed cases over the course of the pandemic. ” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Seven reps not complying with House vaccine mandate,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “There are seven state representatives who have not yet provided proof of vaccination or requested a religious or medical exemption from the vaccine mandate imposed by the House of the Representatives. Ana Vivas, a spokesperson for the House, said in a statement that members who are not in compliance ‘are required to continue working remotely, including participating in session, until they are in compliance.’” – “Senate unveils $3.66B coronavirus relief bill,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “A $3.66 billion plan by state senators to spend about half of the remaining federal coronavirus relief dollars mirrors many of the priorities laid out in a House bill passed last week. … The Senate bill also proposes $400 million for a ‘mental and behavioral health reserve,’ according to the summary, a major priority for Spilka.” | | MAPMAKER, MAPMAKER |
| – "Joe Kennedy slams plan to split Fall River, New Bedford in new congressional maps," by Ted Nesi, WPRI:"Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III is joining the chorus of criticism over Beacon Hill leaders’ decision to split off Fall River from New Bedford at the federal level in their proposed redistricting maps." – “Muni Matters: Frustration with 'Unwritten Rules' of Redistricting,” by Meg McIntyre for State House News Service (paywall): “The plans finalized by lawmakers last week increase the number of districts where the majority of residents are non-white from three to six in the Senate and from 20 to 33 in the House. However, these districts have also been a source of friction for some municipal leaders, who report feeling unheard and confused by the ‘unwritten rules’ of the decennial process.” | | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “Massachusetts opening hundreds of additional COVID-19 vaccine sites this week for 5 to 11 year olds,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Following the federal government’s final approval of Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds Tuesday, state officials said Wednesday that ‘hundreds’ of new vaccination sites will come online beginning Thursday to support the new phase of the rollout — and some have already begun doing so.” – “These 11 Massachusetts schools received state approval to lift mask mandate after showing COVID vaccination rates of at least 80%,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive: “So far, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has received 18 requests to lift the mask mandate along with the required vaccination attestation of at least 80%, officials said Wednesday. DESE has approved 11 of those requests as of Wednesday…” – "Exclusive poll: Vast majority of area business leaders want vaccine mandates," by Grant Welker, Boston Business Journal: "More than 400 respondents to a survey by the Boston Business Journal and Seven Letter said having a vaccine mandate is more important than an active-shooter plan or fire escape plan to feel much safer at work." | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| – “Marie St. Fleur and former prosecutor sue pot company, claiming nonpayment of wages,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “A Boston-area pot company that with much aplomb hired former state Rep. Marie St. Fleur and onetime Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Amy McNamee to run its operation apparently has had a spectacular falling out with the pair, who are now suing on allegations that the weed investors didn’t pay them.” | | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
| – “Energy Company Files Lawsuit Over Maine Referendum That Blocks Mass. Hydropower Transmission Project,” by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: “Maine voters put the brakes on a project to deliver hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts in a referendum Tuesday. The utility company behind the plan filed a lawsuit the following day, challenging the constitutionality of the ballot question.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “At 17, she left a Billerica party in 1982 and was never seen again. Her car — and possibly her remains — were just found in the Concord River,” by Arianna MacNeill, Boston.com: “Human remains were found Wednesday in the Concord River in Billerica near where investigators discovered pieces of a car that belonged to a 17-year-old Chelmsford girl who has been missing since 1982.” – "Historic Hotel Buckminster in Kenmore Square is poised to become ... lab space," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe. TRANSITIONS — Boston law firm Sherin and Lodgen has elected Sara Jane Shanahan as its first-ever female managing partner. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Ken Gordon, Michael Fontneau, NYT’s Kit Seelye, Julie Siegel, Morgan Mohr, Jean Roseme and Avi Berkowitz. HORSE RACE ALERT: ELECTION RODEO — Hosts Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith, and Lisa Kashinsky dive in to Boston’s municipal election results and round up mayor's races from across the state. MassINC's Rich Parr joins to talk about the notable elections in western Massachusetts. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud. REWIND — I joined WBUR's "Radio Boston" to break down mayor's races from Framingham to North Adams. 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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