| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | LEANING IN — Governor hopeful Geoff Diehl already had Donald Trump’s endorsement. Now he’s bringing in Trump’s former campaign manager in a head-scratcher of a move that could give Diehl a boost in the GOP primary but could backfire with general-election voters. Diehl’s embrace of the former president made sense when it looked like he’d be primarying moderate governor and noted Trump critic Charlie Baker. But Baker’s not running, leaving the moderate lane wide open for the taking. Maura Healey went there. But Diehl’s not swerving toward the center. Instead he’s diving even further in on Trump by hiring Corey Lewandowski — baggage from allegations of unwanted sexual advances be damned. Lowell native Lewandowski still carries weight in the Bay State and brings another national name to Diehl’s campaign. “Corey is an incredibly talented campaign strategist,” GOP state committee member Amy Carnevale, who worked across from Lewandowski on Capitol Hill in the early 2000s, said. “And his roots in the Bay State run deep.” Still, Carnevale said hiring Lewandowski is “perplexing” and sends a clear message that Diehl’s campaign “is still very much focused on winning the primary election and has not shifted into a general election mode.” Diehl isn’t ditching Trump in part because he still has to get through that Republican primary against wealthy, more moderate Chris Doughty. GOP activists also say Lewandowski and Diehl’s newly minted fundraising co-chairs, former New England Patriots player Fred Smerlas and his wife, Kristy, could help in the money race. But the general election is a different story. Voters in Massachusetts have little love for Trump; the state gave him barely one-third of the vote in both of his presidential runs. And Republicans have for decades relied on independents and even some Democrats to help capture and keep the governor’s office. Diehl going all-in on Trump also gives Healey — the Democratic frontrunner and state attorney general who burnished her profile in part by repeatedly suing the Trump administration — the foil she lost when the former president left office. “With Corey Lewandowski in the fold, it is even clearer that Mr. Diehl’s agenda is fueled by hate and division,” Healey blasted out in a statement yesterday. Democratic state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz soon piled on, too. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. This wasn’t always Diehl’s path in the governor’s race. Read my full story for POLITICO. TODAY — Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, administration officials and Rep. Lori Trahan outline initial road, bridge and other infrastructure projects through federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding at 2 p.m. at UMass Lowell. Polito makes a grant announcement at UTEC in Lowell at noon. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces a new Office for Black Male Advancement at 11:30 a.m. in Roxbury. Healey is on WBUR's "Radio Boston" at 3 p.m. Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark presides over the House’s COMPETES Act debate. BILL TRACKER — Which bills do you think will fly under the radar this Joint Rule 10 week? Email me at lkashinsky@politico.com. Also, we’re aware that some links may be missing from Playbook when we publish. Our engineers are working on it.
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| — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: NAACP Boston Branch President Tanisha Sullivan raised more than $100,000 in the opening two weeks of her campaign for secretary of state, and 75 percent of her contributions came from Massachusetts residents, the Democrat’s team said. — ENDORSEMENT ALERT: State Rep. Tami Gouveia has received another 15 endorsements in her campaign for lieutenant governor. The list includes state Rep. Liz Miranda; Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara; Cohasset Select Board Chair Keri Thompson and Everett City Councilor Stephanie Martins. — Shannon Liss-Riordan has been endorsed for state attorney general by the Alliance of Unions of the MBTA, Boston Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 534, IBEW Local 1228, OPEIU Local 453, Pipefitters Local 537 and Sheet Metal Workers Local 17, per her campaign. — “Oliveira running for state Senate,” by Bera Dunau, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “State Rep. Jacob Oliveira, D-Ludlow, is throwing his hat into the ring for state Senate to represent the Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester District. … The Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester district is a successor to the district currently represented by Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, who is running for lieutenant governor.” — “Danielle Allen, a Democratic candidate for Mass. governor, wants to decriminalize drugs, including heroin,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Danielle Allen, a Harvard professor and gubernatorial candidate, said that if elected, she would push to decriminalize all controlled substances by eliminating state criminal penalties for small amounts of heroin, cocaine, and other drugs.” — “Guv Candidates Favor Opening Guv’s Office Records,” by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): “Attorney General Maura Healey and Harvard professor Danielle Allen, two of the three Democrats running for governor, have both backed changes that would subject the governor's office to the public records law. … Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, did not take a clear position on [Secretary of State Bill] Galvin’s proposal. … Both Republicans in the race, former Rep. Geoff Diehl and businessman Chris Doughty, said they believe the governor’s office as well as the Legislature should be subject to the public records law at least to some degree.” — “Massachusetts congressional races draw few challenges, so far,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Few serious challengers have stepped forward to take on the members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation in the upcoming election, meaning Democrats are likely to hold onto all nine seats in a year where Republicans are predicted to make gains nationwide.”
| | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| — “Massachusetts reports 4,973 new coronavirus cases, COVID-19 hospitalizations go down again,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The state Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 4,973 daily coronavirus cases, a 37% drop from last Wednesday’s total of 7,918 infections. The state’s average percent positivity is now 6.37%, significantly down from the rate of 23% in early January.”
| | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| — POUR ONE OUT, FOR NOW: The Legislature’s Committee for Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure ordered further study on a bill that would overturn the state’s decades-old happy-hour ban, as well as a bill from state Rep. Mike Connolly that would create a commission to evaluate happy-hour policies. That effectively kills both bills, State House News Service’s Katie Lannan reports (paywall). But Connolly is still looking at the glass half full. “It was good to put the conversation out there. But in retrospect, the subsequent Covid waves I think certainly took priority,” the rep told me. “It’s pretty standard that newly filed bills usually take at least a few sessions to gain traction, so I think it’ll be interesting to see over the next year where public opinion might fall or where different stakeholders might fall.” (FWIW, a MassINC Polling Group survey last summer showed 70 percent of voters would support the return of the drink specials.) — “Efficient Homes Bill Getting Committee Approval,” by Matt Murphy, State House News Service (paywall): “Fearing the state may be losing momentum in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, Sen. Marc Pacheco said Wednesday the committee he chairs would be recommending a bill to retrofit 1 million homes over the next decade to make them more energy efficient.” — “Housing Panel Holding On To Transfer Fee Bill,” by Katie Lannan, State House News Service (paywall): “As of Wednesday's deadline for most committees to act on bills, the Housing Committee had put forward an order extending until May 9 its window to advance or reject legislation that would enable municipalities to impose a fee of between 0.5 percent and 2 percent of the price of certain housing transactions in order to generate revenue to preserve affordable housing and fund new home construction.” — “Governor’s council hears testimony on whether to commute life sentence of man convicted of murder,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “William Allen has spent 28 years in prison for participating in a 1994 armed robbery in Brockton that turned deadly when his friend stabbed a man to death. While the admitted killer accepted a plea deal and was freed more than a decade ago, Allen is serving a sentence of life without parole. On Wednesday, Allen, 48, and a handful of supporters, including New England Patriots player Devin McCourty, urged the Governor’s Council to commute his sentence from first- to second-degree murder, making him eligible for parole.” — “Baker’s budget plan would expand Medicare,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Salem News: “Gov. Charlie Baker wants to expand Medicare coverage for low-income seniors as part of his proposed spending package for the next fiscal year.” — “Massachusetts couples pay the highest percentage of income in taxes in the country, report says,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “It’s tax season, and in news perhaps unsurprising to Bay State taxpayers, couples living here have to shell out the highest percentage of their income on taxes.”
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| — "New omicron variant detected in Mass., MGH data show," by Martha Bebinger, WBUR: "COVID data out of Massachusetts General Hospital show a new version of the omicron variant is in the state, but in very small numbers. The variant, known as BA.2, will likely increase in Massachusetts as it is elsewhere that cases have been detected, said MGH Dr. Jacob Lemieux."
| | FROM THE HUB |
| — “Many Boston parents cry foul over bonus points for exam school admission,” by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: “In an effort to level the playing field for low-income students in the exam school admission process, the Boston Public Schools last summer came up with what many advocates considered to be a novel approach: Applicants from high-poverty schools will receive 10 bonus points. ... Now, a number of parents whose children would miss out on the points are crying foul.” — “Boston City Council to hold hearing on vaccine mandate,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The City Council will hold a hearing about the labor practices around Mayor Michelle Wu’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, opening up another front in the ongoing disputes between the public-safety unions and the administration.” — “Three Boston city councilors propose commission on reparations for African Americans,” by WCVB: “Three members of the Boston City Council are backing a new proposal to establish a commission on reparations for African Americans in the city. City Councilors Julia Mejia, Tania F. Anderson and Brian Worrell introduced the ordinance Wednesday — the second day of Black History Month.” — "Neo-Nazis target anti-racist doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital, calling them 'anti-white'," by Phillip Martin, GBH News: "On Saturday Jan. 22, about two dozen white nationalists dressed in identical beige khaki pants and dark hoodies protested in front of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston holding a bedsheet with black lettering reading 'B and W Hospital Kills Whites.'”
| | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| — “Boston city council candidates apologize for discriminatory language in old social media posts,” by Nick Stoico, Boston Globe: “Two candidates running for the District 1 seat on the Boston City Council, Gabriela Coletta and Tania Del Rio, are apologizing after years-old social media posts recently surfaced showing both candidates using racist and homophobic language.”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| — “And now . . . the Green Line Extension. For real, this time, the T promises,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “[M]ore than three decades after the state first promised to extend the Green Line as environmental mitigation for the Big Dig, test trains are gliding along the tracks between North Station and Union Square ahead of a planned opening of the project’s first branch next month. And the T is on the precipice of finally offering passenger service on an extended Green Line.”
| | DAY IN COURT |
| — “Settlement discussed in second lawsuit against former Pittsfield judge, Thomas H. Estes,” by Larry Parnass, Berkshire Eagle: “After settling one lawsuit, the woman who claims to have been sexually harassed by a former Pittsfield District Court judge is headed to trial in a separate but related complaint. A settlement in that U.S. District Court case has also been discussed, attorneys on both sides said this week.” — “Family Dollar Ordered To Pay $1.5M In Penalties For Not Giving Massachusetts Workers Meal Breaks,” by CBS Boston staff: “Family Dollar denied more than 620 workers their meal breaks at 100 locations across Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey said. Healey’s office fined the company $1.5 million in penalties for what it says were more than 3,900 of the state’s meal break laws and failing to let employees who worked for more than six hours take a 30-minute break.” — “High court takes up physician-assisted suicide,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Eagle-Tribune: “The state’s highest court will hear arguments in a landmark civil case next month challenging a Massachusetts law allowing state prosecutors to charge doctors for prescribing life-ending medications to terminally ill patients.”
| | DATELINE D.C. |
| — “Bill would ban universities from giving leg up to legacies, ending ‘affirmative action for the rich’,” by Haley Fuller, Boston Globe: “In an effort to level the playing field for college applicants, two congressional Democrats introduced legislation on Wednesday that would ban legacy admissions preferences for institutions that participate in federal student aid programs. … In the Harvard classes of 2014-2019, a third of legacies were admitted, while other applicants faced a 5.9 percent acceptance rate.”
| | FROM THE 413 |
| — “UMass unions rally for wages, health and safety,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “The unions, including the Professional Staff Union, the University Staff Association, the Massachusetts Society of Professors, AFSCME 1776 and the Graduate Employees Organization, are seeking to settle contracts that expired July 1, 2020, and, in addition to fair wages, achieve a series of other reforms. Their demands include better working and learning conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting long-term sustainable and green building practices in campus design, and having more dignity and respect in buildings for those who are immunocompromised and disabled.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| — ICYMI: “Mass. state groundhog Ms. G. predicts early spring, unlike Punxsutawney Phil,” by Matt Yan, Boston Globe. — “Worcester kills proposal that would have banned new gas stations,” by Sam Turken, GBH News: “During a weekly meeting Tuesday night, City Council killed a citizen petition to consider changing zoning regulations to prohibit the construction of new gas stations. Activists and councilors who supported the petition cited both a concern for climate change and a desire to aid the city’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2045. But a majority of councilors argued that the ban was premature because of how many gas-powered cars remain on the roads.” — “Massachusetts school's choice of fried chicken for Black History Month lunch creates controversy,” by Shaun Chaiyabhat, WCVB: “[Xaverian Brothers High School’s] choice to promote fried chicken as a lunch to celebrate the start of Black History Month is creating controversy among the student body.” — “‘Heartbreaking’: Boston police officer found dead in Canton had been taking care of deceased sister’s children, family says,” by Frank O’Laughlin and Kimberly Bookman, 7 News: “A Boston police officer who was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in the snow outside a home in Canton had been taking care of his deceased sister’s children, according to his family. … His girlfriend, 41-year-old Karen A. Read, of Mansfield, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death, and motor vehicle homicide in connection with his death.”
| | MEDIA MATTERS |
| — “New president of western Mass. public media stations wants to focus on people, not just platforms,” by Yasmin Amer, WBUR: “Matt Abramovitz has taken the helm of New England Public Media almost three years after a radio and television merger that brought Springfield’s public radio station into a partnership with Boston public media giant GBH. … Abramovitz’s challenge will be to bring these two organizations together.” TRANSITIONS — Berklee College of Music has named Kaitlin Passafaro as VP of community and government relations. — Dan Manning, a Walsh administration and campaign alum, has joined Solomon McCown & Cence as vice president. — The Harvard Law Review has named its first Latina editor in its 135-year history: Priscila Coronado. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Matt Rhoades, co-CEO of CGCN Group; Justine Turner, an Elizabeth Warren 2020 alum; Fred Hochberg, Billy Shore and WCVB’s Haley Ryger. Happy belated to Anisha Chakrabarti, deputy communications director for Gov. Charlie Baker, who celebrated Wednesday. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: VOTING REFORMS & EVERYBODY'S RUNNING — Secretary of State hopeful Tanisha Sullivan talks voting reforms with host Steve Koczela. Koczela, Jennifer Smith and Lisa Kashinsky take stock of the latest developments in statewide races. 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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