| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | WILL HE OR WON'T HE — Gov. Charlie Baker is “getting pretty close” to deciding whether he’ll run for reelection. Whichever path the Republican chooses will have a ripple effect across the political spectrum. Baker said his decision is coming “soon.” We’ve heard that before. But he also told GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” yesterday that he’s getting "close” to a verdict. Baker doesn’t sound like someone who's ready to retire. “I don’t have any hobbies,” he said. “My wife would lose her mind if I didn’t have something useful to do, so I have a feeling I'm going to be hopefully working for a long time.” He also poured more cold water on the idea he’d run as an independent, saying it’s a “reasonable assumption” that he’s sticking with the GOP if he runs again. With that in mind, let's game out some possible next steps: IF BAKER’S IN — “He has a loyal cadre of supporters and we’re going to be ready,” said Tony Ravosa, a consultant and former Springfield city councilor who’s co-organizing a Dec. 14 fundraiser for Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Baker would need more cash and more staff to run a full-fledged campaign. But any announcement this year would likely be only a soft launch. That’s what Baker did four years ago, confirming his intentions in November 2017 but not officially launching his campaign until August 2018. IF BAKER’S OUT — Republican former state Rep. Geoff Diehl is already running for governor. But Polito is considered Baker’s heir apparent if he steps aside. She’s been crisscrossing the state this fall without the governor, and she’s got far more money in the bank than he does. Ravosa told me he’d be “among the first to urge Karyn to jump in" if Baker bows out. For now, Polito’s political infrastructure remains enmeshed with Baker’s, and Republican sources could only speculate about whether she’d actually take up the mantle from him. GOP state commiteewoman Amy Carnevale said “all focus and discussion” continues to be on Baker. As for how Polito might fare atop the ticket : She trailed Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey in a recent hypothetical matchup. But Polito was slightly ahead of or about even with Democratic candidates state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, former state Sen. Ben Downing and Harvard professor Danielle Allen. SPEAKING OF THE DEMS — Baker’s decision could spur Healey's long-awaited announcement. Whether she runs for governor, AG or neither, her decision will kick fundraising and endorsements into a higher gear in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. It could also create opportunities for other Democrats on the state's deep bench. Former LG nominee Quentin Palfrey and labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan are already looking at AG if Healey doesn't run again. Other potential statewide candidates are also watching for an opening. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Rowley Republican Robert “Bob” Snow and Democrat Jamie Belsito of Topsfield face off today in the 4th Essex District special election to finish out former GOP state Rep. Brad Hill’s term. Hill left for a Massachusetts Gaming Commission gig. Republicans facing dwindling ranks in the Legislature will be looking to keep the seat red — while it still exists. Mapmakers carved up the current 4th Essex in the redistricting process, and whoever wins tonight will likely find themselves in another representative’s district come 2022. TODAY — Baker attends the Norwood Hospital groundbreaking at 2:30 p.m. Polito makes a MassWorks grant announcement in Gardner at 10:30 a.m., participates in a Worcester BioLife Plasma Center Ribbon Cutting at 1:30 p.m. and tours Worcester Technical High School at 3 p.m. The MassGOP state committee meets at 6:30 p.m. in Marlborough. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com. | |
| | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 5,497 coronavirus cases over the holiday weekend, hospitalizations spike to 9-month high,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The 5,497 infection tally was down from last weekend’s three-day spike of 6,801, but testing in the days after Thanksgiving was significantly lower than last weekend. Two weekends ago the state reported 5,248 cases, and the previous weekend was 4,039 cases.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – "No answers yet on unemployment insurance trust fund," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "At a virtual meeting of a commission set up to recommend changes in the way the state handles unemployment insurance, several members of the panel said they needed basic information on the financial status of the fund in order to make decisions about its future. The Baker administration hasn’t issued a monthly financial report on the fund since June, and officials on Monday were vague about when basic information on the fund’s balance would be forthcoming." | | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “Gov. Baker: QR code vaccine passport coming soon,” by Mike Deehan, GBH News: “Gov. Charlie Baker expects a state-sanctioned COVID-19 vaccination passport program to be implemented in Massachusetts and several other states soon. During an appearance on GBH News' Boston Public Radio, Baker said a scannable quick response code, commonly known as a QR code, would show a person's vaccination status and be made available for others to scan and verify.” Baker spokesperson Terry MacCormack later clarified that the administration is “exploring a voluntary vaccine credential system” and that there are “no plans for a statewide vaccine requirement.” – More: “How vaccine passports work in other states, cities,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Use of vaccine passports is banned in 20 mostly Republican states. Ten states — New York, California, Hawaii, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Louisiana, Washington, Michigan and Minnesota — are currently using them.” – “COVID-19 booster shots are available, but appointments are scarce,” by Diti Kohli and Amanda Kaufman, Boston Globe: “Rest assured, there are booster shots aplenty. Governor Charlie Baker on Monday defended the state’s booster rollout and said officials will look to increase the number of appointments as tens of thousands of people receive the additional doses each day. … But getting on the schedule? Not an easy task. … Many of the 1,000 locations across the Commonwealth administering extra shots have little to no availability in the coming weeks.” – “New Hampshire is offering its residents free rapid COVID-19 tests. Why not Massachusetts?” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “New Hampshire began offering to send free, rapid COVID-19 tests to the homes of its residents on Monday. Countries like the United Kingdom have been doing it for months. So why isn’t Massachusetts? Gov. Charlie Baker says there simply aren’t enough testing kits — an issue he blames on the federal government’s approach to the easy-to-use, self tests. Others say the reason is a lack of political impetus.” – “How a Harvard-affiliated lab in Botswana became the first to identify the Omicron variant,” by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: “As the rows of mulitcolored letters lit up his computer screen at the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Sikhulile Moyo looked on in surprise. The letters represented the genetic codes from thousands of coronavirus samples. But one line stuck out: It looked like a swath of multiple mutations. … While other Harvard affiliates, including the Broad Institute and the major Boston hospitals, have seized the limelight in coping with COVID-19, this little-known African outpost would end up playing a critical role as the first lab to identify the new variant that has transfixed the world.” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Judge strikes down Boston’s eviction moratorium,” by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: “A state housing court judge on Monday overturned the citywide eviction moratorium then-Acting Mayor Kim Janey declared in Boston earlier this year. In response to a lawsuit filed by a Boston landlord and a constable, Judge Irene Bagdoian said the city had overstepped its public health emergency powers when the Janey administration in late August announced a blanket ban on enforcing evictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. … [Boston Mayor Michelle] Wu said Monday during a Hanukkah menorah lighting at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston that her administration will be ‘looking at all of our options’…” – "Boston moves one step closer to making three bus lines fare-free for two years," by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: "The Boston City Council moved one step closer to eliminating fares on the MBTA’s 23, 28, and 29 bus routes for two years. On Monday, the council’s COVID-19 recovery committee met to discuss a request from Mayor Michelle Wu for $8 million of the city’s federal pandemic relief money to reimburse the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for fare revenue on the three lines starting early next year. ... At Monday’s hearing, several city councilors raised the need for similar fare-free service in their districts and for low-income people citywide. ... Councilor Frank Baker, who represents most of Dorchester, said he is concerned about how the city will fund the fare-free bus service after the two-year pilot is over." | | TODAY'S SPECIAL (ELECTION) |
| – “Belsito, Snow face-off in 4th Essex special election,” by Michael Cronin, Salem News: “Democrat Jamie Belsito, of Topsfield, and Republican Robert ‘Bob’ Snow, of Rowley, are on the Nov. 30 ballot, competing to fill the remainder of state Rep. Brad Hill’s term, which expires at the end of 2022. … Gov. Charlie Baker, also a Republican, formally endorsed Snow earlier this month. … Belsito received endorsements from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, Attorney General Maura Healey, state Sen. Joan Lovely of the 2nd Essex district and state Rep. Sally Kerans of the 13th Essex, all Democrats.” | | FEELING '22 |
| – “Charlie Baker is ‘pretty close’ to decision on 2022 reelection bid, he says,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Governor Charlie Baker is ‘pretty close’ to deciding whether to seek reelection next year, the second-term Republican said Monday, while brushing off suggestions it could be as an independent candidate. ‘I said soon,’ Baker, 65, said on GBH’s ‘Boston Public Radio’ about his decision. ‘When you’re 65 years old, ‘soon’ can cover a lot of territory. . . . We’re getting pretty close.’” – “For Baker, leaving the GOP seems prudent — so why won't he do it?” by Adam Reilly, GBH News: “For Baker, there are compelling practical reasons to be wary of going the independent route — and more subjective considerations that loom large despite resisting easy quantification. … ‘My usual advice to people who come to me asking if they should run as an independent is, 'Don’t do it,'’ said Tim Cahill, the former Democratic state treasurer who ran for governor as an independent in 2010 against Baker and Deval Patrick, the Democratic incumbent.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Supreme Court rejects vaccine mandate challenge by fired Mass General Brigham employees,” by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: “The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge on Monday to Mass General Brigham's COVID vaccine mandate for staff. The suit was brought last week by employees who were fired for refusing to be vaccinated. A group of employees claimed the hospital failed to accommodate employees' religious or medical objections to vaccination, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Justice Stephen Breyer, who handles emergency cases from Massachusetts, rejected the case, choosing not to refer it to the full court.” – “Discarded Dunkin cup led police to suspect in vicious Middlesex Fells sexual assault,” by Meghan Ottolini, Boston Herald: “Police used a discarded Dunkin cup to track down and arrest a suspect in last week’s violent sexual assault on a 48-year-old woman in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, and now the Medford man is being held on multiple criminal charges pending a mental health evaluation.” | | DATELINE D.C. |
| – “In Democrats’ Build Back Better bill, an increase in a controversial limit on state and local tax deductions could help wealthier Mass. residents,” by Neya Thanikachalam, Boston Globe: “The legislation raises a limit on how much in state and local tax payments people can deduct from their federal income taxes. The state and local tax deduction —known in Washington-speak as the SALT deduction — was capped at $10,000 a year by the 2017 tax law enacted by Republicans under former president Donald Trump. … Now, the Build Back Better bill would increase the annual cap to $80,000 through 2030. In Massachusetts, many residents who itemize their taxes would be able to deduct all their state and local taxes under the increased cap.” | | THE CLARK CAUCUS |
| – MIDTERM MESSAGING: Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark knows history shows that parties in power in Washington don’t always stay in power after the midterms. But “we’re not in regular times,” Clark told business leaders at a New England Council virtual event yesterday. Clark says Democrats are working to open schools and get people vaccinated and are “providing solutions” to Americans’ problems through their infrastructure and social spending bills while “Republicans have decided to just lead with obstruction.” And she’d “take that pitch to the American people any day.” | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| – “Marijuana retailer sues city over impact fees,” by Julie Manganis, Gloucester Daily Times: “The owner of Happy Valley, the first retail marijuana dispensary to open on Cape Ann, is taking the city of Gloucester to court over what it says are excessive and illegal community impact fees it is being forced to pay to do business.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Springfield Diocese adds Joseph P. Quinlan to its roster of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse,” by Lawrence Parnass, Berkshire Eagle: “A priest who served the Diocese of Springfield from 1971 until his death in 1989 was added Monday to the list of those credibly accused of sexual abuse. The diocese listed the name of Joseph P. Quinlan on its online directory of priests and other church personnel against whom an allegation of abuse — in this instance, it was sexual abuse of a minor — has been upheld by the Review Board." | | BIDEN TIME |
| – “She has a stutter like President Biden. He gave her advice for overcoming it during his visit to Nantucket,” by Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com: “On Sunday, as President Joe Biden was headed to the airport on Nantucket after spending the Thanksgiving holiday on the island, the Nigrelli family was waving to the departing motorcade from the end of their driveway on Rabbit Run Road when the procession of SUVs came to a stop. Biden climbed out of one of the vehicles and walked over to the family. When he approached them, 9-year-old Avery spoke to the president. ‘Mr. President, I have a stutter just like you,’ she told Biden. Nigrelli told Boston.com that in response, the president quickly turned his full attention to Avery for the next 10 minutes, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye as he talked about his own stutter.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “Video that appears to show Massachusetts State Police trooper sleeping in cruiser prompts internal investigation,” by Tom Matthews, MassLive: “ A YouTube video that appears to show a Massachusetts State Police trooper sleeping in a cruiser has prompted an internal investigation, officials confirmed to MassLive. … Inside the cruiser, a trooper appears to be slouched over to the right sleeping on the center console. The man recording the video then bangs on the cruiser’s window and startles the trooper who sits upright and lowers the passenger window.” – “Framingham Mayor-elect Sisitsky announces transition committee,” by Zane Razzaq, MetroWest Daily News: “Cathy Miles, co-founder of Framingham FORCE, will serve as chairwoman of Mayor-elect Charlie Sisitsky's Transition Committee. … Intergovernmental Affairs [will be] co-chaired by state Reps. Jack Patrick Lewis and Maria Robinson.” TRANSITIONS – Christine A. Docherty has joined Nutter as a partner in its corporate and transactions department and as a member of its banking and financial services group. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to state auditor candidate Chris Dempsey, who turns 39; Larry Summers and Ben Josephson. 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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