Warren gets back into campaign mode

From: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook - Friday Jan 20,2023 12:20 pm

Jan 20, 2023

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2024 WATCH — Elizabeth Warren is reaching out to current and former aides to discuss campaign strategy as the state’s senior senator prepares to run for a third term, a person familiar with the conversations told Playbook.

The person described Warren as energized by Democrats’ better-than-expected performance in the midterms and her legislative wins last Congress, which ranged from a 15 percent corporate minimum tax to over-the-counter hearing aids.

Warren, who’s been out of the public eye as she recovers from what an aide said was minor foot surgery, appeared on GBH’s “Greater Boston” last night to tease that a formal campaign announcement is coming “sometime soon.”

Warren’s been talking about her reelection intentions since at least May 2021. But it’s getting to be time to make it official. One of her protégés, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), has already jumped into that state’s Senate primary. One of her colleagues, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), is expected to announce today whether he’ll run again. And for reference, Warren announced her 2018 reelection campaign in a January 2017 message to supporters.

Her ramp-up could also help quell the persistent rumors — or, perhaps, wishes from some in the state’s deep Democratic bench — that, despite what she keeps saying, Warren might not run for reelection. Ambitious Democrats could get an opening if Warren, say, makes another play for a Cabinet position (it’s easier with Democrats holding the Senate, White House and Massachusetts governor’s office), or runs for president again (Warren says President Joe Biden “should” seek a second term). But that looks unlikely between Warren’s pending reelection bid and Sen. Ed Markey pledging to seek reelection in 2026.

Two things to keep in mind: Warren hasn’t run a campaign in Massachusetts since finishing third in the state’s 2020 presidential primary. And she rankled some of her supporters by backing Shannon Liss-Riordan for attorney general over eventual winner Andrea Campbell in a deeply bitter primary that divided the state’s top progressives.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Lawmakers have filed some 4,000 bills and counting ahead of this afternoon's deadline on Beacon Hill.

Among those to keep an eye on: State Rep. Jim O’Day and state Sen. Jo Comerford refiled bills to allow medical aid-in-dying. State Rep. Mike Connolly filed legislation to establish a corporate minimum tax, similar to Warren's at the federal level. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr filed a bill to cap the state income tax, per the Boston Herald’s Matthew Medgser.

And state Sen. John Keenan and state Rep. Patrick Kearney filed legislation to include legislative employees among the public employees who are authorized to collectively bargain, marking the latest step in staffers' push to unionize.

Have a bill Playbook should highlight? Email me at lkashinsky@politico.com. And then scroll down for more.

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speak at the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s annual meeting at 9:30 a.m. at the Hynes Convention Center. Healey speaks at the inauguration of MassArt President Mary Grant at 11 a.m. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at the MMA’s Women Elected Municipal Officials luncheon at noon at the Hynes. Rep. Jim McGovern announces federal funding at African Community Education in Worcester at 9:30 a.m.

THIS WEEKEND — Driscoll, Warren and Markey address the MMA meeting on Saturday at the Hynes. Rep. Stephen Lynch is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Treasurer Deb Goldberg is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday.

A message from NextEra Energy:

A Beacon Research poll of Massachusetts’ voters conducted in July 2022 showed that a majority support the use of clean, low-cost, carbon-emissions free nuclear energy to fight climate change. Over 70% of informed voters support including nuclear energy to fight rising energy costs and climate change.

TAXACHUSETTS

— THE NEW FRONTIER IN THE 62F FIGHT: A handful of progressive lawmakers say they have new fodder in their fight to change Chapter 62F: the millionaires tax.

Worried that new revenue from the Fair Share Amendment could potentially trigger 62F again, state Rep. Mike Connolly and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge have filed companion bills to repeal the law voters passed in the 1980s to limit how much revenue the state can collect per year and require it to return any excess.

Connolly and Eldridge have tried to tinker with 62F before. Connolly last fall proposed rejiggering the returns by capping how much money the state’s wealthiest taxpayers would receive and redistributing the excess to lower-income people. Eldridge was among the handful of progressives who joined that failed fight.

Now, the two argue, millionaires tax revenues could add more volatility to an already “regressive” repayment system that “disproportionately” benefits the rich under its current formula. And they worry triggering 62F again could siphon money from the new tax away from its intended purpose — to fund more investments in transportation and education.

State Rep. Jim O’Day shares that concern. But his bill, mirrored by Senate legislation from Jason Lewis, aims to address it by keeping millionaires tax revenues out of the equation that can lead to triggering 62F.

House Speaker Ron Mariano has said he expects to discuss changes to 62F as the session gets going, but hasn’t given any indication of where he stands beyond that.

It’s even less clear what Gov. Maura Healey thinks about tinkering with or tossing the old law. When Playbook asked the governor this week, she said she’d “need to take a look at anything that’s filed.”

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Governor Healey wants to ‘drive economic development.’ Her first bill puts $1 billion toward that goal,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey announced Thursday that she is filing her first two pieces of legislation, one of which is a $987 million 'immediate needs' bond bill targeting housing and economic development. The wide-ranging, nearly billion-dollar ‘immediate needs’ bond bill would dedicate $400 million for MassWorks, a program created in 2010 that makes grants available to cities and towns for infrastructure projects.”

— THE VIEW FROM OUT WEST: WAMC’s Josh Landes brings the local lens to Healey’s first trip to western Massachusetts since taking her oath of office.

“So far, Healey has only appointed one cabinet member with Western Massachusetts ties — Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development Yvonne Hao, who graduated from Williams College and owns a home in Williamstown. WAMC asked the governor if she would continue to hold to a November commitment she made in Pittsfield after her victory to have representatives from the region in her administration.”

— MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS: Healey is considering filing legislation to help deal with the state’s influx of migrants after Charlie Baker wasn’t able to get his $139 million spending plan to expand the state’s emergency shelter system and provide other aid through the Legislature at the end of last session.

Healey told Playbook this week that “it’s an issue that we’re looking at right now, what’s happening with resources there, and we’ll make some determinations going forward.” Asked if she might file her own funding legislation, separate from her upcoming budget, Healey said that “could be” her course of action.

Senior members of Healey's team also met with Boston officials yesterday for an “initial conversation” on how the administration “can provide assistance to migrant arrivals in Boston,” according to Healey spokesperson Jillian Fennimore. Boston housing chief Sheila Dillon was among the participants, Axios’ Steph Solis first reported.

— “New legislation would boost nurse-to-patient ratios in Mass.,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: “Legislation to be filed this week by State Rep. Natalie Higgins and State Sen. Lydia Edwards would require the Department of Public Health to develop minimum staffing levels for all areas of the hospital, with input from a series of public hearings.”

— “FanDuel, DraftKings approved for temporary sports betting licenses ahead of March,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “State regulators gave all six companies that applied to offer mobile sports betting not tied to a brick-and-mortar an initial green light Thursday afternoon, finding them preliminarily suitable for a temporary license.”

— “Gas safety rules get pushback from industry,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune

— "Massachusetts salary database: See lawmakers, staffers who earned the most in 2022," by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive.

A message from NextEra Energy:

PARTY POLITICS

— COALESCING AROUND CARNEVALE: Jon Fetherston, an Ashland Republican Town Committee member and podcast host who had been angling for MassGOP chair, is now backing state committeewoman Amy Carnevale for the post. He told Playbook he’ll be a local candidate recruiter for her if she wins.

Carnevale has been amassing a coalition of big-name Republicans who she told POLITICO are willing to work with her to recruit candidates and bring back donors who’ve fled the party under current Chair Jim Lyons. Carnevale's list includes former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson, former GOP U.S. Senate candidate Beth Lindstrom and former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

WHAT CITY HALL IS READING

— WATCH: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu give an update to the U.S. Conference of Mayors on progress her administration has made connecting people at Mass and Cass to housing and services. Her speech starts 45 minutes in.

— “City Councilor Julia Mejia files defamation lawsuit against website operator,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia has filed a defamation and libel suit against the operator of a website who uses the brand name Turtleboy, alleging he knowingly published false statements about her last year and in 2021. Aidan Kearney, who runs the website and social media accounts under the Turtleboy brand, is the sole defendant named in the lawsuit, which Mejia filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court.” More from Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin.

— “City Hall and Beacon Hill brace for rent control debate,” by Saraya Wintersmith and Katie Lannan, GBH News: “A day after preliminary details of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s long-awaited local rent control policy emerged, elected officials who may soon vote on the issue have begun contending with what it will ultimately look like. Boston councilors are debating if the mayor’s ideas go too far, or far enough — and if they ultimately approve it, it will reach a state Legislature that has historically opposed reviving rent stabilization.”

— “Boston to study converting downtown office space to residential,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Want to live in a skyscraper? Your lofty dreams might be a step closer after the city’s planning agency agreed to spend $100,000 to take a look at converting downtown office space to residential uses.”

— THE RACE FOR CITY HALL: “Unions funnel money to District 3 candidates,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “New Orange Line trains back in service after axle replacements, T says,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe.

— “MBTA stepping up efforts to halt Green Line speeding,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine.

— “MBTA struggling to hire bus drivers: $4,500 signing bonus among perks,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald.

MARKEYCHUSETTS

— “Putin ally warns of nuclear threat, Markey pushes back,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “The former Russian President and current deputy chairman of the Russian security council said in a social media post Thursday that Russia’s defeat in the war with Ukraine could trigger a nuclear conflict. … U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School, said diplomacy must be ‘front and center’ when it comes to negotiating around nuclear arms with Russia and other burgeoning nuclear powers.”

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

— "Northampton sets limit on cannabis shops, a first for this dispensary hub," by Will Katcher, MassLive

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “New Bedford fishing industry considers compensation for offshore wind's impact,” by Kathryn Gallerani, Standard-Times

— “Two key Attleboro officials heading to sheriff's department,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle

A message from NextEra Energy:

Affordable, carbon-emissions free, reliable electricity from nuclear energy. Seabrook Station lowers consumer energy costs in Massachusetts and New England by providing a year-round, low-cost, baseload energy supply. And American-made nuclear energy supports hundreds of jobs across New England.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — The Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation has hired Meaghan Callahan as senior policy researcher and Pablo Suarez as policy researcher.

— Former Acting Gov. Jane Swift and Eugenia Gibbons, an expert in clean energy policy and programming, will serve as Frederick E. Berry Institute of Politics fellows at Salem State University during the spring semester.

— BPDA alum Eileen Brophy has joined Nutter’s real estate department and development, land use and permitting practice group.

— Kat Cline is now director of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus.

— Carrie Katan is now a policy advocate at Green Energy Consumers Alliance. She was previously Massachusetts state manager at Climate XChange.

— Molly Wilson Chung and Steven E. Maalouf are now partners in Casner & Edwards’s family law group.

— Shane Dunn is the new chief advancement officer at Rosie’s Place in Boston. He is also the newly elected board president of the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.

— Maeve McNamara has been promoted to be scheduler/legislative aide for Rep. Stephen Lynch. She most recently a staff assistant.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Serena McMahon and Liam O’Connor.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Molly Trowbridge, Jeremy Jacobs and Diego Sanchez, a Massachusetts Democratic State Committee member and Barney Frank alum, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Lauren DeFilippo, state Rep. Josh Cutler, Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner and former state Rep. Brad Hill, Sarah Mattero, Carson McGrath, Stephen Glick and Gail Shalan.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: OFF THE RAILS — Hosts Lisa Kashinsky and Jennifer Smith dive into Kashinsky’s interview with Gov. Maura Healey. Then, Steve Koczela joins to talk with Boston Globe transportation reporter Taylor Dolven about MBTA subway car assembly woes. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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