Walsh shoots his shot with the NHLPA

From: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook - Wednesday Feb 08,2023 12:32 pm

Feb 08, 2023

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BOSTON YOU’RE MY HOME — Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is shipping back up to Boston, though he never really left.

Walsh is set to exit the Biden administration to lead the NHL Players’ Association, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to POLITICO. A separate person said Tuesday that the two sides were still in contract negotiations. Daily Faceoff first reported the move, saying that Walsh’s interest in the position grew after he was passed over as the president’s next chief of staff.

He’s getting quite the sendoff. Walsh was the designated survivor for last night’s State of the Union address. He’ll also be the first statutory Cabinet secretary to leave the Biden administration.

Why is the NHLPA job so appealing to someone whose pre-political labor background was primarily in the building trades? Beyond the fact that Walsh loves hockey:

— MONEY TALKS: Walsh was earning a little more than $200,000 as labor secretary. The person he’d be replacing as head of the NHLPA was reportedly making about $3 million.

— LOCATION, LOCATION: The labor secretary never moved to Washington, D.C. Instead, he paid out of pocket for flights and hotels to commute back and forth from Dorchester. He’ll reportedly be able to stay in Boston if he takes the NHLPA gig, which means more Dunks. But also…

— THE LOCAL ANGLE: Back in Boston and free of the Hatch Act, Walsh could get more directly involved in local politics again. Being labor secretary also gave Walsh a national platform and political connections across the country that he could leverage if he ever runs for higher office — say for governor, which he’s considered before, or perhaps for Senate, if Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey go back on their pledges to run again. Keep an eye on Walsh’s campaign bank account going forward; he still has a whopping $4.6 million in his coffers.

Walsh has played a high-profile role for the Biden administration in labor disputes. But his track record, particularly with the railroads, is mixed. He'll face a whole new set of challenges in his next gig. And the Daily Beast reports one potential issue that’s already emerging: Walsh’s ties to Bruins owner and NHL Board of Governors Chair Jeremy Jacobs, who, along with his family, has donated thousands of dollars to Walsh’s campaign committee over the years.

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Our all-Democratic congressional delegation certainly liked what they heard in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last night.

Warren cheered Biden’s call to pass a billionaire minimum tax, Reps. Seth Moulton and Ayanna Pressley lauded his talk of more mental health supports for everyone from children to veterans, and several members applauded his renewed push for universal pre-K.

Biden’s call to do more to protect children’s privacy online also gives momentum to the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act that Markey plans to reintroduce, my POLITICO colleague Alfred Ng reports.

But some of Biden’s big proposals will run into roadblocks in the Republican-controlled House. And even as Biden called for bipartisanship, he visibly delighted at points in ribbing the Republicans who heckled him during his speech. Scroll down for more coverage.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs her first Governor’s Council meeting at noon. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on El Mundo's La Hora del Café at 7:30 a.m. and addresses the New England Council at 9 a.m. at the Seaport Hotel.

Tips? Scoops? SOTU takeaways? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

A message from NextEra Energy:

A Beacon Research Poll shows that a majority of Massachusetts voters support clean, low-cost nuclear energy as a tool to fight climate change. Support for nuclear increases beyond 70% as people learn more.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Massachusetts Senate leaders making push to abolish term limits on chamber’s president,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “A top deputy to Massachusetts Senate President Karen E. Spilka is pushing a proposal to abolish limits on the chamber’s leader, a move that could end a decades-long cap on power on Beacon Hill and extend Spilka’s reign indefinitely. State Senator Michael Rodrigues, the chamber’s budget chief, filed an amendment to the Senate’s proposed rules package seeking to eliminate a provision that says no senator in the 40-member body can hold the president’s office ‘for more than 8 consecutive years.’ The move surprised several Senate members, who told the Globe on Tuesday they were not part of internal discussions before it was filed. But others in the chamber quickly backed the idea, including the chairwoman of the chamber’s rules committee.”

— “Lawmakers propose different safety watchdogs for MBTA,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Two Massachusetts lawmakers disagree on which agency should assume safety oversight of the MBTA, but they agree on one thing: The T’s watchdog should no longer be the Department of Public Utilities.”

— “Sports Betting Compliance Called Into Question After One Week,” by Colin A. Young, State House News Service (paywall): “Legal sports betting has been live in Massachusetts for one week and the Mass. Gaming Commission is apparently already investigating whether two of the three sportsbooks in the state have violated its rules around what events can and cannot be wagered on."

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SURVEY SAYS: A new UMass Lowell national survey ahead of the Super Bowl shows Americans are split over whether sports betting should be legal, with 31 percent in favor of it and 31 percent opposed. Intriguingly for gauging interest in our budding industry, only 15 percent of respondents said they had bet on a sporting event in the past five years. The poll conducted in late January will be posted on UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion website later today.

— “Mass. House blasted for ignoring amendments to make committee votes public,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle: “The Massachusetts Statehouse is consistently ranked among the least transparent in the country, according publicintegrity.org. And House lawmakers didn’t do anything to change that reputation last week when they ignored two rules amendments that would have made all committee votes public, according to the group Act on Mass.”

JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, presented by Cisco, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.

FROM THE HUB

— “Wu reveals members of the new Boston Reparations Task Force,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “Mayor Michelle Wu revealed Tuesday the members of Boston’s Reparations Task Force, setting the stage for the panel charged with guiding the city’s response to the historic impacts of slavery on the city's Black American population. … The 10-member panel will be chaired by attorney Joseph Feaster Jr., former president of the NAACP Boston branch and a current member of the city’s Black Men and Boys Commission.”

— “Boston plans to launch pilot program offering free menstrual products in city buildings,” by Tiana Woodard, Boston Globe: “As Boston prepares a pilot program that would offer free menstrual products in the city’s public buildings, three city councilors are pushing for the city to widen its focus by including contraceptive methods such as condoms and Plan B into the program. City Councilor Gabriela Coletta has refiled a hearing order, with Councilors Ruthzee Louijeune and Ricardo Arroyo as co-sponsors, to try and persuade the city’s Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy to add contraceptives to the program, which is aimed to start up in the upcoming months.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “State Report Blasts MBTA Contractor,” by Dan Atkinson, Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism: “The private company hired to run the MBTA’s Transit Police dispatch never met requirements for fast responses to calls, reduced its staffing levels without reducing its pay rate, and billed nearly $700,000 more than its initial contract despite not completing all the services outlined in that contract, according to a scathing report released by the state a month ago — but the T has already re-hired the company.”

— “MassDOT reimbursed over $3.5M from FEMA for COVID costs,” by Ryan Mancini, MassLive: “The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced on Wednesday it would reimburse the Massachusetts Department of Transportation more than $3.5 million for what was spent on protective gear during the COVID-19 pandemic. … Massachusetts has received more than $1.5 billion in public assistance grants from FEMA to reimburse for pandemic-related expenses, FEMA said.”

A message from NextEra Energy:

TODAY'S SPECIAL (ELECTION)

— THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG: Former Gov. Charlie Baker and former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito are wading back into politics just over a month after they left office. The pair have endorsed fellow Republican and Attleboro Acting Mayor Jay DiLisio to replace former Mayor Paul Heroux, who’s now the Bristol County sheriff. Heroux, a Democrat, is backing City Councilor Cathleen DeSimone, The Sun Chronicle reported. The special election is Feb. 28.

DATELINE D.C.

— “What Biden said — and what he meant,” by Eli Stokols, POLITICO: “Listen closely to Biden’s 73-minute speech, and there were hints that he’s gearing up for a year of difficult investigations and the rough and tumble politics of the coming campaign.”

— “The 9 big policy ideas that Biden hit during his speech,” by Adam Cancryn, POLITICO.

— "Romney told Santos ‘You don’t belong here’ in tense exchange in House chamber before SOTU," by Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju, CNN.

— “Jill Biden State of the Union guests include Northampton couple who won right to marry,” by Will Katcher, MassLive.

— "President Biden, in State of the Union, acknowledges New Hampshire father whose daughter died from fentanyl," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe.

FROM THE 413

— “Lederman Is in for Mayor, Ensuring Springfield Its Most Rollicking Race in Decades,” by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass. Politics & Insight: “The race for mayor of Springfield shifted into a higher gear with the entry of a third top-tier candidate Jesse Lederman, the Council President and three-term at-large councilor, declared his candidacy in a Tuesday morning press release and video. Although the race already had enough candidates to require a preliminary, Lederman’s entry means three prominent pols will be in the first-round of this contest for Springfield’s highest office.”

— More: “Springfield mayoral candidate Jesse Lederman plans to focus on neighborhood quality, re-envision economic development if elected,” by Jonah Snowden, Springfield Republican.

DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “SNAP 'appalled' by Worcester Diocese abuse report that doesn't name accused priests,” by Marco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette: “An advocacy group for survivors of sexual abuse by priests has condemned the Diocese of Worcester's updated report on cleric abuse throughout the diocese's history because it does not name accused clerics. In a news release, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the diocese and Bishop Robert J. McManus' practice of not naming priests leaves uncertainty in parishioners.”

— “Lawrence mayor dismisses chief of staff after child pornography arrest,” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “Mayor Brian DePena's chief of staff, Jhovanny Martes-Rosario, admitted to troopers to ‘searching for and downloading’ child pornography to his personal iPad, according to a report. Martes-Rosario was arrested on child pornography charges Monday night at this home by state police.”

MEDIA MATTERS

— “WBUR news anchor Jack Lepiarz signs off. His next act? Performing in the circus full time,” by Shannon Larson, Boston Globe.

A message from NextEra Energy:

Registered voters in Massachusetts show a clear interest in leveraging nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, according to a recent Beacon Research survey. The survey focused on the state’s energy resources, specifically how nuclear energy can be incorporated to reach long-term clean energy goals.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Jon Kujala is now COO of ALKU.

— Janice Phillips is now district director for state Sen. Barry Finegold; Erin Olivieri is now legislative director; Yvette Sei is comms director; and Olivia Retschle is a legislative aide.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Gov. Maura Healey, Ben Stevens of Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Jacob Foose and Larry Ruttman.

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