POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: WARREN’s challengers’ cash — KENNEDY rips ‘broken’ energy market — SALES TAX history lesson
01/17/2018 07:25 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Snow expected across the state with four inches expected in Boston. Look for higher snow totals and difficult travel conditions in central and western Massachusetts.
WARREN'S CHALLENGERS' CASH - Sen. Elizabeth Warren has dropped her latest bombshell fundraising report - and while it was the senator's lowest-performing fundraising quarter of the year, it still blows her Republican challengers out of the water (at least of what we know so far).
Rep. Geoff Diehl announced yesterday his campaign had raised $1 million - but the campaign didn't specify whether that sum was raised in the last three months of 2017 ... or over the last year.
Neither of his fellow challengers, Beth Lindstrom nor John Kingston, have yet released their latest numbers. Kingston made waves this fall announcing a $3.2 million haul in October - $3 million of which came from Kingston himself. It's not yet clear how much, if any, money will come from the candidate again in the final quarter of the year. Lindstrom had raised just over $75,000 as of the October reporting deadline.
One reason why fundraising is so important for these challengers: legitimacy. Behind the scenes, these challengers are working to convince potential donors that a sizable donation to their campaign to unseat Warren is a good investment. And when poll numbers are dismal, another helpful metric showing a campaign's virility is its fundraising prowess.
Meanwhile, former Republican US Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez still has his eyes on Warren's Senate seat. But if he does decide to challenge her, he'll do it as an independent candidate.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker takes a tour of the lab attends the ribbon cutting ceremony for Indigo Agriculture's expanded research labs and office space in Charlestown - The Cannabis Control Commission meets - Boston Mayor Martin Walsh joins the Boston Bruins and the National Hockey League to name the Smith Field street hockey rink in honor of Willie O'Ree.
** A message from Atlantic Link: Atlantic Link advantage: a new, reliable source of clean energy for Massachusetts. Onshore wind, supplemented by hydropower, from Atlantic Canada. Delivered by a secure 1,000 megawatt subsea cable, connecting to existing transmission infrastructure in Plymouth, MA. Construction jobs, tax revenue and long-term community investment for Plymouth and the Commonwealth. http://politi.co/2hsN050 **
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "Finalists For Mass.' Next Ed Commissioner Are In: 1 State Receiver, And 2 Female Outsiders," by Max Larkin, WBUR: "Despite concerns that the original job description didn't require classroom experience, all three finalists have served as teachers - all as alumni of the Teach for America program - and all have advanced degrees in education."
- "Tracing The Origin Of The Massachusetts Sales Tax," by Edgar B. Herwick III, WGBH: "The sales tax went into effect on - no joke - April 1, 1966, initially as a temporary measure set to expire at the end of 1968. But opponents were not done, and gave the voters a chance to repeal the new sales tax later that year via ballot question. It backfired."
- "Baker Pitches Three-Day Holds For Overdose Patients," by Mike Deehan, WGBH: "Gov. Charlie Baker wants to further restrict the number of addictive pills doctors can prescribe and allow medical professionals to commit opiate abuse patients to involuntary treatment for three days. Baker was before lawmakers Tuesday to tout legislation he says is needed to stem tide of the opiate epidemic in Massachusetts."
TRUMPACHUSETTS -
- "'Gays for Trump': The president's small, vocal - and unlikely - fan club," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "Gay and lesbian conservatives interviewed recently in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island said they have long embraced low taxes, small government, minimal regulation, and Second Amendment rights, but some previously felt unwelcome inside the Republican tent. ... And though it may sound unlikely, some argue that President Trump has helped open GOP doors long closed to them."
DATELINE DC -
- "More Than 100 Days After CHIP Expired, Republicans Still Aren't Making It a Priority," by Joe and Lauren Kennedy, Cosmopolitan Magazine: "Millions of children and their parents wake up each morning wondering how long they'll have access to the medical care they need."
- "Rep. Jim McGovern On DACA As A Government Shutdown Looms," by Meghna Chakrabarti and Kassandra Sundt, WBUR: "Just three days away from a possible government shutdown, and yet, things feel as intractable as ever in Washington."
- "US Sen. Ed Markey says just 1 Republican vote needed in Senate effort to overturn FCC ruling, restore net neutrality rules," by Shannon Young, Masslive.com: "U.S. Sen. Ed Markey told reporters that all 47 chamber Democrats, independents U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, and Angus King, of Maine, and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, have come out in support of his Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the FCC's controversial ruling -- putting the effort just one member shy of Senate approval."
THE WARREN REPORT -
- "Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans legislation to protect states' marijuana rights," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, said Monday that she is working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to protect states' rights to legalize marijuana."
ON THE STUMP -
- "Democrats running for Massachusetts governor in 2018 want more money for public education," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "In interviews, all three of the Democrats vying to replace him said they opposed that effort to increase access to charter schools. The Democrats are Newton Mayor Setti Warren, former health insurance executive and state budget chief Jay Gonzalez and environmentalist and entrepreneur Bob Massie. All three say they are strong supporters of putting more money into the state's public education system."
- "Gubernatorial Candidate Warren Talks Opioids In Pittsfield," by Andy McKeever, iBerkshires: "The Democrat's approach to dealing with it would be based on three keys: ridding the stigma surrounding it, bringing in 'the best ideas possible,' and additional resources. He said the concept of addiction needs to be viewed more as a disease. He said there are not enough beds, stays, and time for detoxification. And it will take new ideas."
TSONGAS ARENA -
- "Two more 3rd District candidates announce fundraising numbers," by Aaron Curtis, Lowell Sun: "Two more of the 13 Democrats seeking to replace 3rd District Rep. Niki Tsongas in November have released their latest fundraising numbers: Lori Trahan, of Westford, and Beej Das, a former Andover resident who recently moved to Lowell. ... Trahan's campaign announced it has raised more than $550,000, making her the female candidate with the strongest fundraising numbers in 2017. ... Literally minutes after Trahan's press release landed, Das announced he raised $425,000 in quarter four. ... He also revealed his campaign currently has $550,000 cash on hand, a campaign press release states."
- "Legalization issue divides candidates," by Hillary Chabot, Boston Herald: "Legalized pot could become a rare wedge issue in a crowded Democratic primary where candidates seem mainly focused on criticizing President Trump. Steve Kerrigan, a former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, also stopped short of backing legalized marijuana across the country."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "TWO MUCH!" - Globe: "Democrats ponder a GOP strategy," "Bannon subpoenaed in Mueller's Russia probe," "'These are reviews on victims of human trafficking,'" "Chief executive opens the door to GE breakup," "With snow days, they're always open to criticism," "Hall of Famer Jo Jo White dies at 71."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Troopergate cop books Worcester prosecutor on OUI charge," by Owen Boss and Meghan Ottolini, Boston Herald: "The lawyer for a statie caught up in the Troopergate scandal says his client woke up 'nervous' yesterday after signing off on an explosive report detailing the drunken driving arrest of a Worcester prosecutor."
- "Broken energy market leaves Mass. consumers in the cold," by Joe Kennedy III, The Herald News : "Capacity markets have wholly failed to ensure this region has reliable energy sources at a cost families and businesses can afford. Of course reliability is important - the lights must turn on - but reliability at any cost isn't reliable at all. Capacity markets have encouraged more natural gas plants to enter the market, but with power generators and home heating systems competing, natural gas prices jumped 90 percent between Wednesday and Thursday of last week and 1200 percent from early December. At the same time, our grid was forced to turn to dirtier sources of energy, fueling over 30 percent of its electric supply by oil. If this pressure continues it's likely many generators will shatter their state greenhouse gas emission limits for the year."
- "Compressor station foes encouraged by feds' response to New York project," by Jessica Trufant, Patriot Ledger: "Opponents of a proposed North Weymouth natural-gas compressor station say federal regulators' failure to overrule state officials who rejected a permit for a pipeline in New York offers hope for stopping the project."
- "Power generators contest state greenhouse gas rules," by David Abel, Boston Globe: "In a motion filed in Suffolk Superior Court Tuesday, the New England Power Generators Association and the owner of the Canal Generating Plant on Cape Cod sought to rescind the state restrictions, calling them 'arbitrary and capricious.'"
- "Looking Inside the Lottery: Scratching the Itch," by WCVB: "Full 70% of the Massachusetts State Lottery's sales come from "Instant Games" which many of us know as Scratch Tickets."
- "A new Dunkin' in Quincy, without the 'Donuts,'" by Margeaux Sippell, Boston Globe: "Located about 1 mile from where the first one opened in Quincy 68 years ago, this one is decidedly more modern, with an open layout and more natural lighting, a grab-and-go station with healthier options, pickup stations for orders via the mobile app, and eventually, digital kiosks for ordering."
- "Illicit Massage Parlors Are Across Massachusetts. Why Is Police Action So Rare?" by Jennifer McKim and Phillip Martin, WGBH: "Healey said her office will continue to go after the massage businesses described on the review boards. But even when law enforcement moves against erotic massage parlors, conviction of alleged traffickers is no slam dunk. The women, many of them fearful of deportation and unable to speak English, often make reluctant and poor witnesses. After being questioned, they often leave the state. The New England Center's efforts to reach alleged victims from recent busts proved unsuccessful."
- "Despite roadblocks, popularity of tiny homes continues on Cape," by K.C. Myers, Cape Cod Times: "The tiny home movement has really taken off, except that no one on Cape Cod or the Islands has been able to legally live in one. ... Even on Nantucket, which passed a bylaw allowing tiny homes in 2016, none have been permitted because state building codes still make them illegal, said Andrew Vorce, Nantucket's town planner."
- "14-mile dike could protect Greater Boston from sea level rise," by Peter Papesch, Franziska Amacher, and A. Vernon Woodworth, CommonWealth Magazine: "We offer a more ambitious protective option than any proposed so far by the local governments of the metro Boston estuary. We call it Metro Boston DikeLANDS, and we believe it is more practical and creative and has the potential to provide a significant return on the enormous investment required, unlike the other options discussed."
REST IN PEACE - "City Mourns Loss of Planning Board Member Stephanie Mercandetti," by Charlene Arsenault, Framingham Patch: "Mercandetti was a member of the board since 2012, a resident of Framingham, and worked as the economic development director for the town of Medway."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to former Sen. Paul Kirk who turns 80, David Jacobs, publisher of the Boston Guardian, and Shane Cardillo, senior analyst at Hamilton Lane
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! - The Celtics fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 116-113.
FRESH OUT OF THE GATE - THE FIRST HORSE RACE EPISODE OF 2018: We're back in the saddle with the Massachusetts campaigns podcast hosted by yours truly and MassINC Polling Group's Steve Koczela. It's a new year and a new season, and we're out the gate with the first WBUR poll of the year. We've got the zesty details on Baker, Warren and Trump, plus a status report on 2018's major races already underway. AND for those loyal trivia fans, we're rocking an MBTA theme. Send your answer on a BigNToasted sandwich for bragging rights. Subscribe and listen to our past episodes on iTunes and Sound Cloud
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** A message from Atlantic Link: The Atlantic Link advantage: delivering a new, reliable source of clean energy directly to Massachusetts for a delivered price that remains fixed for 20 years. It's a reliable, cost-effective solution to help the Commonwealth meet its energy diversity and greenhouse gas reduction goals. Atlantic Link is a proposed 1,000 megawatt subsea cable, securely and reliably delivering onshore wind energy, supplemented by hydropower, directly to Plymouth, MA from Atlantic Canada. The subsea cable will connect to the grid using existing infrastructure that is currently tied to the Pilgrim Nuclear Station, which will close in 2019. Atlantic Link is the only clean energy project delivering to Massachusetts more than 200 jobs during construction. The only clean energy project delivering $2.5 million a year in tax revenue to the Town of Plymouth. Projected in-state capital investment of $260 million. And a commitment of $15 million to support low-income energy programs in the Commonwealth. http://politi.co/2hsN050 **
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