POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A SENATE transition unlike any other – WARREN will serve full term – CDC investigating HIV uptick
A SENATE transition unlike any other – WARREN will serve full term – CDC investigating HIV uptick
04/06/2018 07:06 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Brent D. Griffiths (bgriffiths@politico.com; @BrentGriffiths)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Welcome to Friday.
A TRANSITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER - After a spate of unflattering headlines, state Senate President Harriette Chandler and Senate President-in-waiting and Ways and Means Chair Karen Spilka have publicly agreed on a transition date to pass the gavel.
The transition's timing - the week of July 23rd, the final week of formal session for the year - left some scratching their heads. As MassLive's Gin Dumcius put it on Twitter, that's the week "when a crazy amount of bills are flying back and forth, people running down the halls with documents, cats and dogs living together."
Chandler and Spilka's teams are less concerned about that mass hysteria, saying that window allows Spilka to play an active role in the Senate's budget process while also having the time to get comfortable in her role as Senate president before formal sessions wrap up for the year.
"Doing this at the end of July, before formal sessions were complete and when the budget and most legislative business is over gives the body a unique opportunity to ensure Spilka can begin her term, ramp up before the next session, and still ensure that most of the business of this session is complete," Chandler's deputy chief of staff Scott Zoback told me.
Spilka adviser Dave Guarino says that specific week would "ensure the kind of seamless and orderly transition they have both discussed."
Until this point, that transition hasn't publicly come across as seamless and orderly. Chandler had initially announced in February she planned to hold onto the presidency until new senators are sworn in in January 2019, only to have Spilka announce in March she had the votes to become Senate President - and wanted to attain the gavel sooner than January.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - Sen. Elizabeth Warren will preview a $100 billion bill aimed at tackling the opioid crisis and addiction while visiting the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program this afternoon - Rep. Katherine Clark joins MGH leadership and Revere Public School administrators on a tour of the School Based Health Center at Revere High School - The UMass Board of Trustees meet in Amherst, with discussion to include the potential acquisition of Newton's Mt. Ida College.
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "NDAs and Confidential Settlements Shake State Capitols and City Halls," by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, Governing.com: "It was recently revealed that many of Donald Trump's top advisers were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), forcing them to keep quiet about what happens in the White House - even after his presidency ends. Secret agreements have also generated controversy in Massachusetts state government. There, The Boston Globe has made a public records request for copies of 33 confidential settlements signed by House Speaker Robert DeLeo since 2010."
** A message from Bay State Wind - the Clear Choice for Massachusetts: Only Bay State Wind has the experience, expertise and record it takes to launch the American offshore wind industry here in the Commonwealth. We are the clear choice for highly complex projects, bringing jobs and cost-effective offshore wind to Massachusetts. More at baystatewind.com. **
DATELINE DC -
- "Attorney General Maura Healey, other states sue EPA for not enforcing pollution controls," by Shannon Young, MassLive.com: "Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joined more than a dozen states and the city of Chicago Thursday in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its control of methane emissions."
- "Richard Neal: Advocating for unions that advocate for workers," by Richard Neal, the Berkshire Eagle: "Unions fight for freedoms for everyone. But currently in the Supreme Court, a case named Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 is attempting to limit those freedoms, divide working people and constrain unions' power in numbers. It also threatens to hurt the economy even further by placing downward pressure on wages."
WARREN REPORT -
- "Warren: I'll serve my full Senate term if reelected," from yours truly: "Elizabeth Warren said she would serve her full six-year term in the Senate if reelected this November. The Massachusetts Democrat had notably dodged the question in a March 11 interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press," fanning speculation about her 2020 plans even as she told host Chuck Todd that she was not running for president."
ON THE STUMP -
- "He left the GOP over Trump. Now he wants to be a senator, and he's changed his tune," by Frank Phillips, Boston Globe: "Two years ago, there was no more virulent anti-Trump Republican than John Kingston. But that was then. Now, as he courts the GOP's support to challenge US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Kingston is trying persuade state convention delegates that he really was not in such a fury over the party's nomination of Donald Trump."
- "Democratic candidates for governor aren't getting much help from party leaders against Baker," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "For months now, the three Democrats running for governor have crisscrossed Massachusetts, arguing that voters should fire Republican Governor Charlie Baker. It's an argument that, for the most part, their fellow Democrats on Beacon Hill have not echoed."
- "Setti Warren: Standing Up for What is Right," by Setti Warren, Blue Mass Group: "Earlier this week, both houses of the Massachusetts legislature passed a criminal justice reform bill. Nearly all of the bill is excellent and some great advocates and good Democrats worked very hard on it for a long time. ... I had to tell my friends in the legislature, many of whom I admire greatly, that I would have vetoed their bill if I were governor. I could not in good conscience sign any bill that creates new mandatory minimum sentences. They are discriminatory, ineffective, and lead to mass incarceration ."
- "Congressional challenger Amatul-Wadud says Neal's seniority won't help his district," by Dave Eisenstadter, Valley Advocate: "Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, a Democratic primary challenger to longtime Congressman Richard Neal, is attacking her opponent from an unlikely angle - his seniority. 'It is a myth to think that once he is chair [Neal would likely be appointed chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee if Democrats retake the House] we will benefit,' Amatul-Wadud said in an interview, citing statistics that the First Congressional District, in which Neal serves, has the lowest median income in the state and the second highest unemployment rate."
- Democracy for America endorses Donna Patalano for Middlesex District Attorney, from the Patalano campaign: "Democracy for America announced the first ten endorsements on a new criminal justice reform-focused slate of progressive candidates for sheriff, District Attorney, and judge in communities across the country."
TSONGAS ARENA -
ENDORSEMENT WATCH - State Representative Stephan Hay (3rd Worcester) has endorsed Rufus Gifford in the open 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary, per the Gifford campaign. His legislative district includes Fitchburg and one precinct of Lunenberg.
MOULTON MATTERS -
- "New House Bills Take Aim at Foreign Propaganda," by Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Elias Groll, Robbie Gramer, Foreign Policy Magazine: "A pair of bills expected to be introduced in Congress on Tuesday aim to increase transparency requirements for foreign media outlets and government-backed institutions vying for influence in the United States ... The first such measure [introduced by Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY)] the Countering Foreign Propaganda Act of 2018, would require government-controlled foreign media outlets with U.S. operations to file semiannual disclosures to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and to include conspicuous announcements informing American consumers of the foreign government funding the content."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "'DAY OF RECKONING'" - Globe: "CDC to investigate Mass. HIV outbreak," "OPENING IN STYLE," "Closing the book on 'Our Bodies,'" "MBTA points to absent drivers as bus troubles persist," "Potential ALS treatment sparks cautious hope as drug trial starts," "In Springfield, sanctuary is put to the test," "For tech firms, playtime no longer works."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Canceled MBTA bus trips on rise as absenteeism increases among drivers," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Frustrated by the decline in bus reliability, the MBTA is reviewing attendance and medical leave policies, and is planning to hire dozens of new drivers."
- "CDC helping investigate recent surge in Bay State HIV infections," by 7News WHDH Boston: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping the state's Department Public Health investigate an outburst of new HIV infections in Massachusetts among residents who inject drugs and experience homelessness, the agency said in a statement Thursday."
- "Mass. Judge Pleads To Keep Job Amid Sex Scandal," by Chris Villani, Law360.com: "A Massachusetts judge told the state's highest court he made a mistake when he engaged in an ongoing sexual affair with a court worker, but said the commission tasked with supervising judges' conduct went too far in suggesting he face the risk of losing his job, according to a filing Law360 obtained Wednesday. Judge Thomas Estes admits he had a sexual relationship with Tammy Cagle, a court clinician assigned to his Western Massachusetts drug court, including numerous sexual encounters in his chambers."
- "Mass students behind March for Our Lives have planned multiple town halls," by Kristin Toussaint, Metro US: "The Massachusetts students who organized the recent March for Our Lives have planned another activist event: Town Hall for Our Lives. Working with March For Our Lives Boston and Stop Handgun Violence, students have organized five town halls to take place this Saturday, April 7."
- "Judge dismisses more than 7,000 Amherst drug lab cases," by Shawn Musgrave, Boston Globe: "On Thursday, the state's top court issued yet another sweeping dismissal order stemming from misconduct by a former chemist at the Amherst drug lab and two former state prosecutors. The order vacates an estimated 11,000 convictions in 7,700 criminal cases, the majority of them from Hampden County."
- "Alexa, Amazon's virtual assistant, coming aboard ambulances," by Alana Levene, Boston Globe: "Alexa, Amazon's voice assistant, may soon be called upon to assist EMTs and other ambulance personnel in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Brewster Ambulance Service, a private company based in Weymouth, is preparing to pair Amazon Echo Dots, the device that uses Alexa's voice control software, with reference manuals already on board ambulances, the company said."
- "Keep pressing for progress, Michelle Obama says," by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: "'We are at a point in time when we have to figure out who we want to be as a nation, and we have had two stark examples of what we want to be. I know what I want to be,'' she said, citing a country built on compassion, generosity, and goodwill. 'We got to fight for that vision.'"
- "The Herald's phantom editorial page," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "But an intriguing mystery about the paper's editorials has arisen. Though newspaper editorials are traditionally unsigned, they reflect the views of the editor of the page, who is often listed on a newspaper's masthead. In the three weeks since Cohen and Mehegan left, however, the masthead has listed no editorial page editor."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Rep. Shawn Dooley of Norfolk, WBZ digital media producer Neal J. Riley, and John Ratzenberger, who played Cliff Clavin on Cheers.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to Watertown state Rep. Jonathan Hecht, pride of Great Barrington and POLITICO's own Daniel Lippman, BRA Community Affairs Liaison Mark McGonagle, Zak Doenmez of Sen. Warren's office (h/t Legistorm), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren's regional director Jeremiah Montgomery Thompson, who all celebrate on Saturday. Kesley Schiller, communications director for state Rep. Kate Hogan, and Lowell Sun scribe Chris Lisinski, celebrate Sunday.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes and no! The Red Sox edged out the Rays 3-2, but the Bruins fell just short against the Panthers 3-2. The B's close out the regular season this weekend.
FRESH OUT OF THE GATE - THE LATEST HORSE RACE PODCAST EPISODE: Former State Senator Ben Downing is back! He reappears this week as the body's mountain of bad press has us testing a State Senate Chaos Theory. Then we look west with Matt Szafranski of Western Massachusetts Politics & Insight, checking in on the unexpected primary challenge to Former Senate President Stan Rosenberg. Plus, it's almost caucus time! Steve and Lauren break down what it means when the largest number of delegates are "uncommitted." Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud
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