POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: WELD’s Libertarian boost — DENTAL compromise — PATRIOTS congratulate freed MEEK MILL

WELD’s Libertarian boost — DENTAL compromise — PATRIOTS congratulate freed MEEK MILL

04/25/2018 07:09 AM EDT

By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Brent D. Griffiths (bgriffiths@politico.com; @BrentGriffiths)

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Don't forget that umbrella today.

BILL WELD DOES A LIBERTARIAN THING - Former Republican Gov. Bill Weld (and the Libertarian party's vice presidential candidate in 2016) heads to One Ashburton with Libertarian candidate for state auditor Dan Fishman to file Fishman's nomination signatures.

Back in October Weld threw his support behind Fishman, declaring "A Libertarian in the auditor's office will demonstrate to the people that there is a critical role in government for people who can take office without owing any political favors."

Weld has essentially kept a foot in both parties since the 2016 election - he addressed the Libertarian Students For Liberty conference in New York last fall while continuing to bolster the state Republican party. Weld headlined a fundraiser for the state GOP in October, and has thrown his support behind Gov. Charlie Baker and Senate candidate Beth Lindstrom.

While Weld's blurring of the political lines upsets some party faithful, there's been at least one call for Weld to run for governor of Connecticut (as a Libertarian, of course) to cut through a crowded field of Republican candidates.

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 and First Lady Lauren Baker join the Consul General of Israel to New England Yehuda Yaakov to celebrate 70 years of Israeli independence in an event at the EMK Institute - AG Maura Healey delivers the keynote speech and discussion with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Charlotte Burrows at a Harvard Law School event about pay equity - San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz talks about Puerto Rico's post-hurricane transformation in an event during Holyoke's Innovation Week.

DATELINE BEACON HILL -

- "Bryon Hefner, Rosenberg's husband, pleads not guilty to multiple charges," by Joshua Miller, Boston Globe: "The scandal that ended the Senate presidency of Stanley C. Rosenberg moved out of the State House and into the courthouse Tuesday as Rosenberg's husband, Bryon Hefner, faced accusations that he sexually assaulted three men and disseminated naked photos of a fourth without his consent. Prosecutors alleged that Hefner engaged in a pattern of assaults and misconduct over multiple years, and detailed the alleged acts in vivid terms ..."

- "Senate official: Rosenberg probe reaches 'end phase'," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "The Senate Ethics Committee's investigation into Sen. Stanley Rosenberg appears to be entering its final stages, but the exact timing of the committee's report remains a matter of much speculation after the Senate last week made its first, and perhaps final, payment to the law firm hired to conduct the probe. Senate President Harriette Chandler, who stopped to speak to a News Service reporter in the hallway on Monday, was then abruptly whisked away by an aide when a question was posed about the $230,000 payment made to Hogan Lovells on Friday."

- "'Why are you preying on our children?' Fury over Mount Ida closure at hearing," by Laura Krantz, Boston Globe: "Students and parents voiced deep anger and a sense of betrayal toward Mount Ida College on Tuesday at the first public meeting held since the school abruptly announced its closure 2½ weeks ago. Members of the state Board of Higher Education listened to the concerns, at times holding back their own tears, then expressed fury and skepticism about the deal Mount Ida struck to shut down operations and sell its 72-acre Newton campus to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for approximately $70 million."

- "Attorney General Healey promises changes after drug lab scandal," by Shawn Musgrave, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has committed to measures to guard against the kind of egregious prosecutorial misconduct committed in the Amherst drug lab scandal, when prosecutors mischaracterized evidence of drug use by a state chemist. In a brief submitted to the state's top court, Healey promised to create an ethics committee within her office and train prosecutors on their obligations to share evidence, among other measures."

- "Healey Challenges NRA, Pushes Red Flag Laws," by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: "The state legislature is considering a "red flag" law, which would allow family members, law enforcement and others to seek a court order to prevent people from owning or buying guns if they are judged to be a risk to themselves or others. 'Law enforcement may or may not be the first to know that there's an issue or a problem,' Attorney General Maura Healey said during her monthly 'Ask The Attorney General' segment on Boston Public Radio Tuesday."

- "Mass. high court rejects challenge to cap on number of charter schools in the state," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dealt a blow Tuesday to advocates who have sought to lift the ceiling on the number of charter schools permitted to operate statewide. The high court a

greed with a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state's charter school cap."

- "Compromise bill advances to allow dental therapists, a new kind of provider, in Mass.," by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, Boston Globe: "After resisting for years, Massachusetts dentists are now throwing their support behind legislation that would create a new kind of midlevel provider of dental care. Advocates say these workers, called dental therapists, would provide much-needed routine dental care, particularly to low-income patients."

- "Selection of offshore wind providers delayed 1 month," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "Faced with a Monday deadline to select a project that can deliver between 400 and 800 megawatts of offshore wind energy to the Bay State, utility companies working with the state instead have extended their deadline a month, until May 23. In a letter to the Department of Public Utilities on Monday, the team evaluating the bids for a long-term offshore wind energy generation contract said it needs the extra 30 days but still expects to submit a negotiated contract for state approval by July 31. "

THE WARREN REPORT -

- "Elizabeth Warren, others ask Department of Labor to end practice that lets employers pay workers with disabilities less," by Shannon Young, MassLive.com: "U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, called on the Department of Labor this week to phase out a practice that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage -- a policy which she called 'inherently discriminatory.' In a Monday letter to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, Warren and other senators requested information on the agency's oversight and enforcement of employers who use waivers to hire workers with disabilities and pay them below the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour."

MOULTON MATTERS -

- "Democrats' midterm weapon: Veteran candidates," by Travis J. Tritten, the Washington Examiner: "The former Air Force intelligence officer [Gina Ortiz-Jones] is hoping to be the Democratic candidate who can wrest the district's House seat from Rep. Will Hurd, the Republican incumbent, in the November midterm election. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., thinks Ortiz-Jones can win. She is among 19 veteran candidates who Moulton endorsed and who are being backed by his Serve America PAC."

ON THE STUMP -

- "Chelsea Kline, challenger for Stanley Rosenberg's Senate seat, says she's keeping sexual assault survivors 'close to my heart' following Bryon Hefner arraignment," by Jacqueline Tempera, MassLive.com: "Democrat Chelsea Kline, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg in the fall's primary, released a statement about Rosenberg's estranged husband's indictment on Tuesday. This is Rosenberg's first primary challenger since 1991."

- "Setti Warren surprised by Mount Ida troubles," by Hillary Chabot, Boston Herald: "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren got a $70,000-a-year teaching and community relations post at the fiscally flailing Mount Ida College months before they abruptly announced a controversial plan to close this spring. 'It's been really difficult,' said Warren, who said he had no idea about the college's rapidly sinking financial outlook."

- "Republican Helen Brady running for Massachusetts auditor," by Shira Schoenberg, MassLive.com: "Republican Helen Brady announced Tuesday that she will run against Massachusetts auditor Suzanne Bump, a Democrat, in the 2018 election. Brady, who lives in Concord, is the sales and business director for the Boston Pops. She has worked for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 30 years."

TSONGAS ARENA -

- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: "Gardner City Councilor Karen Hardern endorses Dan Koh for Congress," from the Dan Koh campaign: "Emphasizing that Dan Koh "understands how to bring people together to get things done," Gardner City Councilor Karen Hardern today endorsed Koh in the Third District congressional race. Hardern has been a City Councilor in Gardner since 2011. She also has owned and operated Mak's Barber Shop in Gardner for over two decades."

WOOD WAR - Herald: "PARTY TIME" - Globe: "From a fresh start to a horrific end," "White House resolves to stand behind VA nominee," "Market-watching a full-time job for nervous investors eyeing retirement," "Rosenberg's spouse pleads not guilty," "'Someone needs to be held accountable.'"

THE LOCAL ANGLE -

- "The 100 Most Influential People in Boston," Edited by David S. Bernstein, Boston Magazine: "Who really runs this town? That's the question we asked ourselves-and dozens of insiders-when we sat down to put this delightfully subjective list together. Gone are the days when a small cadre of city elites gathered to decide Boston's destiny. Influence is sprinkled all over, which means there's bound to be some spirited debate about who wields the most, or who was left off the list."

- "Judge Thomas Estes 'can never command the moral authority' to be a judge, lawyer tells Massachusetts SJC," by Shira Schoenberg, MassLive.com: "Judge Thomas Estes is guilty of 'egregious and willful misconduct' that has 'seriously damaged the public's trust and administration of justice in Massachusetts,' Howard Neff, an attorney representing Massachusetts' Commission on Judicial Conduct, told the Supreme Judicial Court Tuesday. 'I suggest he can never command the moral authority and respect necessary to be a judge in Massachusetts,' Neff said."

- "Transit systems across Mass. say they need more state aid," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "While the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority receives massive attention from Beacon Hill and the public, the providers of public transit in Worcester and Springfield say they are being starved by years of financial neglect. Transportation officials and local advocates say that underfunding of the regional transit authorities is affecting riders, resulting in cuts in bus service in the state's second- and third-largest cities."

- "Martha Stewart's props to be auctioned off in Beverly," by Arianna MacNeill, the Salem News: "If you've ever wanted to decorate your home, kitchen or garden like Martha Stewart's, here's your chance. Kaminski Auctions will be selling off roughly 5,000 items from the design maven's personal collection of studio props."

- "Patriots congratulate rapper Meek Mill: 'Justice for our friend. Finally free'," by Staff and wire reports, Boston Globe:"Rapper Meek Mill walked out of prison Tuesday after Pennsylvania's highest court ordered him freed while he appeals decade-old gun and drug convictions. Mill issued a statement saying the past months had been ''a nightmare,'' and thanked his many supporters and visitors, who included Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft."

MAZEL! - to Rachel Lake, who most recently served as state Senator Julian Cyr's Director of Operations & Constituent Services, previously working on his campaign as the deputy campaign manager. Rachel just started on April 16th at the Rose Kennedy Greenway as the new Marketing & Community Affairs Manager

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to state Rep. Paul Frost, MassTech Collaborative's Garrett Quinn, John Affuso, Senior Legal Counsel, Transactions Massachusetts Port Authority, and Mariah Philips, scheduler for Rep. Joe Kennedy.

DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes and No! The Celtics beat the Bucks 92-87, but Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays 4-3.

POLITICO's Ben White is bringing Morning Money to the Milken Institute Global Conference to provide coverage of the day's events and evening happenings. The newsletter starts on April 29th. Sign-up to keep up with your daily conference coverage.

ICYMI - THE LATEST HORSE RACE PODCAST EPISODE: North of the Wall. We head north of the wall - a.k.a. New Hampshire - with special guest host and former pod correspondent Ben Downing. First, The Boston Globe's James Pindell describes what he's seeing up north, now that we know Rep. Joe Kennedy III will be heading there in the fall. Then, Salem News' Ethan Forman breaks down the challengers to Rep. Seth Moulton, and our local poll master and host Steve Koczela calls in to discuss the polling related additions to the AP Style Guide. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud

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