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Presented by JUUL Labs
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
SCOOP: POLL PITS NEAL VS. MORSE — A poll conducted in the state's 1st District suggests that a possible primary challenger to Congressman Richard Neal is getting serious.
A telephone survey conducted at the end of last week compared Neal's record and attributes to those of Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, leaving Western Mass political watchers wondering if Morse is inching closer to a rumored congressional bid.
Several people who took the poll said it was done over the phone with a live caller and lasted between 10 and 25 minutes. An early survey of that caliber can cost upwards of $20,000. It's not clear whether Morse commissioned the poll, or someone else put it in the field. Morse didn't respond to a request for comment yesterday. Neither did a spokesman for billionaire Tom Steyer, who had lunch with Morse in Springfield earlier this year. Steyer also launched an ad buy several months back targeting Neal as part of an effort to prompt the House Ways and Means chairman to subpoena the president's tax returns.
Taking on an incumbent is no easy task. And Neal's position as chair of an influential committee puts the congressman at the center of the fight for Trump's tax returns, and a position to deliver serious cash for his district.
"With Donald Trump trying to turn back the clock on so much we've accomplished, Congressman Neal is leading the fight for fairer taxes, affordable and accessible healthcare and preserving Social Security and Medicare," Neal campaign spokesman Peter Panos said in a statement.
But there's also a well of pent-up political ambition in Massachusetts. And last week's poll tested several lines that pitched Morse as rising star overseeing Holyoke's rebirth.
The poll began with asking respondents whether they favor politicians including President Donald Trump, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Attorney General Maura Healey, and whether they voted in 2016. But the poll soon asked — if the primary election were tomorrow — if the respondent would vote for Neal or Morse.
The rest of the survey offered a window into how Morse could separate himself from Neal in a Democratic primary. Two people who took the poll told me it asked them to rate on a scale of 1-10 the importance of issues including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, rural broadband and politicians rejecting corporate PAC money.
The poll also tested campaign messaging , asking respondents to rate their reaction to lines like "Morse pledges to hold 12 town halls during his first two months in office," and "Morse was the first mayor in the state to declare Holyoke a Sanctuary City." Neal has been criticized by progressive groups in his district for not visiting the smaller, rural towns he represents frequently enough.
Among the other questions: rating Neal's job performance. The survey compared Neal's attributes, namely that he is 70 and was elected in 1988, to 30-year-old Morse, who was elected at age 22 and is openly gay. One person who took the poll said they were asked three times who they would vote for in a Neal-Morse match-up.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh are in Washington, D.C. Acting Gov. Karyn Polito chairs a regional Economic Development Planning Council engagement session at Springfield Technical Community College. The Fund Our Futurecampaign holds a lobby day and rallies on Boston Common. JALSAhonors former state lawmakers Jay Kaufman, Byron Rushing and Frank Smizik at the group's annual meeting.
Rep. Katherine Clark reads the Mueller Report with members of the Democratic Caucus. Attorney General Maura Healey holds a press conference with Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer about her office's Abandoned Housing Initiative. Healey speaks at the Economic Mobility Pathways Economic Independence Day.
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A message from JUUL Labs:
Youth vaping is a problem. We're taking action. No youth or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL products. We've taken a series of actions to greatly reduce youth use of tobacco products, including our own. Learn more about our youth prevention efforts: JUUL.com/youth-prevention
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Isolation problem: T fares rising faster than cost of driving," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "IN NOVEMBER 1990, Bill Weld won his first election as governor, NBC aired the first full season of Seinfeld, and someone driving from Melrose to catch a Bruins game could expect to pay 87 cents more for the car trip than the $1.65 train fare into North Station. A lot has changed since then. Looking at data going back three decades to 1990, the year state officials use as a benchmark for greenhouse gas emissions, it is clear that the cost of riding the T has escalated faster than the cost of driving."
- "FEC lawyers find evidence of illegal campaign contributions by Boston's Thornton law firm, but commissioners dismiss complaint anyway," by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: "Lawyers at the Federal Election Commission found that Boston's Thornton Law firm likely used a phony program to repay partners for political donations, but the case was dismissed after commissioners deadlocked on whether to pursue it. FEC staff lawyers found extensive evidence that Thornton, a major supporter of the Democratic Party and its candidates, illegally reimbursed partners for more than a million dollars in donations, according to their 33-page report on the case. But the commission itself voted two-to-two along party lines — a tie vote, which dismisses the complaint instead of opening a full-scale investigation. The decision was released last Friday."
- "Beacon Hill leaders don't have a plan yet to tackle the state's transportation crisis," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Expletive-inducing gridlock on I-93. Unreliable MBTA trains. Deteriorating bridges and roadways. The list of transportation problems in Massachusetts is longer than most commutes. But nearly five months into Beacon Hill's legislative session, none of the state's three budget proposals have included major transportation financing plans. House and Senate leaders have discussed — but have yet to offer — a legislative blueprint. And Governor Charlie Baker has signaled he's unlikely to back raising taxes for transportation priorities. What many consider a looming transportation crisis is lacking something crucial: a road map from state leaders to address it."
- "House Plans To Alter Voter-Approved 2016 Animal Cruelty Law," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "The law put in place by voters in 2016 that mandated larger enclosures for egg-laying hens would be rewritten under a provision passed by the House in its annual budget. The proposed language, passed by the House on a voice vote on April 25 during their lengthy private budget negotiations, would loosen the requirements put on egg farmers and approved by 77.6 percent of voters on the 2016 ballot. "If they want to change it, well then maybe they should bring it back up to the table again. But not just make the change with the people not knowing about it," Bob Beauregard, general manager of Country Hen Egg Farm, a cage-free farm in Hubbardston, told WGBH News."
- "Ed funding bill would be boon for Boston," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "The legislation, filed by Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz of Boston and state Reps. Mary Keefe of Worcester and Aaron Vega of Holyoke, would dramatically increase funding for districts educating low-income students. But it's a provision in the bill that could steer as much as $100 million a year to Boston because of the large number of charter school students in the city that has turned Walsh from a sideline observer of last year's effort to update the funding formula into an ardent advocate of the Promise Act, one of several bills proposing major updates to the school funding formula this session."
- "Massachusetts House votes to ban handheld cellphone use while driving," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican:"The Massachusetts House voted Wednesday evening to ban the use of handheld phones while driving. The vote on H.3793 was 155-2. "I think that it was the general feeling that people, the driving public in particular and families throughout the commonwealth, have been adversely affected by the use of cellphones while driving," House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, said before the vote. "Many people have had either personal experiences or constituents in their area who have had some real serious accidents, some ending unfortunately in death." This was the first time that the House has voted in favor of a ban, a policy that has passed the Senate in prior years and has the support of Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican."
- "Mass. should step up gas-disaster plans, consultant says," by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "The state government needs to better prepare for emergencies caused by natural gas incidents and increase training and drills for both officials and utilities, a consultant hired in the wake of the disaster in the Lawrence area reported Wednesday. The consultant, Dynamic Risk, said in a preliminary report this week to the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs that Massachusetts and its utilities had so focused on responding to electrical outages that they overlooked the far more dangerous consequences of a gas disaster."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "57% Of Mass. Adults Know Someone Struggling With Opioid Addiction, WBUR Poll Shows," by Deborah Becker and Khari Thompson, WBUR: "A new WBUR poll shows that the opioid epidemic is hitting more and more Massachusetts residents close to home. The survey of 660 adults (topline results) found that more than half (57%) say they know someone who has struggled with opioid addiction over the last year alone. Additionally, 53% of respondents say addiction in Massachusetts to heroin and other opiates, including prescription painkillers, is a "crisis," with an additional 39% saying the issue is a 'major problem.'"
- "Protesters Bolster Case Against Weymouth Compressor Station," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "Activists renewed their demand Wednesday that the Baker administration revoke an air-quality permit issued for a proposed natural gas compressor station, gathering outside the headquarters of state environmental regulators to complement an appeals hearing underway challenging the permit's validity. While the first day of a three-day hearing unfolded inside the Department of Environmental Protection, several dozen members of the Mothers Out Front and other advocacy groups took to the streets to warn that the station would bring environmental and public-health harm to environmental justice communities in the Weymouth area."
- "City council, BPD commissioner hope to get in front of summer violence," by Brooks Sutherland, Boston Herald: "In cities around the country, warm weather historically comes with an uptick in crime. Boston has been no exception. This year, city councilors and police Commissioner William Gross say they aren't using kids being out of school as an excuse for spikes in violence and want to get out in front of the issue before summer officially hits. "We have to address the problems with youth being out of school and if there are several programs and initiatives available to the youth in our community, we need to capitalize on that," Gross told the Herald after he and ranking members of his department deliberated with city councilors over Mayor Martin Walsh's proposed fiscal year 2020 budget in relation to police funding."
- "Abused Boy Scout limited to $20,000 award due to 'archaic' state law," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Lawyers across the country filing sexual abuse lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America don't face the same "archaic" cap that exists in Massachusetts that limits jury awards against nonprofits to $20,000. That law, lawyers and victims say, dissuades sexual abuse victims from coming forward. "It's a real slap in the face," said a 64-year-old man, who was sexually abused by a scoutmaster in Hyde Park, Dedham and Walpole in the late 1960s. He was 12 at the time of the abuse. "The cap minimizes what happened," added the victim, whose name the Herald is withholding because he is a sexual assault victim. He received $20,000 a few years ago after suing the Boy Scouts."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Kraft to lawyers: Do your job," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth: "WHEN IT COMES TO his involvement with the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, it looks like Robert Kraft is going to get off again. With the best legal defense money can buy, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots brought a sledgehammer to the pesky fly that was the local state prosecutors' operation and got a Florida judge to throw out use of any video surveillance recordings in the misdemeanor case against him for soliciting the services of a prostitute. Most legal observers say the ruling all but kills the case against Kraft."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "A bank regulator said he was tough on Wells Fargo. Elizabeth Warren was not impressed," by Renae Merle, Washington Post:"For more than two years, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has repeatedly lashed out at Wells Fargo as the bank struggled to regain its footing after admitting to various customer abuses. On Wednesday, Warren, D-Mass., turned her ire on one of the San Francisco bank's main regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which provides day-to-day oversight of large national banks, Wells Fargo is conducting a nationwide search for a new chief executive — its third in three years — and Warren wanted to know whether the OCC would exercise its "veto" power over the bank's choice. It would, agency head Joseph Otting told Warren during a Senate Banking Committee hearing."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "U.S. House Passes Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Land Bill," by Carrie Jung, WBUR: "A bill aimed at securing the federal trust status of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's land in southeastern Massachusetts has passed the U.S. House. The final vote was 275-146, with almost all Democrats voting for it, and most Republicans voting against it. Lawmakers were supposed to vote on the bill last week under a process that would've required a two-thirds vote for approval. But its sponsors pulled it last minute after President Trump in a tweet called it a "special interest casino bill" and encouraged Republicans not to vote for it. Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, the bill's lead sponsor, said prior to Wednesday's vote that it is step toward restoring justice to the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims to North America."
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| DATELINE D.C. |
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- "Baker, Walsh Head To Washington To Push For Infrastructure Funding," by Kimberly Atkins, WBUR: "In Washington, the term "Infrastructure Week" has become a punchline, referring to the inability of the White House and Congress to focus on that or any other policy issue. But Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh are in Washington this week to urge Trump administration officials and congressional lawmakers to make it a bipartisan priority. "I do think that having a governor and a mayor — a Republican and a Democrat — both of whom are putting a lot of resources in infrastructure and transportation is a good place to start when you are trying to convince people that this is really something that they need to get done," Baker told WBUR."
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| THE CLARK CAUCUS |
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- "House Democrats call Alabama's abortion bill disgraceful and reckless," Sunlen Serfaty, CNN: "House Democratic leaders today reacted to the Alabama abortion bill, calling it a "disgrace" and "reckless." "It lays bare the reality that part of the right-wing conservative agenda in the United States of America is to take away reproductive health and freedom of the people of America. That is a disgrace," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic caucus, told reporters. Rep. Katherine Clark, vice chair of the Democratic caucus, called the action "reckless behavior." "We are not going back. Women in this country are not going to allow our fundamental rights to be infringed upon," Clark said."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "Here's why Charlie Baker's re-election campaign chairman is 'all in' for Pete Buttigieg," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com:"Pete Buttigieg is coming back to Boston, and he's aiming to leave with an additional $1 million in his campaign account — thanks to one of the city's most prominent powerbrokers. The South Bend, Indiana mayor and wunderkind Democratic presidential candidate is scheduled to appear at a June 20 fundraiser in Boston, as Politico first reported Wednesday. Despite being a self-described "lifelong Democrat," Connors was the chairman of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker's re-election campaign in 2018 (after helping raise more than $200,000 for the Massachusetts governor's first run in 2014). And while he acknowledges that "at first glance" the blue-state GOP governor "would seem to have little in common" with the red-state Democratic mayor running for president, Connors says he's "all in" for Buttigieg for similar reasons."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "'Close to inconceivable': Trump's Iran rhetoric sparks warning of Iraq war redux," by Heather Caygle, Burgess Everett and Nahal Toosi, POLITICO: "Democrats hoping to challenge Trump for the presidency in 2020 jumped into the fray as U.S.-Iran tensions soared. They noted that several top Trump staffers, including Bolton, pushed for the U.S. invasion of Iraq based on faulty, and possibly manipulated, intelligence that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. can't make the same mistake on Iran, a harder target than Iraq, they said. "It's time to end the forever wars," 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg wrote on Twitter. "But in this White House, some of the same people who got us into Iraq now seem ready to stoke a new conflict. It's another reason Congress must reassert its war powers." "This is chicken hawks trying to drag us into a war with Iran just like they did 15 years ago in Iraq," said Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a Democrat running for president who has been highlighting his military service."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "VEEP VEEP! OUT OF MY WAY!" — Globe: "Abortion foes see their chance," "No fixes in sight for Mass. commuters." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "In Springfield, death rate from opioids soars," by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: "Deaths from opioid overdoses continue to decline in Massachusetts, but a troubling reality lurks behind that good news, according to a report released Wednesday: Progress against opioid-related fatalities has been starkly uneven, with the crisis actually worsening in certain pockets. One of the hardest hit regions is Hampden County, which encompasses Springfield and Holyoke, according the Department of Public Health's quarterly report on opioid-related deaths. In that county, opioid overdose deaths increased a stunning 84 percent from 2017 to 2018, more than double the number in 2015 and, at 208, the highest count ever recorded there. In Springfield alone, the number of deaths doubled last year."
- "Owner of Skyview Downtown apartments in Springfield defends renovation work in response to union protest," by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: "The company that recently launched a $50 million renovation of the Skyview Downtown apartments is defending the work following a protest earlier this week by local building trades unions. Related Companies, of New York City, which owns the property, said through a Springfield lawyer, Melinda M. Phelps, that the first phase of work is being done primarily by Springfield-area subcontractors, and primarily by union labor. "This is a private company making a significant investment in the city of Springfield, and particularly for the residents of 489 units," Phelps said."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Cyr bill seeks task force on PFAS," by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: "State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, filed legislation Tuesday to establish a task force to address the increased detection of PFAS contamination in Massachusetts, including several sites on Cape Cod. "We hope to move quickly on this, because it's a pressing matter," Cyr said. "When we have emerging contaminants like PFAS, the more we learn, the more there's concern. The goal is to convene experts to provide a mechanism to address the issue." PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of man-made chemicals considered to be contaminants of emerging concern."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "How do you reach young audiences? These local newsrooms and Mizzou grads will experiment on Instagram," by Kristen Hare, Poynter: "This summer, Emily Dunn will join scores of new journalists working in local newsrooms. Like them, she'll be among the youngest and least experienced. Unlike them, she's there with a singular focus — to help develop a strategy for Instagram. Dunn is one of three Missouri School of Journalism grads to take part in the first ever Instagram Local News summer fellowship, which was announced Wednesday. The fellowship is a project from Instagram and the Reynolds Journalism Institute at Mizzou. Dunn, who graduates this month, will be at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fellow grads Magdaline Duncan will work with The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune and Grace Lett will work with The Boston Globe."
SPOTTED: at a rooftop reception in Washington, D.C. last night: Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Stephen Lynch, Ed Cash, David Tamasi, Tim Sullivan, Virginia Mayer, Dave Garriepy, Ozzie Palomo, Mercedes Legrand, Matt Epperly, Corrine Griffin, Rich Serino, Chris Frech, Kevin Ryan, Ivan Adler, Paul Tencher, Marc Buncher, Katie Whelan, Pat Lally, Joe DiDonato, Art Ventura, Chris Burgoyne, Mike and Laura Rigas, Alison Weiss, Evan Wessel, Zach Schafer, Jay Nelson, Stewart Verdery, John Allen, Nick Ciarlante, George Kovatch, Vincent Voci, Abby Gardner, Griffin Doherty, Peter Phipps, Michael Haidet, Cameron Kilberg, Joe Bottari, Devin O'Malley, Todd Lavin, Tim Drumm, David Bartlett, Jennifery Grodsky, Amy Champion. Pic.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to The Lowell Sun's Alana Melanson and Christian Scorzoni, attorney at Travaglini, Eisenberg & Kiley.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Red Sox beat the Rockies 6-5.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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We're combating the problem of underage vaping by: Advocating for raising the legal age to purchase our products to 21+ nationwide. Stopping the sale of non-tobacco and non-menthol based flavored JUULpods to traditional retail stores. Enhancing our online age verification process. Strengthening our retail compliance program with over 2,000 secret shopper visits per month. Shutting down our Facebook and Instagram accounts and working to remove inappropriate social media content generated by others on those platforms. And investing in new technologies to further prevent youth use. JUUL.com/youth-prevention |
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