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Presented by Tobacco Free Kids
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
PRELIMINARY ELECTION DAY — It's Election Day in Boston. Voters will head to the polls today to narrow down the field of more than three dozen Boston City Council candidates in a preliminary election.
Today's election will determine which candidates go on to compete in the November election. On the ballot are four at-large seats, and positions representing Districts 5, 7, 8 and 9. Voters could elect a slate of candidates that would make up the most diverse council the city has ever seen.
One of the challenges for municipal candidates — especially as the presidential contest and budding statewide races draw attention — is getting voters to the polls. Fourteen percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2017 preliminary mayoral election, according to the city. And in 2015, around 7 percent of registered voters turned out for the preliminary election, according to city data. Polling locations are available online.
Also up for preliminary election today is the mayoral race in Westfield. State Sen. Don Humason Jr., a Republican, is running for that position. If he wins today and again in November, it would open up a race for his state Senate seat.
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 attend the groundbreaking for the Hearth at Four Corners in Dorchester. Baker speaks at the MedTech Conference. Voters cast ballots in the Boston City Council preliminary election. The Harvard Institute of Politics hosts CBS News' Musadiq Bidar, Washington Post's Chelsea Janes, NBC News' Marianna Sotomayor and Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz for its 2020 Road Warrior series. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu holds an election night watch party in Roxbury.
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A message from Tobacco Free Kids:
E-cigarettes are hooking a new generation, thanks to massive doses of nicotine and thousands of kid-friendly flavors. This public health emergency threatens decades of progress in lowering youth tobacco use. We must take flavored e-cigarettes off the market, stand up to companies like JUUL, and protect our kids. Learn More. |
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NEW—POLITICO's UNITED NATIONS PLAYBOOK: The 74 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will jam some of the world's most influential leaders into four blocks in Gotham. POLITICO's man-about-town Ryan Heath will take you inside UNGA—revealing juicy details from the lighter-side of the gathering and insights into the most pressing global issues facing decision-makers today. Sign up for U.N. Playbook.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "DeLeo floats hands-free driving proposal," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "WITH A DISTRACTED DRIVING BILL bill stuck in private negotiations for more than three months and frustrated advocates ramping up their criticism, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said the solution might be splitting off the more contentious components of the legislation. After meeting with Gov. Charlie Baker and Senate President Karen Spilka, DeLeo told reporters that it may be worthwhile to implement a ban on the use of virtually all handheld electronic devices behind the wheel as its own legislation, then circle back later in the session to resolve the debate over how to collect demographic data about how the ban is enforced."
- "Gov. Charlie Baker: Vaping illness outbreak 'has our full attention,'" by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that the nationwide outbreak of vaping-related illnesses "has our full attention," but declined to say what, if any, measures state government might take. The Boston Globe reported last week that state public health officials are considering potential emergency regulations to restrict the sale of vaping products. But Baker has not said what those regulations might look like. Nationally, several states are considering whether to ban flavored vaping products, a policy Massachusetts lawmakers are also considering."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Races To Watch As Boston Goes To The Polls," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "With education funding in flux, the MBTA crumbling and housing prices climbing, Bostonians go to the polls Tuesday to narrow down preliminary fields of candidates before November's municipal general election for key spots on the city council. The political assent of Rep. Ayanna Pressley has had a twofold effect on this election cycle: reinvigorating interest in the political possibilities of the four citywide legislative positions and leaving Pressley's former slot on the council vulnerable to a new challenger."
- "Hynes sales plan 'came out of nowhere,' says Greater Boston chamber chief," by Gintautas Dumcius, Boston Business Journal: "The head of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce is questioning the Baker administration's plan to sell the Hynes Convention Center in Back Bay as a way to fund the expansion of the Seaport's Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. During an appearance on the New England Cable News show, "This Week in Business," Jim Rooney, the president and CEO of the business group, told host Brian Burnell it's "hard to know" whether the proposal is a good idea because there's been little public discussion of the idea."
- "Reform-minded prosecutors expected to battle entrenched local powers but the blowback has been harsher than anticipated," by Michael Levenson, Boston Globe: "Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins marched last week with prosecutors from around the country across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., where civil rights protesters were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers in 1965. The march highlighted the prosecutors' conviction that they now stand symbolically on the other side of that historic span, as the vanguard of a new movement to make law enforcement fairer and less punitive for people of color and the poor."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "A key piece of Joe Kennedy's strategy: Appealing to people on the margins," by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "In a tailored navy suit and reddish tie with a pack of reporters trailing him, Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III walked down Albany Street on Boston's "Methadone Mile" Monday morning, the latest stop on his whirlwind statewide tour kicking off his Senate campaign. Passersbys, several who said they were in the area seeking addiction treatment, called out his surname — Hey, Kennedy! — often with encouragement. He spoke about improving mental and behavioral health care to stop cycles of addition and crime. He visited organizations that work with people struggling with opioid abuse. He listened to a resident's plea for help."
- "Green groups backing Markey, labor unions line up behind Kennedy," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "Environmental activists are assembling a $5 million effort to support Sen. Edward Markey's re-election bid, while organized labor factions were quick to line up behind Rep. Joseph Kennedy III after he formally joined the Senate race on Saturday. On Sunday, Kennedy announced endorsements from IBEW Local 103, Teamsters Local 25 and the Massachusetts State Council of Machinists. Kennedy is pressing the theme of "moral capitalism" early in his campaign."
- "Kennedy v. Markey is no Pressley v. Capuano," by Maeve Duggan and Richard Parr, CommonWealth Magazine: "ON SATURDAY, Rep. Joe Kennedy formally announced his campaign to challenge Sen. Ed Markey in next year's Democratic primary. Rumors of a Kennedy run have been swirling since earlier this summer, and with them comparisons to Ayanna Pressley's successful 2018 primary bid against Mike Capuano. While both Pressley and Kennedy represent a generational shift, the similarities end there. If Pressley ran at Capuano from the left, Kennedy and the district he represents are a little more to the center than Markey and the state as a whole."
- "They're off! Grossman is first new candidate to declare for Kennedy seat," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Becky Walker Grossman — a Newton city councilor and former prosecutor whose father-in-law once chaired the Democratic National Committee — is running for the seat held by Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, she said Monday, making her the first candidate to enter what's expected to be a crowded Democratic primary since Kennedy pivoted to a Senate run. Grossman, 39, plans to formally announce her campaign Tuesday, with a focus on prescription drug prices, gun control, and climate change, Those are core Democratic Party issues that, she said, are driven by her experience as a mother of two school-age children."
- "Alex Morse, looking to unseat Rep. Richard Neal, releases tax returns for the last 8 years," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: " Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who is running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Richard Neal in 2020, released the last eight years of his tax returns on Monday. Morse released his tax returns ahead of his opponent, the incumbent Springfield Democrat who has long pushed for President Donald Trump to release his tax returns. "The American people deserve to know that each federally elected candidate is committed to the service of their constituents, and not beholden to special interests," Morse said on Monday."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Dustup at T over bus improvement efforts," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE MBTA's OVERSIGHT BOARD, which has been urging the transit authority to think big when it comes to improving bus service, accused the agency of adopting a timid approach after hearing yet another update on its efforts Monday. In its presentation to the Fiscal and Management Control Board, the T's Better Bus team said it implemented 29 cost-neutral bus route changes on September 1, added 27 additional bus operators, and plans to do more of the same in December."
- "McGee: Cut commuter rail fares from Lynn," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "LYNN MAYOR THOMAS MCGEE, backed by three lawmakers from the area, urged MBTA officials to test more frequent commuter rail service to and from Boston at prices similar to those charged subway riders. McGee said Lynn is tired of waiting for the Blue Line to be extended to Lynn, an idea that he said has been bandied around since 1946. Instead, he urged the T's Fiscal and Management Control Board to launch a pilot program transforming the existing commuter rail service on the Newburyport/Rockport Line into a more subway-like operation, featuring more frequent trains and one-way fares of $2.40 instead of the current $7."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Massachusetts Groups Sue Over Fast-Tracked Deportations," The Associated Press: Massachusetts immigrant rights activists are challenging the Trump administration's expansion of deportation powers. The Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights said Monday it has filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Massachusetts immigrant advocacy groups Centro Presente and the Pioneer Valley Workers Center. The administration in July expanded immigration officers' "expedited removal" powers to any migrants in the country less than two years. Previously, the process applied only to those caught near the U.S. border and in the country less than two weeks."
- "Attorneys argue that former state police union president Dana Pullman, lobbyist Anne Lynch should be allowed to talk to friends," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Attorneys representing former state police union Dana Pullman and lobbyist Anne Lynch, who face charges in an alleged kickback scheme involving the organization, made the case for reducing the government's no-contact list so the two can stay in touch with long-time friends. Pullman and Lynch appeared in Boston federal court Monday afternoon before Judge Jennifer C. Boal for an arraignment and the motion involving the no-contact list. Pullman and Lynch pleaded not guilty to charges that they orchestrated a kickback scheme that defrauded members of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, commonly known as SPAM."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Elizabeth Warren is rising. So are the attacks from her fellow Democrats." by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren's steady rise in the Democratic presidential primary race is beginning to receive the attention — and ire — of her opponents. After a slow start in its early months, the Massachusetts senator's policy-focused campaign largely avoided being attacked by fellow Democrats (save for the ill-fated swipe from Maryland Rep. John Delaney, here or there). While most the field appeared comfortable taking shots at the perceived front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, they shied away from taking on Warren, who is the candidate Democratic voters view the most favorably, according to recent polls."
- "Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax could include a $1 million marriage penalty," by Robert Frank, CNBC: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth tax may create a new incentive for rich couples to divorce to avoid the tax. In a recent analysis of the Democratic presidential candidate's signature tax, Harvard economist N. Gregory Mankiw said that because of the nature and structure of the tax, ultra-wealthy couples could split their fortunes in half through divorce and avoid paying any tax. He said that for certain couples, divorcing could save them $1 million a year. "The Warren proposal entails a $1 million per year marriage penalty," said Mankiw, who was the head of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Rep. Lynch now open to Trump impeachment proceedings," by Todd Prussman, Boston Herald: "Congressman Stephen Lynch joined a growing number of Democrats sounding a call for impeachment proceedings against President Trump if reports about the contents of a whistleblower complaint about communications with Ukraine are substantiated. "If fully substantiated," Lynch said said in a statement Monday, "it will be of momentous consequence, including the possibility of initiating impeachment proceedings." Lynch had previously voiced skepticism about impeaching Trump, and had even faced off with constituents during town halls last month when the issue came up."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Climate and transportation activists are carrying a 9-foot-tall Charlie Baker puppet around Massachusetts. Here's why." by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: "With the impacts of climate change looming larger year after year, local activists are literally looking to make a big statement around Massachusetts this week. A nine-foot-tall Gov. Charlie Baker puppet will tower over the volunteers for 350 Mass for a Better Future, a Cambridge-based climate advocacy group carrying the two-dimensional mock-up of the state's Republican chief executive to several towns and cities on what the group dubbed the 'Charlie's Climate Catastrophe Tour.'"
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Gov. Charlie Baker, chiefs sound alarm about pot home delivery dangers," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "The Cannabis Control Commission will vote Tuesday on regulations for home pot deliveries — making the drivers wear body cameras and get training for "dangerous situations" — raising red flags among police and Gov. Charlie Baker, who said the cash payments pose a "huge problem." "Is that dangerous? Of course it is," Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs Association, said about pot deliveries. "On so many different levels it scares me." "I would much rather have this get fixed at the federal level, so we don't have to worry about people walking around with $10,000 in cash. I think that's a huge problem," Baker told reporters Monday."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "HIGH RISK," — Globe: "The case of police reformers vs. establishment," "Students struggle on revised MCAS." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Bill that would pay people to relocate to Western Mass. will get first hearing," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "Not long after Senator Eric Lesser proposed his relocation incentive bill, the e-mails started rolling in. Lesser filed this modest proposal in January — a bill to reimburse people up to $10,000 in expenses if they were willing to move to one of four Western Massachusetts counties and work from home or in a co-working space there. The ensuing buzz sparked inquiries from places as near as Boston and as far as the West Coast, variations on the same question: When can I get a piece of the action?"
- "AG Healey visits Drury High as part of Sandy Hook Promise program to make schools safer," by Dick Lindsay, The Berkshire Eagle: "A group of Drury High School student leaders are joining a statewide effort to keep schools safe and improve the well-being of classmates struggling on campus and at home. The teenagers will receive training on mental health issues and recognizing the signs of violence and suicide among their peers through a $1 million federally funded partnership of the state Attorney General's Office and Sandy Hook Promise, a group founded in the wake of the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Conn."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Pension albatross leaves a Bay State brickyard and its workers in 'survival mode,'" by Robert Weisman, Boston Globe: "For more than a century, workers at the Stiles and Hart Brick Co. have been mining clay and firing it in kilns at temperatures of up to 1,950 degrees to make the classic Boston paver bricks used at far-flung construction sites. The state's last brickyard has survived wars, economic downturns, and changing architectural styles. But now it's buckling under the weight of an arcane pension plan that has left the brickyard's fourth-generation owner responsible for not only his own retired workers, but for those from defunct companies that were once part of the plan."
- "Indicted Fall River mayor faces uphill battle to gain back voters," by Peter Jasinski, The Herald News: "Results from this month's preliminary election mean embattled Mayor Jasiel Correia II will move on to November's general election, but they also mark his weakest electoral showing since he entered city politics. Correia has been a fixture of the Fall River political scene since 2013, when he was elected to the City Council with 3,896 votes. His first run at the mayor's office in 2015 netted him 4,774 votes in a preliminary election and that support almost doubled in the subsequent general election in which he received 8,268. In his re-election to the mayor's office two years later, 3,958 voters cast their ballots for Correia in the preliminary election, followed by a career-high turnout of 8,966 city residents supporting him in November 2017."
SPOTTED: State Sen. Barry Finegold visiting the Dominican Republic last weekend to learn about the country's government, schools and culture. Pic.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: Welcome to the Jungle Primary. On this week's Horse Race podcast, Steve Koczela and I run through the top moments from the Massachusetts Democratic state convention in Springfield last weekend. State House News Service reporter Chris Lisinski breaks down a proposed ballot question that aimed to change the way primaries are conducted here, and has the backing of Secretary of State Bill Galvin. And Rich Parr from the MassINC Polling Group gives us the lowdown on how transportation advocates in Western Mass are joining forces. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, who is 67; former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who is 65; Musawir Chaudhry, and Hope Hall, senior adviser for video/senior road videographer at Warren for President and former Obama W.H. videographer. Hall's Playbook Plus Q&A.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Rays beat the Red Sox 7-4.
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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A message from Tobacco Free Kids:
There's a public health crisis spreading across the country - and it's small enough to fit in your kid's pocket.
E-cigarettes are hooking a new generation, thanks to Big Tobacco tricks like slick marketing, massive doses of nicotine, and thousands of kid-friendly flavors. Now, 5 million kids - including 1 in 4 high schoolers - use e-cigarettes. This growing public health emergency threatens decades of progress in lowering youth tobacco use. And it's getting worse.
We're building a nationwide movement to confront this crisis with the bold action our kids deserve. We must take flavored e-cigarettes off the market, stand up to companies like JUUL, and stop this escalating epidemic before it's too late. Learn More. |
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The politics of climate change are frozen in Washington. But beyond the Beltway, action on climate is heating up faster than ever. How are mayors and executives tackling climate change? Tune into POLITICO's "Global Translations" podcast to hear from Mike Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York City and Ed Skyler, the Executive Vice President for Global Public Affairs at Citi, in a special branded episode by Citi. Subscribe and listen now: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher |
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