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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
NEW: PATRICK ALUMNI TO RAISE CASH — A group of Deval Patrick alumni will get together to raise money for the former governor's presidential campaign in Boston next week. The fundraiser planned for Monday evening will be held at Central Wharf Co. Suggested contributions range from $50 to $250, according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO.
Co-hosts include Patrick's former deputy chief of staff Sydney Asbury, former press secretary Alex Goldstein, former campaign field director Clare Kelly and former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson. Also on the co-host list are Patrick's 2020 national organizing director Chelsie Ouellette, Joe Rull, a former aide to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and Eric Nakajima, who served in the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and is now an Ohio organizer for Patrick's campaign.
Because he entered the race so late, Patrick is under pressure to raise as much cash as possible in the small amount of time before the first states vote in February. Patrick and his wife, Diane Patrick, recently held a fundraiser.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: CAVELL'S BROOKLINE ENDORSEMENTS — Candidate for Congress Dave Cavell will announce this morning that he nabbed two endorsements from elected officials in his hometown of Brookline.
Brookline Select Board Chair Bernard Greene and his predecessor Neil Wishinsky, endorsed Cavell in his bid to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III. The 4th District primary is a crowded race. And of the six candidates running, four hail from Brookline: Cavell, Jesse Mermell, Alan Khazei, and Ihssane Leckey.
"Dave Cavell should be our next congressional representative because he has demonstrated three of the most important traits for success in public service: passion guided by wisdom, competence to do the job right, and an ability to make personal connections with people from all walks of life," Greene said in a statement.
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, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh hold a press conference to formally welcome the NAACP to Boston ahead of the organization's national convention in July. Polito speaks at the Massachusetts Conference for Women.
Senate candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan is endorsed by Local 22 ATU in Worcester. Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross host a press conference to discuss a new nightclub safety report. Walsh presents an award at the Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance annual meeting, state Sen. Paul Feeney is honored at the event.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "State lawmakers reach compromise on long-stalled spending bill," by Matt Stout and Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "State lawmakers passed a compromise spending bill Thursday and will avoid a potential legal clash with the state comptroller, capping a weekslong dispute over how to spend the state's $1 billion surplus. But in reaching the deal, legislators sliced what both chambers had previously earmarked — and Governor Charlie Baker had requested — for the MBTA, whittling the extra funding from $50 million to $32 million days after a high-profile report criticized the T for not prioritizing safety. The compromise also did not include a controversial corporate tax change that had the backing of businesses, Baker, and the House, but not the Senate."
- "Comptroller postpones decision to sweep $1 billion into rainy day fund after lawmakers fail to reach budget deal," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "The Massachusetts comptroller postponed a decision on sweeping $1 billion into the state's rainy day fund on Wednesday, citing "substantial progress" by lawmakers in reaching a deal on a final closeout budget for fiscal 2019. The fiscal year ended June 30. The state had a $1 billion budget surplus, of which $316 million is needed to pay the state's lingering bills for things like MassHealth services. Comptroller Andrew Maylor was waiting for the House and Senate to agree on a final closeout budget, and already missed an Oct. 31 deadline for closing the state's books."
- "Secretary of state Bill Galvin calls Sen. Don Humason's resignation letter 'worthless'; alleges voter suppression effort," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said Wednesday that a resignation letter filed by state Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, is "a worthless piece of paper" and cannot be used to call a special election. "This is all about suppressing voter turnout," Galvin, a Democrat, said in an interview. "That's all Republicans are up to." Humason responded, "I think the secretary is being...a little too persnickety." Humason is leaving the Senate to become the mayor of Westfield."
- "Vape Sales Resume, With Warning From State Health Commissioner," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "The state Public Health Council approved new regulations for vaping Wednesday, putting in place tighter restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping products that spurred a public health emergency this year. The new regulations end the emergency ban on all vaping product sales in the state that Gov. Charlie Baker implemented in September amid a national outbreak of vaping-related lung disease, including three deaths in Massachusetts. That ban, which had been whittled away by the courts, had been set to lift on Dec. 24 but Baker announced late last month that it would instead remain in effect through Dec. 11."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Meet the 2019 Bostonians of the Year: Andrew Lelling and Rachael Rollins," by Neil Swidey, Boston Globe: "FOR ALL THEIR DIFFERENCES, Rollins and Lelling have much in common. They are both funny and blunt, about the same age, and oversee similar size staffs and $21 million budgets. They both welcome being challenged by people who see the world differently. And they are both passionate about increasing fairness in the justice system, albeit with very different approaches. Depending on your politics, you probably view one of them as being far more deserving of praise than the other."
- "'Sanctuary cities', deployment to U.S.-Mexico border contributed to 15% drop in ICE arrests in New England," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "New England saw its lowest number of immigration-related arrests in two years, mirroring a national trend that federal officials attribute to the redeployment of resources at the southern border and lack of cooperation with so-called sanctuary cities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Boston division, which oversees six states, made 2,469 administrative arrests in fiscal 2019 or about 15% less than the previous fiscal year, according to apprehension data released Wednesday by the agency. ICE Boston recorded 2,908 administrative arrests in fiscal 2018 and 2,834 administrative arrests in fiscal 2017."
- "The Celtics' Enes Kanter stands tall for human rights," by Neil Swidey, Boston Globe: "His is a voice of conscience, irrespective of cost, against efforts to curb human rights in his home country of Turkey as well as many other places. "To some people, it's money over principles," Kanter says. "To me, it's principles over money." And for him, the biggest toll has nothing to do with cash. What makes him so dangerous to the powerful interests he stands up to is his imperviousness to the threats that work on most people. What can they take from him when he has already surrendered so much?"
- "Boston City Council updates Trust Act, clarifies limits on police cooperation with ICE," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "The Boston City Council unanimously passed an updated version of the Trust Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from detaining someone solely over a civil immigration detainer requested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The updated law strengthens limitations on informal information sharing between police and ICE and mandates training to make sure police officers know the requirements and the limitations of the Trust Act, which was first passed in 2014."
- "Boston approves fee on real estate transactions," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL on Wednesday approved a fee of up to 2 percent on real estate transactions greater than $2 million, a measure that is expected to raise $168 million a year for affordable housing production. The new transfer fee, an attempt to capitalize on Boston's hot real estate market, is expected to be signed by Mayor Martin Walsh and then go as a home rule petition to the Legislature for approval. If approved by the Legislature, the city would have the ability to determine whether to assess a single flat fee on all transactions over $2 million or go with a graduated rate based on the size of the transaction."
- "On Cassellius' Community Tour, Boston Parents Call For Quality Schools For Every Student," by Carrie Jung, WBUR: "Empty seats were hard to come by as Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius geared up for one of the last stops on her community engagement tour. More than 100 students and parents squeezed into the second floor library of the English High School in Jamaica Plain to speak with the new superintendent. After a quick presentation and video, it was time for the crowd to take the mic. Parents were eager to voice their concerns. It didn't take long for the common themes to emerge."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Lydia Edwards endorses Shannon Liss-Riordan in US Senate race," by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "Labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan nabbed a notable endorsement as she campaigns to unseat Senator Edward J. Markey in the Democratic primary next fall: Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards. "Massachusetts and this country need Shannon in the Senate, fighting for workers and holding abusive corporations accountable, as she has every day over the last 20 years as a champion for working people," Edwards said in a statement announcing the endorsement."
- "Belmont Democratic Town Committee votes to endorse Ed Markey," from the Belmont DTC: "The Belmont Democratic Town Committee overwhelmingly voted to endorse Senator Ed Markey in his re-election bid Wednesday evening, the first Massachusetts Democratic Town Committee to hold an endorsement vote. Members heard from Attorney Shannon Liss- Riordan and surrogates from Senator Markey and Congressman Joe Kennedys' campaigns."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Tsarnaev's Attorneys Want Him Off Death Row. Here's What They'll Argue," by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: "More than four years after Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for killing four people and wounding hundreds more, his attorneys will argue in a Boston courtroom Thursday why his conviction and death sentence should be thrown out. Attorneys for Tsarnev's defense and the federal government will each have an hour to make their cases in front of three appeals court judges at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston — the same courthouse where Tsarnaev was sentenced in 2015."
- "Lawrence mayor urges judge to reject gas explosion settlement, saying lawyers would receive too large a share," by John R. Ellement and Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera wants a judge to reject the proposed $143 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against Columbia Gas, arguing that lawyers are taking too large a share of the money destined for victims of the 2018 natural gas explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley. In a letter sent to the firm hired to administer the settlement, Rivera criticized the $23.5 million that would go to the attorneys. "At its core, this settlement favors the interests of the class action attorneys and not the victims in the three communities that were directly impacted and continue to be today," Rivera wrote."
- "Former Mass. State Police troopers Paul Wosny, Michael Wilmot arraigned on charges of taking weapons from state police armory," by Aviva Luttrell, MassLive.com: "Two former Massachusetts State Police troopers accused of taking free guns from a prospective vendor and weapons from the state police armory were arraigned on the charges in East Brookfield District Court. Former Lt. Paul M. Wosny, 50, of Norfolk, and former Trooper Michael G. Wilmot, 59, of Sturbridge, were arraigned in East Brookfield District Court Wednesday on a charge of using an official position to obtain an unwarranted privilege. Not-guilty pleas were entered on their behalf."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Warren Is Spending Campaign Cash to Unseat Susan Collins," by Gideon Resnick, The Daily Beast: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) presidential campaign is putting resources into Maine, where it hopes to help unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in one of the most high-profile Senate races of this cycle. A new memo sent to supporters on Tuesday from Warren's campaign manager Roger Lau details a series of investments on state directors and organizers for states that vote and caucus in March. The campaign, Lau writes, is devoting these resources not just to boost Warren ahead of primary voting but to assist Democrats in marquee Senate, House, and state legislative contests in 2020. On the target list Lau offered was Maine, where Collins is facing a number of potential Democratic challengers, including Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon."
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| PATRICK PRIMARY |
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- "Oops. Missed call by Deval Patrick puts nascent presidential campaign in a jam," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's presidential campaign is scrambling to collect signatures in Michigan to secure a spot on the state's presidential primary ballot because neither Patrick nor his aides called the state Democratic Party and asked to be placed on the ballot in the hours after he floated a White House bid this year. Oops. If Patrick's team doesn't collect another 3,300 signatures by Friday, he won't be a listed choice for voters in the March 10 primary."
- "Former judges claim unequal pay, retaliation during Deval Patrick's tenure," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "As former governor Deval Patrick runs for president, he faces the uncomfortable prospect of being deposed in a lawsuit over gender discrimination and retaliation filed by three women he appointed as judges. The onetime administrative judges say their performance reviews plummeted and they were not reappointed after they complained that a new male judge had been hired at a higher salary and offered a downtown Boston parking space. Patrick's labor secretary allegedly defended the pay disparity by telling the women's supervisor, "We have to pay him; he's our only black judge," the suit claims."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Top general: Military won't be a 'raping, burning and pillaging' gang after Trump's war crimes pardons," by Connor O'Brien, POLITICO: "The military's top officer today defended efforts to maintain discipline in the ranks amid stiff questioning from lawmakers on whether President Donald Trump's intervention in the cases of three service members accused or convicted of war crimes will create chaos on the battlefield. "We do maintain, and we will maintain, good order and discipline," Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told the House Armed Services Committee. "We will not turn into a gang of raping, burning and pillaging throughout ... That is not going to happen as a result of this or anything else." Milley was responding to questions from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.)."
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| KENNEDY COMPOUND |
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- "Joe Kennedy III is speaking out about safe injection sites. Here's why." by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Rep. Joe Kennedy III says his support for safe injection facilities is nothing new, but one recent experience particularly elucidates why he's now speaking up on the subject. A few days after launching his Senate primary campaign in September, the Massachusetts congressman visited the area around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston that has become known as "Methadone Mile" due to its rampant, open drug use. There, he witnessed people in the throes of opioid addiction just steps away from clinics like the city's Health Care for the Homeless Program. To a certain degree, the clinic doors felt like an arbitrary barrier."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "6 more protestors arrested at Weymouth compressor site," by Joe DiFazio, The Patriot Ledger: "Six protesters were arrested near the base of the Fore River Bridge on Wednesday as they again tried to stop crews from preparing for the construction of a 7,700-horsepower natural gas compressor station fiercely opposed by nearby residents and elected officials. The escalating protests on the edge of the Fore River come as activists find themselves with fewer and fewer legal and political avenues for stopping a project that they say will vent toxic gases into nearby neighborhoods and put the entire region at risk. Last week, as crews were just starting to prepare the site, four protesters were arrested, though none were charged."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "IN HELL," — Globe: "When a lifesaving measure goes wrong," "Watchdog offers grim assessment of FBI." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Brookline Votes To Ban Face Surveillance Technology," by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: ""The town of Brookline voted overwhelmingly to ban government use of facial surveillance technology during a town meeting Wednesday. With 179 votes in favor of the ban, eight opposed and 12 abstaining, the town joined Somerville as the second Massachusetts town to block their municipality from using the technology. Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said the vote marks a huge victory for civil rights."
- "Worcester City Council OKs petition to retain Columbus Day," by Nick Kotsopoulos, Telegram & Gazette: "Columbus Day is going to remain a holiday in the city, celebrated on the second Monday in October as it always has been. The City Council Tuesday night unanimously voted to reaffirm the city's commitment and participation in the celebration of Columbus Day as a holiday, six weeks after it had been asked by a resident to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples' Day."
ICYMI: BENNET IN BOSTON - Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet talked about his presidential campaign, why he's betting on New Hampshire and his vision for the future at the Kennedy Institute yesterday. You can watch a video of the talk here.
STAFF TRACKER - FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Roger Lis joins Rep. Joe Kennedy III's campaign for Senate as digital director. Lis is the former New Hampshire digital director for Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign. The Kennedy campaign has also hired six organizers.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George; Alex Reimer, communications director for state Sen. Eric Lesser; Jeff Goldstein, and John Lippmann.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No and no! The Pacers beat the Celtics 122-117. The Capitals beat the Bruins 3-2.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: THE POLL-AR EXPRESS - On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela discuss new polling on the New Hampshire primary. Boston Globe reporter Adam Vaccaro runs through the safety report on the MBTA conducted by an independent panel of experts. MassINC Polling Group Research Director Rich Parr rounds out the show with a look at a regional poll focused on the Transportation Climate Initiative. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
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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