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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday, and welcome to 2020! It's good to be back in your inbox.
BACK TO BUSINESS — The holidays have come and gone, and the year we've been talking about since 2016 is finally here. Newly-elected mayors and city councilors are being sworn in across the state today, and we are back to business. The Iowa caucus is less than a month away, and there are only 36 days until the New Hampshire primary. To catch you up, here are a few stories you may have missed over the break that I'm keeping an eye on this week.
Warren adjusts after fundraising dip - Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised $21.2 million for her presidential campaign in the final quarter of 2019, coming in $13 million behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' $34.5 million haul, and a few million dollars short of what she raised in the previous quarter. Before the holiday break, Warren hammered former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg on his now-infamous wine cave fundraiser during the December debate. But as we head into the home stretch before the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, Warren is returning to her positive approach and declining to directly attack rivals.
Deval Patrick's ad buy - Former Gov. Deval Patrick made his first television advertising buy on Friday. Patrick is spending more than $100,000 over the next two weeks to put his ads on the air in the early voting state of New Hampshire, and is spending $60,000 on ads in South Carolina this month. Patrick entered the race for the Democratic nomination in November, almost a year after some candidates began their presidential campaigns. That means he's got some catching up to do.
John Kerry campaigns in Iowa - John Kerry is headed to Iowa to support former Vice President Joe Biden. The former senator and secretary of state is headlining a "We Know Joe" tour of Biden surrogates ahead of the Iowa caucus. Kerry endorsed Biden in early December, and hit the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire shortly after. Kerry and Biden served together in the Senate for years, and again during the Obama administration.
Senate race heats up - While the race between Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Joe Kennedy III and attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan was somewhat sleepy before the holidays, things are about to ramp up in a big way. Kennedy raised $2.4 million in the last quarter of the year, first reported by the Boston Globe. That's about $1 million more than Markey, which is a tough blow to the incumbent because Markey saw his best haul to date this quarter. Kennedy has around $5.5 million in cash on hand. The three candidates will debate on Feb. 18.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: AUCHINCLOSS RAISES $609K — Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss raised $609,000 for his campaign to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III in the last quarter of 2019, he will announce today. Auchincloss is running in a crowded primary to replace Kennedy and represent the state's 4th Congressional District, which spans from Boston suburbs like Newton and Brookline down to Fall River.
Seventy percent of contributions came from Massachusetts donors, according to the Auchincloss campaign. The quarter ended Dec. 31, and year-end finance reports are due to the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 31. Stashing campaign cash now is important for the half-dozen Democrats running in the 4th District. When the primary comes in early September, candidates will be under pressure to grab the attention of voters who may be more focused on the presidential election.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Local officials are sworn into office across the state. Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and state Sen. Eric Lesser attend a ceremonial signing of sections of the fiscal 2019 supplemental budget to highlight funding for security grants to nonprofits. Baker attends the inauguration ceremony for Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo. Polito participates in the inaugurations for Fall River Mayor-elect Paul Coogan and Taunton Mayor-Elect Shauna O'Connell.
Rep. Richard Neal attends the inauguration ceremony of Chicopee Mayor John Vieau. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends a swearing-in ceremony for the Boston City Council at Faneuil Hall. Rep. Katherine Clark is a guest on CNN "New Day." Clark attends a swearing-in ceremony at Cambridge City Hall. Rep. Seth Moulton holds a town hall in West Newbury.
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POLITICO TECH AT CES - This week we are bringing a special edition of the POLITICO Tech newsletter to CES 2020 . Written by Nancy Scola and Cristiano Lima, the newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered together in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 6 - 10 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the Summit.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Lawmakers want vote on climate pact," by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: "With Massachusetts inching toward a regional climate pact that could increase prices at the gas pumps, lawmakers want more say in deciding whether to move ahead with the plan. A group of mostly Republican legislators who oppose the so-called Transportation Climate Initiative have filed a proposal that would require the Legislature to approve the plan. They argue that the pact amounts to a "backdoor tax" that must be approved by the House of Representatives and Senate."
- "State Commission Recommends Keeping Cash Bail In Massachusetts, At Least For Now," by Chris Burrell, WGBH News: "While several other states have abolished cash bail for criminal defendants, Massachusetts is likely to hold onto the practice, based on new recommendations from the state legislature's special commission on bail. The 17-member commission decided it would be premature to end cash bail before seeing whether recent legislative reforms and a major court decision on bail can effect change. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled two years ago that judges must consider a defendant's finances before setting bail and explain the reasoning if the amount is clearly unaffordable."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Signs point to a housing construction slowdown in Boston area," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "There are growing signs that Boston's long-running housing boom may soon start to run out of steam. Building permits for new housing in Boston fell by nearly one-quarter in 2019, city data show. And while the number ticked up 6 percent across the entire area, to the highest level since 2005 as developers migrated from downtown to less-expensive suburban locales, a growing number of those cities and towns have thrown up roadblocks to new projects or elected mayors who promised to slow housing growth."
- "Protesters in Boston rally against war with Iran after Trump's strike," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: Speakers at the rally organized by Massachusetts Peace Action and several other activist groups — one of several protests held Saturday across the state and nation — called for the United States to end its sanctions against Iran, to avoid what they claimed would be a dangerous and costly war, and to withdraw American troops from the Middle East. "The authoritarian in the White House engaged in a war act that now risks the lives of millions of innocent people," said 4th District congressional candidate Ihssane Leckey."
- "Citing New Documents, Advocates Call On Boston Public Schools To Stop Sharing Info With ICE," by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: "More than 100 student incident reports containing students' personal information and produced by Boston Public Schools (BPS) officials have been made available to federal immigration authorities since 2014, according to education and civil rights advocates. Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and others sued the city of Boston and BPS in June 2018 after they were denied access to the records. Janelle Dempsey, an attorney with LCR, said in a statement that the newly released documents suggest alarming "collusion" between BPS and federal immigration authorities."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Kennedy outpaced Markey in Senate fund-raising race in final months of 2019," by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III raised more than $2.4 million over the last three months of 2019, outpacing incumbent Senator Edward J. Markey by about $1 million, according to preliminary numbers shared with the Globe by the Senate candidates' campaigns. Markey's campaign said he raised more than $1.4 million in the final quarter of 2019, a total that represents the Malden Democrat's best quarterly haul to date and a 30 percent increase from the prior three-month period."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "BU assault case will test limits of schools' oversight," by Naba Khan, Boston Globe: "The entrance to Boston University's Student Village 2 dormitory certainly looks safe: Two uniformed security guards sit at a desk flanked by monitors streaming video from surveillance cameras in the 26-story building. No one gets in without an ID or an authorized host. But one night during Head of the Charles weekend in 2015, two unescorted MIT students entered 11 unlocked rooms without being detected. One of them, Samson Donick, came upon a sleeping student and sexually assaulted her until her screams drove him from the room; he ultimately pleaded guilty and received five years probation for the attack."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "'We believe in her'; Sen. Eric Lesser leads Elizabeth Warren supporters to New Hampshire to drum-up support," by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: "The 2020 New Hampshire democratic primary will take place next month and 24 Rep. Elizabeth Warren supporters from Western Massachusetts, organized by Sen. Eric Lesser, traveled to New Hampshire Saturday to go door to door on the streets of Claremont to gather support. The primary is set for Feb. 11, eight days after Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses. Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, have both emphasized New Hampshire's importance to their campaigns."
- "Valentin Closes out Council Tenure While Going National with Warren," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "These days, highway travel, not constituent work, dominates outgoing Ward 4 Holyoke city councilor Jossie Valentin's time. The Saturday before her successor would take office, she was leading Pioneer Valley supporters of US Senator Elizabeth Warren to New Hampshire on a bus State Senators Jo Comerford and Eric Lesser had organized. One year ago, Valentin quit her job at Holyoke Community College and became Massachusetts state director for Warren's presidential campaign. An exhilarating ride has followed along with the conclusion of her municipal service."
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| PATRICK PRIMARY |
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- "Deval Patrick leans into 'late' presidential bid in first TV ad," by Christopher Cadelago, POLITICO: "Deval Patrick, who launched his presidential campaign in November and has yet to register in polls, will begin airing his first TV ad on Monday with a message aimed at early-state voters: It's not too late. In the ad, created in-house by his campaign and powered by low six-figure buys concentrated in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Patrick leans into the reason for his delayed entry, explaining that he had originally planned to start campaigning a year ago —"but life had other ideas." Still, he concludes that there's time to catch on."
- "Deval Patrick hopes 'magic' can make up for late 2020 start," by Alexandra Jaffe, The Associated Press: "Over a year ago, Woody Kaplan, a major Democratic donor and longtime Deval Patrick supporter, helped the former governor plan his potential presidential bid. "The game plan was really simple: Put him in one living room in each of the 99 counties in Iowa, and those people would discover the magic," Kaplan said. "He would've won Iowa." But the former Massachusetts governor balked — deciding to focus on his wife's battle with cancer. By the time he jumped into the race in mid-November, after his wife was pronounced cancer-free, he was months behind his Democratic rivals and in need a new game plan ."
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| TWEET OF THE DAY |
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Massachusetts Politicians: Sure, War Is Bad. But!" by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "In the wake of Thursday's drone strike in Iraq that killed a high-ranking Iranian official, Democrats in Massachusetts are lining up to condemn the provocative act, issue dire warnings that the president is about to drag us into war, and express how stupid and horrible all that would be. But! Before getting around to doing so, a handful of our delegates to Washington, presumably worried about looking weak or out of touch, apparently first felt the need to preface it by saying that he is bad and they're not upset that he's dead."
- "Reps. Trahan, Clark announce $200K for Sudbury-Assabet-Concord river system," by Zane Razzaq, Milford Daily News: "Years ago, it was not uncommon to see bumper stickers reading "Please flush the Assabet River" around MetroWest. Today, said Alison Field-Juma, the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord River system received an overall grade of a B, but plenty of work remains to keep the waterway healthy. "We are really concerned about climate change. Sometimes we feel that with a lot of the things we've achieved, we know we have to at the very least hold the line to make sure we don't end up falling back," Field-Juma, executive director of river conservation group OARS, said on Thursday."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "How Trump's vape plan could affect New England states," by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: "The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will ban the sale of flavored e-cigarette cartridges or disposable "pods," but will allow menthol- and tobacco-flavored pods and flavored nicotine liquids sold for open-tank systems at vape stores. Pod-based systems, such as Juul, have grown popular with teenagers in part because of their convenience, smaller smoke clouds, and thumb-drive size compared to the larger open-tank devices. Consumers in Massachusetts won't be affected because state law already is more restrictive than the new federal policy, which begins next month. But other New England states with less stringent policies will see changes."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "TIME FOR HIM TO GO," — Globe: "Families fight new au pair benefits," "Iran ends pact to curb making of nuclear fuel." |
| EYE ON 2020 |
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- MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: "With N.H. vote looming, 'electability' still elusive," by Victoria McGrane and James Pindell, Boston Globe: "For the past year, a mantra has thrummed through the Democratic electorate like a heartbeat, powering voters as they tuned into debates and ventured out to rallies: We must — must! — find a candidate who can beat Trump. With a little over a month to go before they cast ballots, many New Hampshire primary voters say their motivation remains unchanged. But as crunch time approaches, many still have no idea who they think is best positioned to defeat the president."
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| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Mt. Holyoke professor allegedly beat a colleague with a fire poker, garden shears," by Lucas Phillips, Boston Globe: "A Mount Holyoke College art professor was arraigned Friday on charges of attempted murder after she allegedly attacked a colleague with a rock, fire poker, and garden shears while the college was on winter break, according to authorities. Rie Hachiyanagi, 48, of South Hadley, was arraigned in Orange District Court after she allegedly beat the victim in the victim's Leverett home the night of Dec. 23 and into Dec. 24, the Northwestern District Attorney's office said in a statement."
- "Body of proof: Census estimate shows most of Berkshires still losing population," by Clarence Fanto, Berkshire Eagle: "The decades long trend of population decline in Berkshire County is showing no sign of slowing, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. As of July 1, the county had 126,348 residents, according to the bureau's 2019 nationwide estimates released this week. The report shows a loss of nearly 4 percent since the 2010 census, when the county's population was 131,275. The Berkshire population peaked at 149,402, according to the 1970 census, and has declined steadily since then."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Claim Filing Deadline For Mass. Residents Affected By 2018 Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions Extended To Jan. 31, Attorney Says," The Associated Press, " The deadline for residents and businesses to file a claim for a portion of the $143 million legal settlement related to the September 2018 natural gas explosions in Massachusetts has been extended to the end of the month by a court order, an attorney says. To help people file claims or answer questions, lawyers for the plaintiffs who sued Columbia Gas of Massachusetts have scheduled three meetings this month, on Jan. 4, 18 and 25 at Greater Lawrence Technical High School in Andover."
- "Who Will Be Cambridge's New Mayor?" by Alyssa Vaughn, Boston Magazine: "It's been a busy year for Cambridge mayor Marc McGovern. Under his leadership, the City Council advocated for safer bike infrastructure, legal advocacy for immigrants, and restrictions on surveillance technology. They instated free breakfast for all public school students and wrestled with serious accusations of racism in classrooms. They debated affordable housing—a lot. And now, McGovern says, it's time for him to pass the torch. In a letter McGovern penned in Cambridge Day Thursday, he announced that will not seek reelection to his post, choosing instead to focus on his role as city councilor ."
- "Hopefuls throw hats in mayoral race," by Bill Kirk, Eagle Tribune: "The race for mayor is already heating up, even though election day is still 22 months away. Several candidates have already cropped up, as the second, four-year term of the current mayor, Dan Rivera, runs out at the end of 2021. Among those being mentioned are former at-large City Councilor Brian Depena, District D City Councilor Jeovanny Rodriguez, Lawrence Community Development Director Vilma Martinez and former Rivera chief of staff Ana Victoria Morales. Ex-mayor and former-state Rep. William Lantigua is said to be mulling a run as well."
- "Local police consider value of armed civilians after Texas church shooting," by George Barnes, Telegram & Gazette: "Auburn Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. said that having someone at the service who could intervene to save lives unquestionably saved lives. He said the incident was over so quickly that police would not have time to respond. "I think many, many more would have been harmed," he said. Sluckis has not changed his opinion about the value of having armed civilians in public places since he talked with the Telegram & Gazette in March 2018."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "WCVB is back for DirecTV subscribers," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "Local DirecTV subscribers were once again able to watch family favorites like ABC's long-running "America's Funniest Home Videos" on Sunday night, thanks to a new contract between the satellite television service and the parent company of WCVB-TV. The 34 broadcast stations owned by Hearst Television went dark Friday for subscribers of DirecTV, a subsidiary of AT&T, causing local football fans with DirecTV to miss out Saturday when the Houston Texans defeated the Buffalo Bills in the NFL playoffs. DirecTV customers who subscribe to ESPN still had access to the game on that network."
TRANSITIONS - Lauren Young joins Tom Steyer's presidential campaign as New Hampshire digital director. Young was deputy campaign manager for MA-3 candidate Alexandra Chandler.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Sarah Blodgett, communications director for Senate President Karen Spilka, Natalie Boyse, Âri de Fauconberg and Sean Costello.
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