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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The Massachusetts Playbook has returned from its end-of-summer hiatus! It's good to be back in your inbox.
INSIDE THE LABOR DAY BREAKFAST — The Labor Day breakfast hosted Sunday by the Greater Boston Labor Council had all the signs of a Senate battle between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III. There were sign-holding supporters lining the sidewalks, dueling banners hanging from the balconies at the annual political event — the only thing missing was an actual Kennedy campaign.
Kennedy made an appearance at the morning breakfast , but he has yet to announce whether he'll run for Markey's Senate seat. Kennedy says he's still in the decision-making process, though he has filed a Senate campaign committee with the FEC and at least one pollshows him with a head start. The congressman shook hands at the event and greeted the supporters drafting him for Senate, but left before the speaking program began.
Markey laid out his vision for 2020 during his remarks at the breakfast. The outlook that Markey, who has two already-announced primary opponents, presented had less to do with state politics, and more to do with getting Republicans out of office across the country.
"We need in 2020 to defend the House, flip the Senate and defeat Donald Trump to make sure he does not appoint any more Supreme Court justices," Markey said yesterday.
Markey also made an appeal to labor. He held up his Senate voting card and compared it to a union card, and said his Green New Deal resolution could "bolster membership in our unions by the millions."
"I will have your back on the Senate floor every single day I am there," Markey said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who also spoke at the breakfast, said Democrats dropped the ball in 2016 and didn't "speak to everyone" or carry a positive message.
"The labor movement and Democrats are working people's last hope," Walsh said. "We are not a collection of special interests. We are a movement of hope." Walsh suggested to the New York Times last week that he would look at running for Senate if Markey's seat opened up, but would not run against the incumbent lawmaker.
As summer wraps up and we inch toward what might be a Senate showdown between a longtime lawmaker and the youngest member of the Kennedy political dynasty, here's a reminder that we have a long way to go: This time next year, candidates will be in the home stretch before the statewide primary, scheduled for Sept. 15, 2020.
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 meets with Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. Rep. Ayanna Pressley holds a town hall in Roxbury. Secretary of State William Galvin hosts a voter registration drive at South Station.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Gas tax? Education funding? A plastic bag ban? Here's what Beacon Hill could tackle this fall," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe:"Higher costs at the pump. An overhaul to school funding. A ban on handheld phones while driving. With Beacon Hill beginning to stir from its summer slumber, there's potential — and pressure — for state lawmakers to deliver a bevy of long-promised proposals in the coming months that could touch wallets, classrooms, and commutes statewide. Legislative leaders have repeatedly targeted "the fall" to unveil several major items, among them a broad transportation financing bill in the House that could rely on higher taxes and fees — such as a gas tax hike — to funnel more dollars into the state's aging infrastructure."
- "State Sen. DiZoglio to Charlie Baker on victim-requested NDAs: prove it," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "State Sen. Diana DiZoglio is questioning Gov. Charlie Baker's claim — that he only uses secret silencing settlements when a sexual harassment victim requests it — because he has refused to produce documentation to back it up. "If you were telling the truth, you would produce the proof," DiZoglio told the Herald. Baker's office tersely dismissed a Herald records request for the number of taxpayer-funded secret nondisclosure agreements made over the past five fiscal years, with the cost per year, and redacted documentation to confirm that the victim requested the secret deal."
- "Massachusetts bill would let those in country illegally get licenses," Associated Press: "The Massachusetts House and Senate are planning to hold a joint hearing on two bills that would let immigrants living in the state illegally get driver's licenses. The bills — filed by Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield and Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn, both Democrats — would permit all qualified residents, regardless of immigration status, to receive a standard driver's license. Dozens of other lawmakers have signed on to co-sponsor the bills. Supporters have argued that allowing those living in the state to get licenses, even if they are in the country illegally, will help make the roads safer."
- "Backers of ranked-choice voting eye 2020 ballot," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Backers of ranked-choice voting are taking their fledgling effort to change how Massachusetts elects its officials to the ballot box. A coalition of progressive activists, good government groups and lawmakers want voters to approve a switch from the current, winner-take-all system to a ranked-choice method that asks voters to weigh candidates in order of preference. They've filed a proposal to get on the 2020 ballot."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Harvard student who was denied entry into US makes it to campus in time for start of classes," by Felicia Gans, Boston Globe: "A Harvard University freshman who was denied entry into the United States at Logan Airport last month has arrived on campus in time for the start of classes Tuesday. Ismail Ajjawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian student who lives in Lebanon, had a valid visa to study in the United States but was put on a flight back home after being questioned by immigration officials at Logan. He was reportedly turned away because of political posts his friends made on social media that were critical of the United States, and the Department of Homeland Security said he was deemed inadmissible and his visa was canceled ."
- "One year on the job, Boston police commissioner earns praise for outreach," by Gal Tziperman Lotan, Boston Globe: "He's a fixture at festivals and Father's Day walks, neighborhood basketball games and bike rides for peace. In his trademark wide-brimmed hat, he shakes hand after hand, readily offers hugs, and smiles for photos. In his first year as Boston police commissioner, William G. Gross has undertaken a personal goodwill tour of the city, serving as an ambassador for the 2,100-member force in a determined effort to build trust with residents."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "At labor breakfast, Dems pummel Trump while girding for primary," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE POLITICAL BACKDROP to Boston's Labor Day breakfast stayed mostly in the background, as Democratic speakers ripped into President Trump but avoided saying anything about the more fraught US Senate race on the horizon. Despite a unified antipathy toward Trump, the Massachusetts Democratic party could endure further disruption itself in the 12 months leading up to next year's primary, where two candidates have already launched campaigns against Markey and a third prominent challenger, US Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, is making moves to get in the race."
- "Cyr mum on Senate endorsement," by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: "With a potential primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III looming large in 2020, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., has been rolling out endorsements more than a year before any election would take place. Last week, Markey announced that 116 Massachusetts state senators and representatives have endorsed his candidacy, including two of the three Democratic members of the Cape and Islands legislative delegation: state Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, and Rep. Dylan Fernandes, D-Woods Hole. Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, was noticeably absent from the list, though."
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| THE OPINION PAGES |
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- "As bounty hunters buy our digital footprints, FCC drags its feet," by Rep. Lori Trahan and Jessica Rosenworcel, Boston Globe: "Everywhere we go our smartphones follow. They power the connections that we count on for so much of modern life. But because they are constantly in our palms and pockets, they are also collecting gobs of data about everything we are doing — and where we are doing it. Our phones know our location at any given moment. This geolocation data is especially sensitive. It's a record of where we've been, and by extension, who we are. This information needs to be treated with care."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "'Straight Pride' Counter-Protesters To Be Arraigned, Claim Police Were 'Hostile' And 'Aggressive,'" by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: "Thirty-six people who were arrested at Saturday's self-described "straight pride" parade are scheduled to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court Tuesday, according to the Boston Police Department. Samantha Anderson, who was among the more than 1,000 people counter-protesting at the parade, says counter-protesters faced a sea of police officers escalating conflicts within the crowd."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "It's now Biden, Warren, Sanders — and everyone else," by David Siders and Elena Schneider, POLITICO: "The bottom is falling out of the Democratic presidential primary. And the top-tier — no longer five candidates, but three — is becoming more insurmountable. For more than a year, Democrats had approached their nominating contest with a widely-shared belief that — like Republicans in the earliest stages of their primary four years ago — they, too, might take turns rising and falling in an expansive field. That expectation sustained the campaigns of more than two dozen contenders this year. But in recent weeks, the leading band of candidates has contracted unexpectedly early ."
- "Elizabeth Warren reflects on Labor Day as she woos N.H. voters," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "US Senator Elizabeth Warren recalled the origins of Labor Day and the early days of unionized workers at a campaign rally here Monday, connecting the struggles of striking Massachusetts millworkers more than a century ago to those of modern Americans. "Children were working. One in every three adult workers . . . at that mill lost their life by the time they were 25 years old. That's how dangerous the machines were. That's what it meant to breathe the dust that they were all breathing," Warren said of Lawrence mills in 1912. Faced with such conditions, the workers — mostly women and nearly all immigrants, decided they had had enough, Warren said."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Can Solar Power Save Massachusetts' Cranberry Bogs?," by Chaiel Schaffel, WGBH News: "A state solar energy incentive program launched last November has a handful of Massachusetts cranberry farmers hoping for a new way to farm their fruit — and stay in the farming business. The Solar Massachusetts Renewable Energy Target (SMART) program awards farmers a stipend for the solar energy they produce from solar panels built over their active farmland. Some cranberry farmers are skeptical and say building solar panels over their bogs is too risky; it could destroy their crop. Others say solar panels are their only option to keep afloat in a struggling industry."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "DEADLY DORIAN," — Globe: "US pulls back on ousting severely ill immigrants," "Dorian stalls over Bahamas," "At labor event, unity, with hint of political split." |
| NO PLACE LIKE THE CITY OF HOMES |
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- "In Crowded Casino Market, MGM Springfield's Revenue Falls Far Short Of Projections," by Sam Hudzik, NEPR: "When applying for its casino license, the company told regulators it would generate $412 million in its first year. Through the end of July — about three weeks less than a full year — MGM reported $253 million in gambling revenue. That fell short of the projection by well over $100 million. Speaking to reporters last week, MGM Springfield President and COO Mike Mathis defended the estimate as realistic at the time, but he said the regional casino market is tighter now."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Opioid overdose calls down by a third in Lowell," by Elizabeth Dobbins, The Lowell Sun: "Calls for opioid overdoses in the first seven months of 2019 are down by 33 percent in Lowell compared to the same period last year, according to data tracked by Trinity EMS, the company that provides ambulance services to the city of Lowell. Could the city finally be turning a corner in opioid use and addiction? Lowell Fire Chief Jeffrey Winward said the news is "hopeful." "There's still people using in the streets, but it's definitely encouraging," he said. Still, officials are reluctant to label the recent numbers as a definitive shift in the epidemic that has resulted in the overdose deaths of at least 287 Lowell residents from 2014 to 2018."
- "Marshfield trash collectors' strike 'still going strong,'" by Erin Tiernan, Patriot Ledger: "There was no respite for trash collectors working the picket line in front of the waste management company where they work on Labor Day on Monday. "We are still on strike today. Still going strong," said Michael DeVito, union president for the 24 trash collectors at Republic Services' 965 Plain St. location who went on strike last Thursday to push for better health care, wages and pensions. The strike, which will extend to its sixth day on Tuesday, has meant inconsistent curbside trash pickups for residents in Marshfield, Abington and Rockland, where the striking workers collect trash."
- "Central Mass. Labor Day breakfast speakers praise solidarity, denounce Trump," by Brian Lee, Telegram & Gazette: "The recent 11-day work stoppage by 31,000 Stop & Shop employees, described as a strike of "unprecedented" proportions, and allegations of the president's desire to weaken unions were widely discussed topics at Monday's Central Massachusetts AFL-CIO Labor Day breakfast and awards ceremony at the Manor Restaurant. Steve Tolman, president of the Massachusetts AFL/CIO, called the 11-day strike "perhaps the strongest show of solidarity in the retail sector history," with empty aisles, shelves and parking lots decimating Easter sales for Quincy-based Stop & Shop, a division of Dutch supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize."
WEEKEND WEDDING - Tyler Griffin, a real estate development associate with the RMR Group, this weekend married Dr. Elisa Schunkert, who is doing a post-doctoral fellowship in the Dermatology Department of Brigham & Women's Hospital. The couple met while studying at Cushing Academy; Elisa, a native of Germany, did one year abroad at Cushing in Massachusetts. Pic ... Another pic
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Al Thomson and Alan Dershowitz, who celebrated Sunday. And to former Rep. Michael Harrington, who turned 83; Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer of "Frontline"; and Jennifer Hanley of Tusk Ventures, who all celebrated Monday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to former Rep. John Olver, who is 83; state Sen. Jo Comerford, state Rep. Andy Vargas, the Boston Globe's Dan McGowan and Leo Stella, aide to state Sen. Nick Collins.
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