10/24/2017 07:16 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) and Rebecca Morin (rmorin@politico.com; @RebeccaMorin_)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Heavy rain and breezy today with a high of 66 in Boston.
NEW THIS MORNING: NOT QUITE PEN PALS ON CAPITOL HILL - Days after Gov. Charlie Baker wrote to the Massachusetts' congressional delegation to inform them of steep health care rate increases and of his support for the bipartisan efforts of Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray, the state's 11 Democrats in Washington have crafted their own letter - and they are forwarding both to President Donald Trump this morning.
While Baker cites a "lack of affirmative congressional action" for the cost increase in his letter to the delegation from Thursday, the delegation's letter, addressed to Trump, calls on the president specifically to stop steamrolling bipartisan health care measures in Congress. The rate increase, according to the all-Democratic delegation, is "due directly to your actions."
It's a rare example of daylight between Republican Baker and Massachusetts' Democrats in Congress, who've largely been in agreement amid the federal health care fight. Yes, Baker and the delegation are all calling for the same cost-sharing reductions to be reinstated. But Baker stops short of calling out the president while the delegation pointedly singles out his efforts to "sabotage" the ACA.
Read Baker's letter to the delegation. And then read the delegation's letter to President Trump.
** A message from New England Clean Power Link: Poised to supply Massachusetts with 1,000 MW of clean, renewable power, the New England Clean Power Link is ready to roll. The only project with a Presidential Permit, full site control and full host state support, the innovative buried project will help Massachusetts meet its legislative requirements for lower carbon emissions. More **
STATE OF PLAY - Massachusetts' Health Connector stands to see a 26 percent rate increase next year if Trump doesn't reinstate the state's cost-sharing reductions - a shock Baker says the state's market can absorb in 2017, but will need "immediate, affirmative and bipartisan congressional action" for the state to provide affordable health care coverage in subsequent years.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez plans to question Sec. Jim Peyser's role in supporting the charter school ballot question in a public comment period at the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting in Malden, according to Gonzalez' campaign. He'll then file a public records request with the Executive Office of Education seeking correspondence involving Secretary Peyser - State Sen. Eric Lesser busses his western Mass constituents to testify at a Transportation Committee hearing on East-West rail - Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson and Mayor Marty Walsh participate in the only televised debate of the mayoral campaign at WGBH's studio in Brighton.
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tells Bloomberg Radio he favors a 'dedicated' state tax to help fund infrastructure plans in bid for Amazon's HQ2" from Tom Moroney, Peter Barnes and Pat Carroll, Bloomberg Baystate Business : "He would not say that he specifically supports the state's proposed 'millionaires' tax, which is expected to be on the ballot in 2018, or a higher gasoline tax, which Massachusetts voters rejected in 2014. But he said the state should consider a 'dedicated tax' to help pay for infrastructure improvements statewide. ... 'It's not just for Amazon,' he said, declining to call it an 'Amazon tax.' If lawmakers proposed a plan for infrastructure upgrades for 'all corners of this commonwealth' and were specific about 'this is how you are going to pay for it, I think people ... will look to be supportive of that,' he said."
- "Tougher drunken driving laws pushed by Baker, lawmakers," by Christian M. Wade, Salem News: "State leaders want to toughen the drunken driving laws to ensure repeat offenders don't get an easy route back to the streets. One proposal, filed by Gov. Charlie Baker, would give police more power to hold recidivist drunken drivers without bail. The bill, which goes before a legislative hearing on Tuesday, was written in response to a ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court that trial judges can no longer hold third-offense drunken drivers without bail because the law's wording is 'ambiguous.'"
- "Lawrence's Francisco Urena, is in Washington with new group boosting veterans services; he is state secretary of Veterans Affairs," by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: "Francisco Urena, a Lawrence native and decorated Marine veteran, is in the nation's capital where he is serving on a federal committee for U.S. veterans and those who care for them. Urena serves as the Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Affairs, appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker. The previous veterans director for both Lawrence and Boston, Urena was recently selected to serve on the newly formed Veterans Family, Caregiver and Survivor Federal Advisory Committee."
- "In harsh letter, DAs pan Senate's criminal justice proposal," by Joshua Miller, Boston Globe: "In a blistering public rebuke, nine of Massachusetts' 11 district attorneys came out Monday against major parts of the state Senate's sweeping criminal justice bill, which is aimed at reducing the number of people caught in the system. In a six-page letter that comes days before the chamber is set to take up the legislation, top law enforcement officials railed against what is a Senate priority."
TRUMPACHUSETTS -
- "17 Democratic AGs, Including In Mass., Unite Against NRA-Backed Concealed-Carry Gun Law," by Steve Peoples, Associated Press: "Democratic attorneys general from 17 states are calling on Congress to abandon legislation backed by the National Rifle Association that would allow concealed-carry gun permits issued in one state to be valid in all states. The top prosecutors from states including New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa and California sent a letter to congressional leaders in both parties on Sunday warning that federal reciprocity proposals being debated on Capitol Hill 'will lead to the death of police officers and civilians, the proliferation of gun traffickers, and acts of terrorism and other mass violence.'"
- "Gloucester school under fire for Trump tombstone," by Antonio Planas, Boston Herald: "Kids tossing bean bags at a mock tombstone for President Trump at a public school was a 'despicable' display of dirty politics the adults forced on the unwitting children, a Gloucester Republican official said, as the furor continued to grow."
THE WARREN REPORT -
- "This isn't the first time Warren spoke about that office incident," by Julia Jacobs and Victoria McGrane: "But the tone of her telling, recounted on NBC'S 'Meet the Press,' appears to be inconsistent with the reportedly more lighthearted manner in which she described the same incident two decades after it occurred, during the memorial service for the senior University of Houston faculty member she accused of pursuing her around his office."
- "The Women of Congress on Why Women Should Run for Office," by Kayla Webley Adler and Jen Ortiz, Marie Claire: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren: 'When people look back at this era, Donald Trump's inauguration will be a significant moment in history. But to me what was even more meaningful was the day after the inauguration: the women's marches. I attended the march in Boston and looked out at thousands and thousands of women (and friends of women). It was a powerful reminder of what democracy is all about. We need more women to get engaged in politics and to run for office.'"
- "Elizabeth Warren in Minneapolis: Democrats need to muscle up on economic populism," by Susan Du, City Pages: "Fifteen years after the death of legendary liberal populist Paul Wellstone, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren came to Minneapolis to tell a story about a time in the late 1990s when credit card companies lobbied hard to make it more difficult for people to file for bankruptcy. As a nonpolitical Harvard Law professor, Warren had been trying to answer why more than one million American families were going bankrupt each year. So she assembled a team of researchers, who contacted people across the country, asking what happened."
ON THE STUMP -
- "Top GE execs help fund Baker's reelection campaign," by Max Stendahl, Boston Business Journal: "Campaign finance records show that CEO John Flannery and five other top GE officials made a total of $5,500 in donations to the incumbent Republican governor last month."
- "One Republican asks another to drop out - and may have run afoul of campaign laws," by Frank Phillips, Boston Globe: "Republican John Kingston called a meeting late last month with his party rival for US Senate, Beth Lindstrom, and strongly urged her to drop out of the primary, arguing he was the stronger candidate to defeat Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Lindstrom, who announced her Senate candidacy last weekend, firmly resisted the proposition - as well as another Kingston proffer, according to a source close to her - one that could well run up against state law."
- "'People will die' under GOP budget plan, Bernie Sanders says in Somerville appearance," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Sanders used his speech to stress the importance of grassroots activism and of working people running for office."
- "Vargas picks up endorsements of DeLeo, Coppinger," by Amanda Getchell, Eagle-Tribune: "As the days on the calendar dwindle between now and Election Day, City Councilor Andy Vargas is encouraging his supporters to press on. Vargas, 24, of Haverhill, will oppose School Commiteeman Shaun Toohey, who announced his candidacy in July and ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in the special election for state representative."
AND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE - "Steve Bannon Slated To Speak In New Hampshire," by New Hampshire Public Radio: "Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who has declared war on establishment Republicans, will speak to a conservative GOP group in New Hampshire early next month."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "DEAD WRONG!" "Even on Newbury St.," "'D' gets it done." - Globe: "For Warren, an evolution on encounter," "After horror, a push for pit bull laws," "A VIEW FROM THE HEAVENS," "Fidelity CEO has chance to set a higher standard," "FROM ON-CAMPUS TO ONLINE," "Embattled judge faces sex misconduct probe."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Betting site pegs Boston's odds of landing Amazon's $5 billion 'HQ2' at 6-to-1," by David L. Harris, Boston Business Journal: "The city of Boston's odds of landing Amazon.com Inc.'s second headquarters are high, but not higher than a couple other tech hubs in the southern half of the U.S., according to betting site Paddy Power. Boston's odds of getting the tech giant's second headquarters are 6-to-1, putting it at No. 3 on the site's ranking of cities that could be home to Amazon's so-called "HQ2," the site said. No. 1 on the list is Atlanta (2-to-1), followed by Austin (3-to-1)."
- "Worcester seeks help with influx of Puerto Rican students," by Scott O'Connell, Worcester Telegram: "With 51 students from hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico already enrolled in the district, school officials have agreed to seek help from the state and federal government to accommodate the sudden increase in enrollment. School Committee members also support the idea of asking the state to adjust its educator licensure rules to accommodate any teachers arriving from the U.S. island territory who want to work in the school system."
- "State report favors 'independent taxation authority' for regional school districts," by James F. Russell, Worcester Telegram: "A new state report says it would be a good idea for regional school districts to possess 'independent taxation authority' as a way for them to address chronic funding problems, inadequate resources and cumbersome governance issues. Such authority 'would result in a single tax rate across all member towns' that comprise a regional school system, it says."
- "Embattled western Mass. judge faces sex misconduct probe," by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: "The presiding judge of Belchertown District Court is under investigation by the state's Judicial Conduct Commission after a former court employee accused him of pressuring her for oral sex. Judge Thomas Estes, who was removed from hearing cases without explanation in August, admitted having a sexual relationship with Tammy Cagle, a clinical social worker, according to a signed statement he submitted to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Cagle, who worked at the Pittsfield drug court where Estes sat once a week, filed a sexual harassment complaint against the executive office of the Trial Court in July."
- "Pot is legal on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Transporting it there is not," by Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: "Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket may seem like idyllic vacation spots, green gems embedded in a blue ocean. But when it comes to marijuana, it's more like they're legally surrounded. While the islands off Cape Cod are part of Massachusetts, where marijuana has been legalized, the planes and ferries that serve the island are under federal oversight, and marijuana has not been legalized under federal law."
MEANWHILE, MOSTLY IN CONNECTICUT - "$8 To New Haven: DOT Announces Proposed Fares For Hartford Line," by Russell Blair, Hartford Courant: "The state Department of Transportation Monday announced proposed fares for the Hartford Line commuter rail that will begin service in May. A one-way trip between Hartford and New Haven will run $8. A trip along the entire length of the rail line - Springfield to New Haven - will cost $12.75."
ONE FOR THE MONEY (AND YOUR #MAPOLI LISTENING PLEASURE) - In the latest installment of The Horse Race, it's that time of year - flannel, fall activities, and FEC REPORTS! Democratic campaign fundraising guru Sean Curran walks us through what the quarter three reports mean, Lauren is vindicated in her special election love, and Steve gets sentimental about public opinion polling. Keeping up with our trivia? Listen to the episode to find out last week's answer. This week: What Massachusetts city was nicknamed the City of Notions in the 19th century? Subscribe and listen now on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Congressman Seth Moulton; Marshfield Rep. James Cantwell; Ernie Corrigan, president of Corrigan Communications; and Leigh Appleby, comms director for the Connecticut Democratic Party and former spokesman for gubernatorial candidate Don Berwick.
THE HOME TEAMS DID NOT PLAY.
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** A message from New England Clean Power Link : Poised to supply Massachusetts with 1,000 MW of clean, sustainable power, the New England Clean Power Link is ready to roll. The only project with a Presidential Permit, full site control and full host state support, the innovative buried project will help Massachusetts meet its legislative requirements for lower carbon emissions. The entire line will travel underground and underwater, and is expected to deliver low-cost electricity to the Commonwealth over the next 40 years. Massachusetts can expect to reap $19.9 billion in benefits over the next 20 years alone, while ratepayers can expect to save $655 million a year in energy costs. Most importantly, the project is 100% privately financed and comes with a fixed-price bid, protecting taxpayers and ratepayers alike from any cost overruns. The project's developers have also established a $20 million fund to assist low-income ratepayers in western Massachusetts. More **
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