5 dates to watch this month

Jan 02, 2024

MARK YOUR CALENDARS — Happy New Year and Happy ELECTION YEAR! Yes, 2024 is finally here. And it’s getting off to quite the busy start.

The Boston City Council embarked on a new term Monday with an emotional swearing-in ceremony that welcomed four new faces and a new president, Ruthzee Louijeune, who’s now tasked with restoring order to a council that’s lately made more headlines for its dysfunction than its accomplishments.

Secretary of State Bill Galvin is holding the drawing for Massachusetts’ presidential primary ballot order at 11 a.m. at the State House. And he’s putting Joe Biden’s longshot Democratic challengers, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, on the ballot even though the state Democratic Party only submitted the president’s name to appear before voters in the Super Tuesday contest. Catch up on the Democratic ballot drama.

The Legislature returns for the second year of its two-year session Wednesday, where lawmakers will immediately face pressure to get moving on major bills including stricter gun regulations and oversight of the beleaguered MBTA. Even though lawmakers took knocks for their lethargy last year, Senate President Karen Spilka told Playbook in a statement that 2023 “may have been the most productive [year] ever” when it came to “making policies that make Massachusetts a more affordable, equitable, and competitive place.” More on Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano’s Year Two priorities below.

Here are five more dates to circle on your calendars this month — and why:

Jan. 9 — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu lays out her vision for her third year as mayor in her second state of the city address. The speech will serve as a marker of what Wu has and hasn’t accomplished at the midway point of her first term, and as a table-setter for her expected reelection campaign (even if she doesn't actually launch it then). Wu told WCVB she plans to focus on schools, housing and economic development in her address.

Jan. 15 — The first contest of the 2024 presidential race, the Iowa caucuses will serve as the first test of former President Donald Trump’s strength as he makes a second run at a second term — and of his Republican rivals’ viability. The results will ripple into New Hampshire, where voters will head to the polls just eight days later.

Jan. 17 — Gov. Maura Healey delivers her first State of the Commonwealth address. Watch this less for the recap of her first year in office and more for her vision for her second year — particularly her budget, with the state’s fiscal picture shaky and the ongoing migrant and shelter crisis threatening to further stretch and strain the state’s resources.

Jan. 23 — The New Hampshire presidential primaries will likely (further) cull the Republican field and will serve as an important (if unofficial) early test for Team Biden. Can the president’s allies (including Massachusetts Democrats) convince tens of thousands of people to write in Biden’s name on the ballot? Can his primary challengers show signs of life?

Jan. 24 — The deadline for Healey to submit her second budget. Remember, these spending plans often turn into policy vehicles, so look to see what’s on the governor’s agenda — and how lawmakers react to it.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. We hope you had a happy and healthy holiday season!

TODAY — Healey swears in Peter Marchetti as mayor of Pittsfield at 10 a.m., Paul Coogan as mayor of Fall River at 4:30 p.m. and Ted Bettencourt as mayor of Peabody at 7 p.m. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll swears in Melinda Barrett as mayor of Haverhill at 10 a.m. and Erin Joyce as mayor of Braintree at 5 p.m. Auditor Diana DiZoglio sings at Barrett’s inauguration and attends Worcester’s inauguration at 4:30 p.m.

Tips? Scoops? Missed us? Drop us a line: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

AGENDA SETTING — House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka are laying out their priorities for the second year of the legislative session:

The House will “soon” hold a floor vote on legislation to crack down on so-called revenge porn, Mariano told Playbook in a statement. Health care industry reforms also remain a top priority for the Quincy Democrat.

Spilka says the Senate is “on track” to release its gun legislation by the end of the month, putting the two chambers back on a collision course over changes meant to shore up the state’s firearms laws.

The Senate president also plans this year to focus on expanding free community college to all residents, reducing the cost of early education and care and “seeing prescription drug reform become law” — all of which she hopes Healey will mention in her State of the Commonwealth address.

BTW — Spilka told GBH’s Katie Lannan she plans to run for reelection in her district this year and as Senate president next year. Mariano previously said he plans to run again for his seat and his leadership post (though he said it "remains to be seen" whether he'd serve out another full term).

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A new month means new state campaign finance reports to peruse. And state Rep. Dylan Fernandes’ will show the Falmouth Democrat raised more than $83,000 from 350 donors in December for his state Senate bid, he said.

Fernandes is running for the Cape Cod and South Shore seat state Sen. Susan Moran is vacating to run for a county post, in what could become one of the year’s marquee legislative races. He already has significantly more money in the bank than his current and potential Republican opponents in this purple district.

IN MEMORIAM — “Richard Voke, Chelsea native who rose to majority leader in State House, dies at 76,” by Nick Stoico, The Boston Globe.

— “Disgraced head of Mass. Commission for the Blind stayed on as paid adviser for months after resigning,” by Jason Laughlin and Elizabeth Koh, The Boston Globe.

— “Marijuana pardons? Biden said yes, but Massachusetts waits on Healey,” by Liz Neisloss, GBH News.

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

SEEKING SHELTER — Some 400 families were on the state’s emergency shelter waitlist as of Friday, a spokesperson for the governor said, as the administration projects a $224 million shortfall in shelter funding for the current fiscal year and warns that high demand could force the state to spend upwards of $900 million on the system in the next fiscal year. Healey and her team want to tap a surplus revenue account to float the system.

Days after opening a temporary overflow site inside a former courthouse in Cambridge that also houses the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, the Healey administration also said it met the Legislature’s requirement to stand up overflow shelter by the end of 2023.

— “A state program is billed as a salve for the shelter crisis. For some, it’s impossible to access,” by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe: “[HomeBASE] — once heralded as a golden key to helping people exit shelter — has been nearly impossible to navigate for many Massachusetts residents in need. According to housing affordability experts interviewed by The Globe, HomeBASE doesn’t have the staffing or the financial support from the state to accommodate a need that has ballooned amid the state’s growing housing crisis.”

FROM THE HUB

Boston City Council swearing in

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu swears in new and returning city councilors. | Mike Mejia/Boston mayor's office

COUNCIL TURNS OVER — After two years of tumult that saw the Boston City Council repeatedly fracture along racial lines, new President Ruthzee Louijeune, the body’s first Haitian-American leader, strove for a reset Monday.

Louijeune extolled collegiality in her first speech as president and rejected the idea of “old Boston” versus “new Boston” and the “zero-sum mentality that suggests that for one group to succeed, another must lose.” She urged her colleagues to work together to promote an “inclusive” Boston and to combat “deeply rooted inequality.”

District 4 Councilor Brian Worrell will serve as vice president. The council welcomed four new members: John FitzGerald, Henry Santana, Enrique Pepén and Ben Weber. The latter three were backed last fall by Mayor Michelle Wu.

But opening day was not without some drama, as the Boston Herald reports former Councilor Tito Jackson "may have" had a hand in Louijeune's unanimous election — and that past President Ed Flynn and Councilor Erin Murphy aren't happy about it.

— “An almighty comparison from 1970s Boston still resonates with Biden and in the 2024 campaign,” by Jim Puzzanghera, The Boston Globe: “‘Don’t compare me to the almighty,’ [Mayor Kevin] White said in launching his bid for a fourth mayoral term. ‘Compare me to the alternative.’ President Biden adopted the saying years ago and sometimes attributed it to the late White … It neatly defines Biden’s political persona.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Charlie Baker portrait unveiling

Former Gov. Charlie Baker's portrait is now on display at the State House. | Baker Committee/Courtesy photo

BAKER'S BACK ON BEACON HILL — Former Gov. Charlie Baker, his wife and members of his administration returned to the State House shortly before Christmas for his (private) portrait unveiling. The $29,000 painting is now on display in the lobby of the executive suite. Fun fact: Baker’s team says it’s the first portrait (at least of a Massachusetts governor) to feature an iPhone.

CANNABIS CONTROVERSY — A judge cleared the way for Treasurer Deb Goldberg to hold a hearing that could potentially remove Shannon O’Brien as the state’s top cannabis regulator. But State House News Service reports a second probe that remains outstanding could complicate matters.

FROM THE POLICE BLOTTER — Wu's Roslindale home was the target of a swatting call — on Christmas. Maine’s secretary of state also saw her home swatted after she moved to bar former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot.

Trump’s campaign plans to appeal in Maine. In Colorado, where the state Supreme Court struck the former president from the primary ballot, the state GOP is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

— “Massachusetts attorney general rejects complaints over Boston mayor’s ‘electeds of color’ party,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Three of the complaints were from out of state and the other did not contain an address.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “MBTA is eliminating frustrating slow zones at record pace,” by Taylor Dolven, The Boston Globe: “The percentage of subway tracks where trains are forced to slow down because of defects dipped below 20 percent in December for the first time since the MBTA slowed down trains throughout the entire subway system in March.”

— “Transit group: South Coast Rail is 'compromised,' but it can be made better. Here's how.” by Dan Medeiros, The Herald News.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING

NEW YEAR, NEW TERMS — Municipal inaugurations continue across the state today. Healey swore in New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell for a new, four-year term last night. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was on hand to help swear in Christian Dumais as Marlborough’s new mayor, Patrick Keefe for a full term leading Revere and Mayor Greg Verga for a second term in Gloucester.

— “Holyoke city councilor suggests temporary moratorium on new pot shops,” by Aprell May Munford, Springfield Republican: “Once a highlight of redevelopment and growth for the city’s industrial zone, [Israel Rivera] says the number of retail cannabis shops is oversaturating the city.”

— “Mass. fined local housing authorities $4 million for leaving units empty. But most were forgiven, or forgotten,” by Todd Wallack, WBUR.

— “Mass. cities, towns cautious or confused about how to spend millions in opioid settlement funds,” by Martha Bebinger, WBUR.

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

CLEANUP ON AISLE HALEY — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley returns to New Hampshire today after spending days on cleanup duty after declining to mention slavery as the cause of the Civil War in response to a question at a town hall event in Berlin last week. The controversy has given her rivals oxygen and caused some head-scratching among potential Haley supporters. But New Hampshire voters who showed up to Haley’s town halls the next day said the situation is being overblown, Kelly and Mia McCarthy report.

A TALE OF TWO CHRISES — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu won’t explicitly tell former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to drop out of the presidential race before the New Hampshire primary. But Sununu, who’s backing Haley, is strongly suggesting it. Christie, meanwhile, is forging ahead with a seven-figure New Hampshire ad buy.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Dana Hanson of Rep. Jake Auchincloss' office. Happy belated to Jamie Klufts and Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia, who celebrated Monday.

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