Healey and Diehl post best $$$ month in Oct.

The House gavels in at 11 a.m. and all eyes this morning will be on Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and the House Ways and Means Committee.

If House leaders do intend to bring up economic development and tax reform legislation this week, it will likely come out of the committee sometime this morning.

The anticipation for the bill will keep the focus on Beacon Hill until early evening when Democrats are expected to flock to Roxbury for Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to stoke turnout for a slate of candidates headed by Attorney General Maura Healey.

Healey’s campaign said Tuesday that the leading candidate for governor posted her best fundraising month of the year in October, the last full month before the Nov. 8 election. Incidentally, her opponent Republican Geoff Diehl did the same.

Healey will report raising $781,895 in October, besting her previous high from March by about $180,000 and leaving her campaign with $1,079,083 in the bank.

While Healey’s full report was not yet available through the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the figures provided by Healey’s camp suggest the attorney general spent about $3,261,234 in October, which would also be a monthly high for Healey and push her total spending on the race to more than $7.6 million.

Meanwhile, Diehl reported raising $272,643 in October and spending $245,899 to try to make this a competitive race. Overall, he’s spent about $1.28 million on his campaign since late 2021, or less than one-fifth of what Healey has been able to put into the race.

— Poftak clearing the tracks for next governor to pick a GM

Whoever becomes the next governor, he or she will no longer be dogged by questions of whether and how soon they will replace management at the beleaguered MBTA. General Manager Steve Poftak took that decision out of the next governor’s hands by announcing Tuesday that he would step down on Jan. 3 just days before the inauguration, giving whoever succeeds Gov. Charlie Baker a clean slate on day one. The recent UMass/WCVB poll that showed Baker largely weathering the PR nightmare that has been the MBTA over the past several months was not as kind to Poftak, In addition to hearing political leaders like U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren call for his firing, 48 percent of voters blamed the general manager for the MBTA’s woes compared to just 11 percent who blamed Baker. “Steve brought long term stability to the T when it was sorely needed and under his leadership the MBTA has upgraded more infrastructure and vehicles than during any prior period. The T workforce showed up every day during the pandemic when most could stay at home, and thanks to Steve’s leadership during that period, Steve and his team have continued to build a better T every day,” Baker said in a statement. 

The Boston Globe

— Wind developers and utilities don’t see eye to eye on pricing

With some offshore wind developers blaming inflation and other economic factors for the need to renegotiate the power contracts they submitted as part of their winning bids to develop wind farms off the coast, CommonWealth Magazine’s Bruce Mohl reports that the utilities are not as eager to sit back down at the table.

In related news, State House News Service’s Colin A. Young reports that work has begun to lay the underwater transmission cables necessary to bring power from the Vineyard Wind development to the mainland.

CommonWealth Magazine

— In auditor’s race, the candidates’ histories are not black and white

Rarely has so much ink been spilled for a race for auditor. But with Gov. Charlie Baker’s isolated involvement and polls showing it to be the most competitive statewide race in a field of uncompetitive races, the Globe’s Stephanie Ebbert and Samantha J. Gross take stock of the showdown between Sen. Diana DiZoglio and security expert Anthony Amore. On paper, the auditor’s duties are fairly bureaucratic and straightforward. But as the candidates have stretched their platforms beyond the traditional scope of the office, Ebbert and Gross explore whether Amore is really as moderate as he claims, and whether DiZoglio is truly the progressive Democrat she’s held herself out to be.

The Boston Globe

— GOP candidate for state rep alleges racism before debate

Marcus Vaughn, a Republican running to represent the 9th Norfolk District on Beacon Hill, tells the Herald’s Matthew Medsger he was the target of open racism from his opponent’s supporters when he showed up to a recent debate. Vaughn says backers of Norfolk select board member Kevin Kalkut asked him how he could be both Black and a conservative.

Boston Herald

— The Latino vote and what’s driving it to the polls

Polling in the state has shown Latino voters to be more deeply concerned about the economy and their own financial situations than the electorate at large, potentially driving turnout and support for candidates that can speak to their anxieties. Anna Guaracao writes for The Berkshire Eagle about the impact Latino voters could have on this year’s elections and why no one party can count on this demographic’s support.

The Berkshire Eagle

— Transition work well underway to prepare for next governor

From retaining records to handing over the password to the YouTube channel, there’s a lot more that goes into a gubernatorial transition than simply shutting out the lights on the way out the door. And it hasn’t always been smooth. With seven days left until Massachusetts elects a new governor and two months until that person takes office, State House News Service’s Sam Doran pulls back the curtain on the work that has been quietly underway to prepare for Gov. Charlie Baker to hand over the keys to the office and the state to his successor in January.

State House News Service

— Following up on Baker’s request for help with migrants

Yesterday, I wrote about Gov. Charlie Baker writing to the feds seeking assistance with migrants arriving from countries like Haiti, who do not qualify for the same levels of support as those seeking asylum and refuge from places like Afghanistan and Ukraine. The Globe’s Mike Damiano has more on the letter sent to Biden administration officials, as well as reporting on what he suggests is an undercounting of arriving migrants by the Baker administration that didn’t paint the full picture of the problem.

The Boston Globe

— Hampshire College leaders criticize Amherst police response

Officials at Hampshire College are openly criticizing the actions of Amherst police officers who responded to a call on campus and briefly handcuffed a student, Scott Merzbach of the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports. The town says officers followed protocol and department policies and “utilized their best judgment” in responding to reports of a student making threatening gestures in the campus library.

Daily Hampshire Gazette

— Milestone: Worcester Regional Airport marks millionth passenger

Worcester Regional Airport marked a milestone of 1 million passengers passing through the gates since the Massachusetts Port Authority-owned facility reopened in 2013 after undergoing renovations, MassLive’s Trea Lavery reports. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito was there to celebrate.

MassLive

— Anonymous investors buying up New Bedford real estate 

Anonymous investors using a network of subsidiaries have bought up nearly $5 million worth of New Bedford rental properties in recent years. Those purchases that are often quickly followed by eviction notices to residents, Grace Ferguson of The New Bedford Light reports. Experts say having unknown landlords can make it harder for tenants to fight evictions or advocate for better conditions.

The New Bedford Light

MORE HEADLINES:

Metro

Boston redistricting clash crescendos ahead of Wednesday vote – Boston Herald

This sub shop in Arlington will make a 200-foot sub for poll workers – Boston.com

Massachusetts

Johnson & Johnson buys Danvers medical device firm Abiomed for $16.6 billion – The Boston Globe

Should Springfield be the new Mass. capital? Poll respondents say no – MassLive

Nearly 15% in Attleboro area have cast ballots for Nov. 8 election – The Sun Chronicle

Hall and Cruz face off in WBSM’s Plymouth County DA debate – WBSM

AG’s office offered $200,000 to man who spent 36 years in prison for a wrongful conviction. A jury awarded him $33 million – The Boston Globe

National

Capitol Police cameras caught break-in at Pelosi home, but no one was watching – The Washington Post

Roberts temporarily blocks House from obtaining Trump tax returns – Politico

Subscribe to MASSterList

Start your morning with MASSterList’s chronicle of news and informed analysis about politics, policy, media, and influence in Massachusetts. Plus, get an inside look at Beacon Hill’s hottest new job postings.

Email(Required)

Δ