Former ambassador Claire Cronin lands at top Beacon Hill firm

Claire Cronin, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ireland under President Biden and majority leader under House Speaker Ron Mariano, is returning to politics and signing up with Smith, Costello & Crawford.

Cronin is joining the firm as a business consultant, according to Jim Smith, who is a partner at what the Boston Globe calls the “biggest lobbying shop in town.” The firm offers consulting, lobbying and legal services to its client list, which stretches across several sectors of the state’s economy, from financial services to health care.

Smith said there are no plans for Cronin to lobby “at this time,” pointing to her skills as a lawyer and the firm’s desire to meet the needs of larger clients with international interests.

The job comes in addition to the work she is doing for the University of Massachusetts. The university system announced in July that Cronin joined UMass Amherst’s Mount Ida campus in Newton, where she is a scholar in residence.

Like the Smith, Costello & Crawford job, the UMass position has a global focus, focusing on initiatives in global partnerships and international student services.

Biden appointed Cronin, a fundraiser for his 2020 campaign for president, to the ambassadorship in 2021, and she headed to Dublin in 2022 after her U.S. Senate confirmation.

Cronin, who represented Brockton and Easton in the House for nearly a decade, worked on criminal justice reform as co-chair of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee and served as an arbitrator in the settlement of the Massachusetts clergy sex abuse cases. At her farewell inside the State House, Mariano praised her negotiation skills.

She is the latest addition to the team at Smith, Costello & Crawford, which also just absorbed Johnston Associates, the firm founded by Phil Johnston, a former lawmaker and state Democratic Party chair. Johnston passed away in April.

Cronin adds to the firm’s deep ties to Beacon Hill. It also counts among its roster former Rep. Michael Costello; Carlo Basile, who was both a rep and a Baker administration official; and former State House aide Jennifer Crawford.

Do you have burning questions about Beacon Hill, Boston City Hall and beyond? I’m interested in answering them as we head into September. Send over a question and it might be featured in a future edition, along with an attempt at an answer:gin@massterlist.com.

HAPPENING TODAY

9:00 | Revere officials and lawmakers celebrate groundbreaking for a new Revere High School. Attendees include U.S. House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, Mayor Patrick Keefe, and members of the city council. | 190 Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway, Revere | Livestream

10:00 | The Cannabis Control Commission holds a public meeting online. | More Info

6:00 | The Boston Interactive Media Association, a network of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, hosts its “Summer Sizzler” networking event. The evening will involve food, drinks, lawn games and music, during which attendees can connect with professionals from the digital marketing and media industry, according to organizers. | Fenway Park, Boston | More Info

POLITICAL INTEL

“It’s all about the food” is one of Sen. Michael Rodrigues’s 10 Senate Ways and Means commandments, as MASSterList reported Wednesday. He noted that when he travels, he picks out the restaurants well in advance. Naturally, I had to ask the Westport Democrat where he likes to dine when he’s out and about in Massachusetts. In his district, he prefers Fall River’s Sagres and Westport’s Portas Da Cidade, which means “Gates of the City” in Portuguese. “Occasionally I spent a night in Boston,” he said, adding, “it’s rare.” When he does, he strolls down to the North End, represented by his House counterpart, Aaron Michlewitz….

…Bold Boston, the pro-Michelle Wu super PAC backed by unions and environmental groups, has more ads coming. In one titled “Game Show,” the ad asks “Who Wants to Buy the Election? Boston Mayoral Edition” before hitting challenger Josh Kraft for receiving support from Donald Trump donors. The ad, which is set to go up on streaming services like Paramount, Hulu and YouTube, comes as Kraft is getting out his own campaign messaging, with mailers noting that he opposes Trump and one calling the president a “lunatic.” The Wu super PAC’s second ad, “Our City,” is more positive and features scenes from her re-election kick-off earlier this year. The group plans to spend upwards of $200,000 on the two ads. Bold Boston is also planning its own mailer, targeting progressive Boston voters….

.…There’s a growing TikTok group of legislators on Beacon Hill. Sen. Lydia Edwards is the latest pol to jump onto the social media platform, joining Sen. Liz Miranda. (Yes, the app is technically banned, but President Trump has not enforced the law banning it. The Massachusetts GOP has also recently joined the platform.) It’s a way to connect and “not take yourself too seriously,” Edwards said. A Gen X-er, she added, “I blame Gen Z. The whole generation, but especially my staffer.” That would be Caroline Larangeira, who just graduated from Emerson College. In a nod to a social media trend, Edwards recently posted a TikTok video of herself in heels, balancing herself on a State House hearing room table while holding a gavel and noting that she is the first woman of color to co-chair a Judiciary Committee hearing. (For the record, I was informed of this balancing-on-desk trend by my MASSterList predecessor Ella Adams.)

FROM BEACON HILL

TOMPKINS LATEST: Residents and business leaders offered mixed opinions on Suffolk Sheriff Steve Tompkins, who is facing federal charges. Tompkins submitted a letter Wednesday to Gov. Healey resigning the chairmanship of the Roxbury Community College board of trustees, but has not commented on whether he plans to keep the sheriff’s post. The victim of the alleged extortion has been identified as longtime political operative Frank Perullo. – GBH News and Boston Globe

‘TAYLOR SWIFT TAX’: Democratic-leaning cities and states are considering higher tax rates on wealthy people, inspired by the 2022 passage of the millionaires surtax in Massachusetts. – Wall Street Journal

SAFETY-NET SHORTFALL: A state fund for safety-net hospitals to handle the costs of uninsured and low-income patients is facing a $290 million shortfall, up 50% from the previous fiscal year. – Eagle-Tribune

PETITION DENIED: The Committee for Public Counsel Services’ petition to impose an emergency protocol in juvenile courts due to a work stoppage by private bar advocates, was denied by a Supreme Judicial Court justice. – MassLive

NEWS NEXT DOOR

IT’S ELECTRIC: The MBTA’s board of directors authorized the purchase of an industrial property in Medford – recently a former warehouse for Anheuser-Busch – that will serve as a maintenance garage for battery-electric buses. – StreetsBlog

GETTING A LYFT: Tens of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers can expect payments in the coming weeks, a result of a back-pay settlement between the state attorney general’s office and ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft. – Boston Business Journal

BACK IN BOSTON: Nonprofit leader Ali Noorani is returning to Boston as the new president of the Barr Foundation, succeeding Jim Canales. Noorani’s time in Boston included top jobs at Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). – CommonWealth Beacon

PRESERVATION DEAL: The state’s largest private landowner is selling off 5,000 acres of forest, or about a third of its holdings. – MassLive