Keller at Large
Ever-astute MASSterList editor Gin Dumcius cut through the fog in his column the other day about the GOP gubernatorial candidates’ efforts to make a dent in Gov. Maura Healey’s comfortable lead.
Noting their swipes at the incumbent over the saga of LaMar Cook, the former Healey aide facing drug trafficking and illegal gun possession charges, Dumcius noted that “the fragmentation of media consumption means scandals come and go quickly. Patterns, vibes and party loyalty matter more, while media influence is overstated.”
Hear that, internet trolls ranting around the clock about “the media”?
No one knows more about public opinion than Dave Paleologos of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, the region’s premier pollster, and he agrees that “public bandwidth can only hold so much. An issue starts at the center of the awareness bandwidth for a day when news drops but then it gets pushed a little further to an edge as something else becomes the center of attention on the next day. After a week, it has dropped off the bandwidth entirely. Think Karen Read.”
No thanks, but point taken.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, few if any voters will remember the sorry Cook affair come November. Unless, that is, the eventual GOP nominee can fit the story into a broader attack on Healey fueled by more timely events this fall.
And what exactly would that be? That the former attorney general has a high tolerance for drug dealers? Tell that to the opioid-peddling corporations she – along with other AGs – forced to fork over $26 billion in a 2021 settlement. That Healey should be fired for incompetence because of a few rotten apples in the barrel of 46,000 executive branch employees? Were that the standard, no governor would ever complete their term.
HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | The Conservation Law Foundation begins trial proceedings in its federal lawsuit against Academy Express, a New England bus company, over alleged violations of federal clean air laws. | Courtroom 18, John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse, Boston
10:00 | The Assisted Living Residences Commission meets and is expected to vote on its final report. Lawmakers created the panel in a 2024 long-term care industry reform bill. After July’s fire that killed 10 residents at the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River, members sought additional time to solicit feedback from experts in congregate care safety. | Zoom
11:00 | Gov. Maura Healey meets with Treasurer Deb Goldberg. | Room 227, State House, Boston
11:00 | The Ballot Law Commission holds a pre-hearing conference on the objection to the initiative petition that would repeal adult-use recreational marijuana. The objection hinges on concerns about how signatures in support of the proposal were collected. | 17th Floor Conference Room, One Ashburton Place, Boston | Notice | Related
3:30 | Amendments are due to Senate Ways and Means redrafts of six bills on Thursday’s Senate session agenda. Four of the bills deal with property taxes, and another addresses ballot question campaign finance reporting. A sixth makes a license plate available for families of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty | Related
FROM BEACON HILL
GATEWAY CITIES: Beacon Hill has no way of tracking whether cities meet or fall below the necessary criteria to be considered a “Gateway City.” The designation comes with coveted state funding. – CommonWealth Beacon
GOP PRIMARY: The GOP candidates for governor, and U.S. Senate, are draining their bank accounts and pumping the money into their campaigns in the hopes of beating incumbent Democrats. – Boston Globe
NEWS NEXT DOOR
TAX RATES IN MASS.: The average single-family tax bill has increased to $8,123, a 51% increase over a decade which has outpaced inflation. – Boston Business Journal
CITY HALL DRAMA: The new Boston City Council president Liz Breadon initially told NBC10 Boston that Gabriela Coletta Zapata would be the vice president. Breadon later said Brian Worrell, her rival for the presidency, would be getting it instead. Worrell then declined the post. – Matt Prichard/X
SEASONAL COMMUNITIES: Voters in Hawley and Monroe plan to weigh in on whether to accept the state designation of “Seasonal Communities,” a title under the Affordable Homes Act, which would allow development on smaller lot sizes and increase tax exemptions for primary residences. – Greenfield Recorder
AS THE GLOBE TURNS: The Boston Globe’s parent company has “enlisted” Teneo to search for managing editor candidates, with some possible succession planning for just-returned editor-in-chief Brian McGrory. – Semafor
‘PURE BUFFOONERY’: South Boston Congressman Stephen Lynch said President Trump’s talk of invading Greenland is “pure buffoonery” and places the U.S. on the road to becoming a “gangster nation.” – GBH News
BIZ CONFIDENCE: Massachusetts business leaders remain pessimistic, citing increased costs, according to a survey from the largest employer group, AIM. – Boston Business Journal
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