Keller: Suffolk DA's race another test of Wu's clout

Michelle Wu isn’t on the ballot Sept. 1.

Or is she?

It will be showtime for the mayor’s high-profile attempt to punish the Senate for refusing to play ball with her commercial-property tax plan by taking out incumbents Will Brownsberger and Nick Collins. And a less-discussed test of Wu’s political clout is in the Democratic primary for Suffolk County district attorney, a contest between incumbent Kevin Hayden, former DA Rachael Rollins, and attorney Linda Champion, who lost to Rollins in 2018.

To paraphrase the old saying about the changeable New England weather: If you don’t like the political alliances in Boston politics, just wait a minute. Four years ago, Wu endorsed City Councillor Ricardo Arroyo, claiming his candidacy was “about possibility” and “justice.” Several months later, justice came for Arroyo as far as his critics are concerned, when the Globe reported he’d been investigated for sexual assault (no charges were ever filed).

Fast forward four years, and the mayor is now a Hayden fan. “I’ve gotten to know [Hayden] as a person, and I’ve seen his work up close,” she told Globe columnist Joan Vennochi. “ … [S]howing up to just be with families who have experienced loss and joining in other efforts to make sure that everyone feels supported in our community and that everyone is part of making Boston safe.”

Not quite everyone. Rollins, whose aggressive support of Arroyo in 2022 led to her resignation as U.S. attorney amid allegations of ethics violations, says in an interview with MASSterList she’s “incensed that my phone is still ringing from people whose loved ones have been murdered or shot and can’t get a call back from the [DA’s] office.” And with a string of murders and assaults in the city making headlines, Rollins’ contempt for the way it’s being handled is characteristically unvarnished. “We really need a safety plan,” she tweeted last week after a broad-daylight slaying at South Station. “Repeatedly chanting - We Are The Safest City In America! - is not a plan. The people getting stabbed, shot & bludgeoned to death deserve better.”

But it’s not just Hayden being targeted by Rollins.

Jon Keller is a MASSterList columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].

10:45 | Gov. Healey joins Housing & Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias to give remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for 122 new homes at the Residences at The Vault and Merrick Park Apartments. Congressman Richard Neal, Mayor Domenic Sarno and other officials are also set to participate | 310 State Street, Springfield

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11:00 | Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Democrats hold a "shadow hearing" concerning the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by a federal immigration last month in Biddeford, Maine | Biddeford High School, 18 Maplewood Ave., Biddeford, Maine | Livestream

1:15 | Gov. Healey makes reelection campaign meet and greet stop in North Adams with Mayor Jennifer Macksey and others| Media interested in attending can contact [email protected]

2:15 | Gov. Healey tours the construction site of the new Greylock Elementary School with Mayor Macksey | 100 Phelps Ave, North Adams

3:00 | Roxbury-born WNBA veteran Sheylani "Shey" Peddy joins state and local officials for an event honoring her "basketball accomplishments, perseverance, and strong ties to Massachusetts." Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Reps. Chris Worrell and Chynah Tyler, Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell, young women basketball players and youth basketball organizations from across Boston join | Grand Staircase

3:30 | Gov. Healey makes reelection campaign stop with Mayor Peter Marchetti at an unspecified small business in Pittsfield | Media can contact [email protected] for details

4:00 | Commission on Cabo Verdean Cultural Center meets virtually. Agenda includes a debrief of a site visit to the Cape Verdean Museum in Pawtucket, R.I. and updates from subcommittees | Livestream

5:30 | Mayor Wu delivers remarks at the 2026 Mayor’s Garden Contest Awards hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department | Boston Public Garden, Arlington Street at Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Boston

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GRADUATING DHE: Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega plans to step down next month after about four years in the role, adding to turnover among the state's top education officials. The department says he's leaving to be closer to aging family members. | State House News Service (gift link)

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POLL POSITION: A new UMass Amherst/WCVB poll finds Sen. Ed Markey backed by 60% of likely Democratic primary voters, with 32% behind challenger Congressman Seth Moulton. | WCVB

MAYOR ARRESTED: Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña was arrested Friday by the FBI, charged with using COVID small-business loans to fund his campaign, pay personal taxes and pay off mortgages for properties he owned in the city. He was released after an initial court appearance, and city councilors are slated to discuss his case in an executive session this week. | Eagle-Tribune

TRAINING MONTAGE: Around 38,000 people have signed up for free AI training that Massachusetts is offering in partnership with Google, with the data showing enrollees skew older and highly educated. | MassLive

HIGHWAY SIGNS: State highway chief Jonathan Gulliver discusses efforts to curb wrong-way driving after a spate of deadly crashes. Gulliver says it's one of the worst spans he can remember, though the recent crashes involved different reasons. | WBUR

RETURNING FIRE: Scientists have started meeting for an environmental review of a machine gun range proposed for Joint Base Cape Cod, two years after Gov. Healey effectively killed the project. Funding for the review was allocated by the Trump administration. | WCAI

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