Keller: Why competition is good for the GOP

Mass General Brigham is committed to world-class care backed by the latest advances in medical research. Innovation across our system delivers the best possible outcomes and enhances the patient experience.

Blam! Blam Blam!

Watch out, shots fired! Oh, never mind. It’s just the perennial shootout in a lifeboat synonymous with the modern-day Massachusetts Republican Party.

Massachusetts Democrats enjoy intramural combat as well. (Pro tip: don’t invite both Diana DiZoglio and Andrea Campbell to your Memorial Day cookout.) But few political groups seem to fall on each other with such regularity and relish as our tiny GOP cohort. 

And just as the party is emerging from a Trump-era miasma of lawsuits and losing, they’re at it again in a race for governor that on paper seems like an opportunity to enhance the brand.

The state Republican convention last month produced two relatively attractive potential challengers to Maura Healey. Both medical device executive Mike Minogue and venture capitalist Brian Shortsleeve are distinguished military veterans. Both are personable, articulate conservatives fully capable of pressing the case for change.

But because Minogue got 70% support from the tiny (less than 1,800 votes total) convention crowd and Shortsleeve barely cleared the 15% threshold for ballot access, Minogue world is putting on a full-court press to force Shortsleeve out of the race. “The goal is not a drawn-out primary that burns time, money, and energy. The goal is winning in November and giving Massachusetts voters a real choice,” former party chair Jennifer Nassour posted on X.

Too bad Nassour isn’t an NBA commissioner. By her reasoning, the Sixers should have forfeited the series because the Celtics had a better regular-season record.

10:30 | Sen. Michael Rodrigues hosts Fall River’s preK-8 Catholic Saint Michael School for a luncheon. | Nurses Hall, State House Boston

4:00 | The Cape Verdean Commission meets. The commission is tasked with looking into creating a Cape Verdean cultural center in Boston, including a nonprofit to oversee the construction and management of the center and the associated costs. Commissioners will plan for listening sessions in May and June and discuss social media and outreach strategies. | Microsoft Teams | Access & More Info

.....The Supreme Court faces a deadline to make a decision on whether to extend a stay on telehealth access to mifepristone, a drug commonly used for abortions. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana last week ruled that the drug can only be distributed at in-person clinics, and the Supreme Court put a one-week hold on the ruling, restoring telehealth access to mifepristone through May 11.....

Jobs continue below the fold — post a job

Members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association elected a new leadership team backed by outgoing president Max Page. Meeting at the Hynes Convention Center over the weekend, the union elected Matt Bach as president and Deb Gesualdo as vice president. Bach, a history teacher, is president of the Andover Education Association, while Gesualdo is a music teacher and president of the Malden Education Association. Their two-year terms start July 15. Page’s vice president, Deb McCarthy, ran for president on a ticket with Dean Robinson. Page, a UMass Amherst professor, has led the 117,00-member MTA since May 2022, helping support strikes in Andover, Malden and Newton, among other municipalities; spearheading a ballot question to eliminate the use of the MCAS test as a graduation requirement; and joining a coalition to pass a millionaires surtax. 

Mardi Fuller has joined the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the ELM Action Fund as the groups’ vice president of partnerships and communications. ”I’m excited to join such a strong team and help unlock the next level of impact through expanded reach, partnerships, and engagement,” she said in a statement. Fuller recently had a communications consultancy that helped the Conservation Law Foundation and the Conservation Alliance. She also previously worked as director of external relations for the education nonprofit Boston Plan for Excellence. She is currently on the board of directors for the Appalachian Mountain Club.

The seven-year-old nonprofit Civic Action Project has tapped Dan Noyes as its first CEO. CAP, a nonprofit that seeks to connect civic leaders in public and private sectors, was founded in 2019 by ELM’s George Bachrach, former Gaming Commission chair Steve Crosby and Ira Jackson, a former aide to Gov. Mike Dukakis and Boston Mayor Kevin White. Noyes, the new CEO, recently headed up the nonprofit Tech Goes Home for 11 years, and helped grow fundraising revenues to nearly $10 million, from $1 million.

Private investment in battery storage projects is expected to save consumers billions of dollars and support a reliable electric grid.

ROAD TO VATICAN CITY: Aaron Michlewitz, the House Ways and Means chair, and House Majority Leader Mike Moran are off to the Vatican to speak about environmental legislation and climate change resiliency. They’ll be joined by UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suarez-Orozco. – Boston Globe

NEW FLANAGAN CHARGES: Cape Cod Rep. Christopher Flanagan is facing new charges leveled by federal prosecutors, who allege he laundered stolen money through his campaign account and filed false tax returns. The Dennis Democrat also used the funds for expenses like “psychic services” and an air conditioner, according to the allegations. – State House News Service

RETURN TO BILLERICA: CommonWealth Beacon returns to Billerica’s Heritage Road for an assessment on what it’s like to make it in the middle class. The area was featured in the debut issue of CommonWealth 30 years ago. – CommonWealth Beacon

PUBLIC DUNKIN’: Inspire Brands, which bought coffee giant Dunkin’ in 2020 for $11.3 billion, says it wants to go public. Inspire is based in Atlanta, while Dunkin’, which got its start in Quincy, is based out of Canton. – Boston Business Journal

FERRY FIGHT: The wealthy residents of Chappaquiddick are locked in a succession fight over the operation of the ferry that they depend on to get on and off the island. – Boston Globe

DROUGHT CONDITIONS: Drought conditions worsened across Massachusetts after a slight improvement in March. Gov. Maura Healey’s energy and environmental chief Rebecca Tepper said that eight counties, including the northeastern ones and Nantucket, as well as Worcester County and part of the Connecticut River Valley region, are now facing a level 2 “significant drought.” – MassLive

COMMERCIAL DRIVERS: The Trump administration has sought to revoke access to commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants of varying legal statuses, including refugees, and people seeking asylum or holding temporary protected status. – GBH News

DA’S TAB: Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan’s office spent more than $20,000 on the independent investigation into how it handled a fatal cruiser crash involving a state trooper whose case is now rippling out into a wider State Police scandal. – Boston Herald

IPSWICH TOWN MANAGER: Ipswich’s select board offered the job of town manager to Brendan Sweeney, a Beverly resident who worked in Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget office. – The Local News

Barney Frank talks to NBC10 about ‘facing a death sentence’

Walpole now seeking $200,000 for World Cup public safety costs

Romney hosted Salt Lake City fundraiser for Maine’s Sen. Collins

The highest paid tech CEOs in Mass.

Small New England colleges cutting programs, leaving students off balance

Do you have an open job you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter at [email protected].

Campaign Coordinator, Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation

Organizing Director, Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation

Director of Conservation & Policy Communications, Mass Audubon

Legal Counsel, Office of Campaign and Political Finance

Chief Financial Officer, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Director of Planning and Development, City of Newton

Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Account Coordinator, Tenax Strategies

Assistant Treasurer/Collector, City of Newton

Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships Liaison, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

Vice President of Programs, Cooperative for Human Services Inc

Chief Policy Officer, Project Bread

Executive Operations and Coordination Manager, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities

Public Health Director, Town of Nantucket

Assistant Director of Planning and Economic Development, Town of Amherst

Senior Accountant, Massachusetts Housing Partnership

Assistant Director of Parks and Open Space, City of Newton

VIEW ALL JOBS