Recap and analysis of the past week in state government in Massachusetts
Family. A polarized political environment. A pandemic on the resurgence.
Gov. Charlie Baker this week offered up a host of reasons, and observations, that all led him, and perhaps more shockingly Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, to the same decision: They will not be on the ballot in 2022.
Baker and Polito answered the biggest question in Massachusetts politics this week, and in doing so threw the doors open on the 2022 contest for governor, inviting Democrats and Republicans alike to take a fresh look at the race knowing that the popular incumbents won’t be part of the field.
Baker said that after weighing all the pros and cons of trying to become the first governor to serve three consecutive four-year terms, the scale tipped toward bowing out of a race so he could spend the next year focused squarely on the work of helping Massachusetts recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
And he and Polito, they both said, are all about the work.
Baker said a political campaign risked becoming a “distraction,” especially in an environment where he said civic discourse too often devolves into “grudge matches.”
“We’ve always loved the work. We love the people. And we love the experience that comes with this and the opportunity to help communities and help people build bigger and stronger possibilities and opportunity is a big part of why we got into this in the first place,” Baker said at a State House press conference.
To be sure, Baker would have faced a much tougher road to reelection than he did in 2018, despite polls showing him still leading any field. But the governor practically scoffed at the suggestion made by MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons and former President Donald Trump himself that Trump’s endorsement of Geoff Diehl for governor, and the governor’s frayed relationship with the right-leaning side of his party, factored into the decision.
What he did not dismiss was the toll being governor has taken on his family.
Baker said even when he’s home, he’s not always “present,” and he wants to be present. Polito’s decision not to run was perhaps an even bigger jolt as it appeared all systems were go for the Baker political machine to rally behind the Shrewsbury Republican if Baker bowed out. But she too talked about family, and the sacrifices made over eight years of always being on call.
We’ll wait on the dissection of Baker’s legacy. Even he said he would give himself an incomplete with a year to go. But in the void left by Baker and Polito on the campaign trail, there was no shortage of people wondering if they could fill it.
Frankly, if you haven’t been asked if you’re interested in running for governor yet, maybe you should be insulted.
For now, Diehl has a clear path to the Republican nomination, but his former House colleague and Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell is taking a look at her chances, and former U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, according to the Boston Herald, may fancy himself to fill the moderate lane left open by Baker.
On the Democratic side, Attorney General Maura Healey is now under the microscope. If she runs, she would enter as the prohibitive favorite, even in a field that already counts three candidates. Baker’s decision undoubtedly makes hers easier if she truly is interested in being governor, but Healey would only say “soon” this week on her own decision as she preferred to let Baker have his turn through the news cycle.
If Healey doesn’t run, and maybe even if she does, former Boston mayor and current U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is said to be sizing up his chances to return to the State House in the top job. Sprinkle in other potential candidates like Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George and the field could get large quickly.
Baker’s undivided attention on COVID-19 recovery may be exactly what is needed for Massachusetts right now, as infections are on the rise, hospitalizations are straining capacity and the new Omicron variant has made landfall in the United States.
Four billion dollars could also help.
While it may have taken a backseat to “The Decision,” the Legislature’s breakthrough with a deal for how to spend $4 billion in American Rescue Plan Act and fiscal year 2021 surplus funds arrived at the same time Tuesday night that word leaked out that Baker had made up his mind.
Two weeks after House and Senate Democrats failed to reach an accord before the start of their seven-week recess, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues – the two lead negotiators – announced they had found common ground on a package that will pour money into health care, environmental infrastructure, unemployment insurance and a $500 million bonus-pay program for essential, low-income workers.
House Speaker Ron Mariano pointed to the hundreds of earmarks for local projects sprinkled throughout the bill as reason enough to keep lawmakers in line and allow the compromise bill to pass during an informal session. And he was right.
The House on Thursday and the Senate on Friday enacted the bill without objection, sending it to Gov. Baker for his signature, and while he must still review the final compromise he said he was excited to start putting that money to use.
The federal government is not done helping either. President Joe Biden rolled out his winter COVID-19 battle plan this week, and to Baker’s delight it includes an effort to expand the availability of at-home rapid tests by requiring private insurance to cover the cost.
The governor hasn’t been alone in complaining about the United States being far behind Europe and other parts of the world in deploying rapid tests, but testing could become even more important if Omicron starts to spread rapidly.
Another thing Baker is working on? Plan B to bring hydropower from Quebec to southern New England.
Baker said there have been “some conversations” with Central Maine Power Company and Hydro-Quebec about possible alternatives to the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project that has been also but squashed by Maine voters, but he declined to go further.
The governor also said he was close to a deal with a number of other states for a universal QR code that could store someone’s vaccination status on their smartphone, a technology that is basically already available in a less compatible format.
Just the suggestion of a digital vaccine passport, however, triggered a head-scratching news cycle that required Baker’s office to clarify what had seemed to be a pretty straightforward comment. Baker does not support requiring private businesses to require proof-of-vaccinations. He simply wants to make it easier for people to carry a digital vaccine card on their phone that would be recognized in multiple states, in case a business should decide to require it.
Baker and Polito may not be on the ballot next year, but three ballot questions are still in the running after proponents submitted the biggest haul of signatures – 80,239 – they will need throughout the process to qualify.
For 12 others – including voter-ID and newborn care initiatives backed by the MassGOP – it was the end of the line.
The big tech-backed question to classify drivers for app-based services like Uber and Lyft as independent contractors, and guarantee them some basic benefits, moves on, as do questions that would update alcohol licensing limits and impose spending limits on dental insurers.
If the Legislature declines to consider them before May 4, proponents will be back in the field for one final round of signatures.
And when the Legislature does return in January, Representative-elect Jamie Belsito will be a member of the House after the Democrat wrestled yet another seat away from Republicans, winning a special election in the 4th Essex District.
The Topsfield Democrat’s stay, however, could be short-lived, with the district slated to be carved up by redistricting in 2022 in a manner that will force either Belsito, or incumbent Rep. Sally Kerans, to go.
