Let the battle for City Hall begin
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WHO'S ON BOSTON'S BALLOT — The field for Boston's much-hyped municipal elections is set — almost
Candidates had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to file their nomination papers with the city's Election Department. And while there are lots of candidates interested in running, only a handful are officially on the ballot so far.
Who's in? Almost all incumbent councilors have already qualified for the ballot, save for At Large Councilor Henry Santana, who hadn't been certified to be on the ballot as of Tuesday night. Michelle Wu tapped her supporters to help collect signatures for Santana, a former director of civic organizing in the mayor's administration who she endorsed in 2023.
Who's out? The only incumbent not seeking another term is Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who earlier this year pledged to step down from the council after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges.
There's plenty of interest in filling the District 7 seat, which covers Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and some of the South End. Eight candidates are already officially on the ballot: Said Ahmed, who runs the popular Boston United track program for youth; Samuel Hurtado, who served as a senior adviser to former Mayor Kim Janey; Miniard Culpepper, a Roxbury pastor, who ran for state Senate; Mavrick Afonso, a City Hall alum, who's now with the state's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; Natalie Juba-Sutherland of Roxbury; and a handful of candidates who have run council before: Said Abdirahman Abdikarim, Jerome King and Roy Owens.
The other big draw: The citywide at-large race. The fact that all four at-large councilors are planning to run for reelection doesn't seem to have deterred candidates from getting in the race. Alexandra Valdez, the director of Boston's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Yves Mary Jean, who ran for a district council seat in 2019, are both in, as is former District 3 Councilor Frank Baker, who is looking to mount his comeback after forgoing reelection in 2023.
Not so crowded: The mayoral race. A bevy of interested candidates pulled papers to run for mayor, but it looks like the most closely watched race on Boston's ballot may not need a preliminary election come September. Only Wu and Josh Kraft have made it onto the ballot so far, though other candidates could have their signatures certified in the coming days.
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com.
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at the 2025 Multi-Chamber Legislative Breakfast at 8:15 a.m. in Malden and chairs a Governor's Council meeting at noon at the State House. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is on GBH's 'Boston Public Radio' at 1 p.m. Sen. Ed Markey hosts a Senate Climate Change Task Force meeting at 5 p.m. in D.C. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour in the South End at 10 a.m. and speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Pok Oi Residence at noon in Chinatown.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
SHELTER SKIRMISH — Just as Gov. Maura Healey announced that the state would soon be closing makeshift shelter sites at hotels, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio released a report chiding the administration for relying on 'unlawful' no-bid contracts for emergency food and transportation services serving shelters.
Those contracts, 'resulted in unnecessarily high costs and inefficiencies,' the auditor's office said. The audit covered a period from July 2021 to June 2024, a chunk of time during which both former Gov. Charlie Baker and Healey were in office.
'We hope, for the sake of history not repeating itself, especially in areas such as the no-bid contracting process, where taxpayers have grown increasingly frustrated and concerned with the appearance of impropriety regarding how and why no-bid contracts were awarded, that this administration will move away from its defensive posture and instead embrace recommended reforms,' DiZoglio said in a statement.
Still, the report earned criticism from one provider. 'When you're auditing systems that are essential service — emergency service systems — you need to really understand the emergency service and the system that you're auditing to understand the nuances of how it functions,' Heading Home CEO Danielle Ferrier told Playbook. 'And what I saw in the report that I read is — I did not see, for example, interviews with providers or folks that know the system. And so a lot of the conclusions, from what I read are actually inaccurate because the audit methodology, to me, is, is lacking.'
More from the Boston Herald and The Boston Globe.
— State board OKs vocational education lottery system by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: 'State education officials have approved a new statewide admissions policy for vocational and technical schools that includes a lottery system to fill high-demand seats in the programs, but advocates say the changes will still leave some students behind. The proposal, approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday, would require the state's 28 vocational and technical schools to use lotteries to fill limited classroom openings. Currently, applicants are ranked on their academic, attendance and disciplinary records.'
FROM THE HUB
— Two Boston City Hall employees fired after being arrested last week, mayor's office says by Nick Stoico and Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: 'Two Boston City Hall employees have been fired after they were arrested last week in connection with a domestic incident in a Chinatown apartment, a spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu's office said Tuesday. Marwa Khudaynazar, 27, chief of staff for the city's Office of Police Accountability, and Chulan Huang, 26, who worked in the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, had been placed on unpaid leave following their arrests.'
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
— As ICE appearances increase across Mass., local communities amp up resistance by Anjali Huynh, Dan Glaun and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, The Boston Globe.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
— MBTA board approves 'nuts and bolts' capital budget, leaving billions in critical projects unfunded by Shannon Larson, The Boston Globe: 'On Tuesday, the T's board of directors approved a $9.8 billion, five-year budget for construction projects, while also leaving more than $12.4 billion in needs without funding, familiar territory for the cash-strapped agency. The plan directs the bulk of the investments to critical repairs and service improvements.'
WARREN REPORT
— Mass. Sen Warren roasts Trump's IRS pick: 'You shouldn't be within 1,000 miles' of the job by John L. Micek, MassLive: 'President Donald Trump's pick to run the Internal Revenue Service shouldn't be 'within 1,000 miles' of the post if he couldn't answer a question about black-letter law, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren argued Tuesday. That criticism came during a tense exchange between Warren and former U.S. Rep. Billy Long, of Missouri, as he faced a barrage of questions before the Senate's Finance Committee.'
FROM THE 413
— Northampton mayor unveils $145M budget, defending school funding position by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has officially debuted her $145 million fiscal year 2026 budget for the city, continuing to defend her plan for the school district while warning of possible instability from federal cuts. The new budget represents a 4.8% increase from the previous fiscal year, with $129.5 million in the city's general fund and the remaining to be used across the city's four enterprise funds. Within the general fund, school funding makes up 43% of all expenditures, with $43 million budgeted for Northampton Public Schools and another $11 million for Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School.'
THE LOCAL ANGLE
— Quincy mayor to add 'senior scam and fraud liaison' to city payroll by Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger: 'Mayor Tom Koch wants to add a new 'senior fraud and scam liaison' for the city's department of elder services. The position comes with a $90,000 salary. In hearings on Mayor Koch's proposed $455.8 million budget for fiscal 2026, the city council's finance committee approved $36 million in spending increases for the fiscal 2026 budget, including this new hire which drew questioning from multiple councilors.'
— Worcester to add security guards, scanners at City Hall by Adam Bass, MassLive: 'Worcester City Manager Eric D. Batista announced Tuesday that City Hall will add security guards on its first floor and install security scanners. Beginning May 27, security compliance officers will be stationed at City Hall when the building is open, according to an email the city issued Tuesday.'
— Norton approves two zoning districts to comply with MBTA law by Madison Dunphy, The Sun Chronicle.
HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Seth Klarman, Nicole Freedman, Evan Francis of state Rep. Dennis Gallagher's office, Edelman's Amy Larkin Long, Beth Dozoretz, Arthur Brooks and Lacey Rose.
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