5 days ago
PAC to basics
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER AD — Twenty-six days out from Boston's preliminary election, the super PAC backing Mayor Michelle Wu is betting that Boston voters' disapproval of President Donald Trump can boost the incumbent in September.
The 'Bold Boston' super PAC is releasing two more digital spots today, including one that highlights the money trail between top Wu opponent Josh Kraft, Trump and congressional Republicans.
It's the second ad the PAC has put out this cycle that yokes Kraft to the president. Another spot released in June used similar messaging, pointing to donors who propped up Trump in the 2024 election who have also funneled money into the 'Your City Your Future' super PAC that's supporting Kraft.
The strategy seems to be paying off if you look at the latest public polling from July, which had Kraft's favorability underwater.
And it's not one that's exclusive to Boston. In New York, the city's Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has made Trump the center of his bid to unseat embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani launched a 'Five Boroughs Against Trump' tour earlier this week to pitch himself to voters in the city as the only candidate in the general election race (that still includes his Democratic primary foe, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo) willing to take on the White House.
Wu has been leveraging the president's lack of popularity in the city since her campaign began, both painting herself as a bulwark against the Trump administration and highlighting any connections between the president and her top rival. Kraft has repeatedly said he doesn't support the president, who his father, Robert Kraft, was once close with — and who reportedly more recently helped a top law firm broker a deal with Trump. But ramping up his own criticism of the president hasn't stopped the mayor from trying to make the connection.
The other ad hitting Boston-area screens today doesn't mention the president, but paints Wu as a politician willing to fight against the administration and congressional Republicans. The title 'Our City' is a nod to a line from Wu's testimony before the House Oversight Committee in D.C. this spring.
GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Rep. Katherine Clark and local officials celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Revere High School at 9 a.m. in Revere. Sen. Ed Markey and state officials tour the Greenfield Fire Department and hold a roundtable discussion with Franklin County first responders at noon in Greenfield. Rep. Lori Trahan hosts a press conference to highlight the impact of the congressional budget bill at 10:30 a.m. in Lawrence. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu cuts the ribbon at the newly renovated Harambee Park at 10:30 a.m. in Dorchester, speaks at the Nubian Markets Boston Double Up Food Bucks launch at 5 p.m. in Roxbury and attends the opening ceremonies of the annual Fisherman's Feast at 6 p.m. in the North End.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
— Safety-net hospital fund deficit rises to $290M by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: 'A shortfall in a state fund that helps safety-net hospitals pay medical costs for large numbers of uninsured and low-income patients has ballooned to nearly $290 million, according to newly released state health data. Preliminary estimates from the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services show a deficit in the Health Safety-Net Fund is projected to increase from $198 million to more than $290 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30.'
— Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins resigns from college board amid extortion charges by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: 'Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins resigned from the Roxbury Community College Board of Trustees, where he serves as chair, days after he was arrested in Florida on charges that he extorted a Boston-based cannabis company. Tompkins offered his formal resignation in a brief Tuesday letter to Gov. Maura Healey after Republicans called on the governor to remove him from the position. Former Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, appointed Tompkins as board chair in 2019.'
— Pot entrepreneur, lobbyist Frank Perullo is alleged extortion victim of Suffolk Sheriff Steven Tompkins by Andrew Ryan, The Boston Globe: 'The marijuana executive identified as 'Individual A' in the federal indictment of Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is longtime Boston lobbyist and political consultant Frank Perullo, business records and financial disclosures show. Prosecutors portray Individual A as a victim of extortion by Tompkins, who they say used his position to elbow his way into a share of Perullo's nascent pot firm, and then demanded his money back when his $50,000 investment tanked. … Perullo is not accused of any wrongdoing; instead he is portrayed in the indictment as the victim of extortion.'
— 'Corruption' or 'just cheap'? Mixed reactions to sheriff's extortion charges by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: 'Residents, advocates and business leaders shared mixed views on the federal charges against Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, ranging from bewilderment at the alleged corruption to doubts on the severity of the charges. Plus, just days after the indictment, many local leaders —including top politicians — have reserved judgment while the legal process plays out.'
LOOK WHO'S HERE — Former governor and NCAA President Charlie Baker is at Boston College this morning to announce a collaboration between the NCAA and Team IMPACT, a non-profit that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams.
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
— Massachusetts immigrants who had legal status lose work in home and health care by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: 'Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans launched in 2022 as a path for immigrants from specific countries to flee persecution, environmental disasters, and economic instability. They applied for the program from their home countries with the help of a U.S. sponsor, were vetted, and allowed to live and work in the U.S. for two years at a time. The Trump administration ended the CHNV program and moved up the dates the immigrants were told they stay in the U.S. ... After a Supreme Court decision reversed a temporary injunction barring the move, more than half a million immigrants across the country immediately lost their legal status, effectively becoming undocumented. While the injunction is off the books, the deeper legal issue could still eventually be decided in parolees' favor as arguments play out in lower courts.'
— Inside one of the most understaffed immigration courts in the country by Ximena Bustillo, WBUR: 'The Chelmsford Immigration Court opened last year as a way to reduce the backlog on the overloaded Boston court, which used to process immigration cases for much of New England. Chelmsford and Boston are now the only courts located in New England, two of about 70 immigration courts and adjudication centers nationwide. Eight months into the Trump administration, there are only seven judges listed on the court's website, down from the 21 intended to serve. One of those seven is set to retire in the coming days, NPR has learned. Another has been detailed to review cases in Indianapolis.'
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
ON THE RIGHT TRACK — MBTA General Manager Phil Eng isn't worried about the shipment of Red Line cars that are still languishing in the port of Philadelphia after federal officials seized the cars that were shipped from China, he told WBUR.
THE LOCAL ANGLE
— Fall River assisted living inspection reports reveal lax reporting, state code violations by Emily Scherny and Dan Medeiros, The Herald News: 'A review of state inspections at the Gabriel House assisted living facility reveal repeated citations for lax reporting of resident emergencies and staff improperly trained in several respects, including the facility's emergency management plan. It remains unclear what that plan was. When asked for a copy of Gabriel House's emergency management plan, the state Executive Office of Aging and Independence provided a July 2015 document from Gabriel House that promised a plan but did not contain specifics.'
— Republic demands Teamsters drop health insurance request, union says by Caroline Enos, The Salem News: 'Striking Teamsters Local 25 members say Republic Services Inc. won't return to the negotiation table unless they drop their request to take the union's health insurance instead of packages provided by the trash hauler. Republic told The Salem News Wednesday evening this is 'inaccurate information.' It's been about a month and a half since the Teamsters went on strike, and about a month since the union and hauler last sat with a federal mediator to negotiate on July 18.'
— Bristol County district attorney's race off to an early start by Grace Ferguson, The New Bedford Light.
HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH
TRANSITIONS — Ali Noorani will be the next president of the Barr Foundation.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to POLITICO's Peter Canellos, Dani Rodrik, Augusta Davis and Mark Mitchell.
