The US Senate race is finally starting to take shape: US Reps. Stephen Lynch and Ed Markey are running on the Democratic side, and now the Republicans have state Rep. Dan Winslow, who may be joined next week by state Sen. Bruce Tarr.
Republicans were desperate to field candidates after former Sen. Scott Brown decided not to make a run. The so-called big names (Weld, Baker, Healey) all took a pass, leaving the field to two, little-known Beacon Hill Republicans. On paper that’s a fair description, but in reality Winslow and Tarr could become very strong candidates. They aren’t well known around the state, but then again Lynch and Markey aren’t really that well known either after their many years in Washington.
Tarr, from Gloucester, is solid, substantive, and, like Brown, interested in finding common ground with Democrats. Winslow, from Norfolk, is a smart, articulate, idea guy, the sort of person who is dangerous in a debate. (Check him out exchanging ideas with Sen. Dan Wolf, a Democrat from the Cape.) Sometimes Winslow is a bit full of himself, but he’s never dull.
CommonWealth put Winslow on its cover in 2011 under the headline: “Who does he think he is?” Writer Paul McMorrow wrote: “Whether he will end up regarded as a blunt-talking flash-in-the-pan or a model for a more freewheeling style in the Legislature is unclear. But Winslow has the nerve to think that ideas should matter to the legislative process, and he’s going to put that notion to the test.”
Winslow also has a sense of humor. In 2011, MassINC and CommonWealth magazine hosted a fundraiser called “Serious Fun” that featured videos and skits in which pols poked fun at themselves and the media. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino received the lion’s share of attention for a video spoofing himself as the Godfather, but Winslow turned in a masterful performance to the tune of “Mr. Big Stuff.” (See it here at the 5:05 mark) Like I said, he’s never dull.
–Bruce Mohl
BEACON HILL
The House passed a supplemental budget that includes $1.6 million in pay hikes for corrections officers at the Bristol County jail, raises the officers say will bring them into line with peers around the state.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s leadership team stays mostly intact, State House News reports (via Lowell Sun).
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Lawrence City Councilor Dan Rivera, the anti-Lantigua, is running for mayor, CommonWealth’s Gabrielle Gurley reports.
The Boston City Council’s move to expel Chuck Turner immediately following his bribery conviction will now cost the city $106,000, as city officials settle a lawsuit Turner filed maintaining that state law only allowed for his removal once he was sentenced for his crime.
State officials go to court to force a Boston landlord to remove a pair of Beacon Hill billboards.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Some advocates are pushing Congress and the IRS to require all charities to file their annual 990 forms online and create a database that would be more accessible to the public.
Online gambling appears headed for New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a bill sent to him by the legislature but says he will sign one with a few tweaks, the Star-Ledger reports.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is not happy that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe did an end run around Congress to institute an end to Saturday mail delivery.
ELECTIONS
US Rep. Michael Capuano says he is considering a run for governor, WBUR reports.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s fundraising lagged along with his health, CommonWealth’s Paul McMorrow reports.
Sean Bielat, who mounted a pair of unsuccessful runs for the House, considers jumping into the Senate race.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Millennium Gaming extends its option to purchase Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire, telling residents the company could open a casino by 2016 if lawmakers give their approval by early next year, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Why airlines move to cancel flights en masse before a big storm.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman opens a probe into the three credit ratings agencies’ housing ratings.
EDUCATION
The Globe reports that Boston schools superintendent Carol Johnson knew for three months that the Secret Service was investigating a Boston high school principal on possible fraud charges but she kept mum at the agency’s request.
HEALTH CARE
Catholic bishops reject a White House compromise on birth control.
TRANSPORTATION
Milton residents at a public hearing expressed concerns over potential increased noise and reduced property values because of a plan by the Federal Aviation Administration to change flight paths of some takeoffs from Logan Airport.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The words “gird” and “brace” suddenly come into widespread use this morning. Jon Keller’s memories of the Blizzard of ‘78 are not as warm and fuzzy as everyone else’s.
Massachusetts and eight other states move to lower the cap on power plant emissions, CommonWealth and the Globe report.
Mass MoCA installs solar panels, which will save the art museum up to $25,000 annually.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A federal filing traces Whitey Bulger’s purchase while on the lam of 15 handguns and one shotgun. Howie Carr asks whether Whitey knows what he’s doing, complaining on a taped jailhouse line that he bought, but never offered, FBI information.
An investigation is underway of an incident Monday night in which the 22-year-old son of Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis was given a ride home — rather than allowed to drive his truck — from the TD Garden by a police officer who was concerned he may have had too much to drink.
A Middleboro man was charged by federal authorities with trying to smuggle drugs into the Plymouth County Correctional Facility while he was an inmate there.
MEDIA
Because of the impending blizzard and potential delivery problems, many area newspapers such as the New Bedford Standard Times and all of the GateHouse News daily papers will drop their paywalls and offer their e-editions for free through the duration of the storm.
Speaking of paywalls, Dan Kennedy examines the changes in the Globe’s online subscriber service that reduces the number of free articles non-payers can access each month.
An English romance novelist named Jessica Blair turns out to be an 89-year-old grandfather.