Amore looks for a Republican opening 

THE GOOD NEWS for Anthony Amore is that Gov. Charlie Baker is endorsing his run for state auditor. The bad news for Amore is that this is news at all. 

It ought to be a given that the lone Republican vying for the open auditor’s seat, which incumbent Democrat Suzanne Bump is giving up, would get the backing of the state’s two-term Republican governor. But nothing is a given these days in the state’s beleaguered Republican Party, which claims fewer than 10 percent of registered voters. 

Not only is the popular Baker – along with his lieutenant governor, Karyn Polito – the only statewide office holder the party can claim, MassGOP leaders act like Baker’s exit can’t come soon enough. 

The party has veered hard to the right under its Trump-backing chairman, Jim Lyons, who has clashed with Baker. As Baker prepares to take his leave after deciding against seeking a third term, he has so far concluded it’s slim pickings when it comes to statewide candidates to carry the party flag, with Amore his only endorsement for now at least.

Against that backdrop, Amore, who waged an unsuccessful run four years ago for secretary of state and is cut from the same moderate Republican cloth as Baker, seems to be a breath of reasonable air to the departing governor. 

“As an independent and experienced watchdog, Anthony will be able to keep the checks and balances on Beacon Hill and help preserve and continue the work the Baker-Polito administration has done over the last seven years,” Baker wrote in a campaign email on Monday announcing his endorsement.

“It’s an honor and it’s energizing,” Amore said of Baker’s endorsement.

Amore said he hopes the endorsement serves as a signal to voters that he’s not part of the party’s hyper ideological hard right turn. “It means voters should understand that I would bring the same sort of governing philosophy that Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito brought to the State House, which is an attitude of good governance and a moderate view that it’s about professionalism,” said Amore.

The auditor’s office seems like the right race for that kind of message from a Republican in a state otherwise dominated by Democrats. The office’s formal charge is to conduct regular audits of the more than 200 state agencies, looking for signs of waste, fraud, or abuse. 

“You can make the case that if you’re going to have someone in state government who doesn’t march to the same drummer, the auditor is probably the one to have,” said former Boston city councilor Larry DiCara – who quickly added that he’s enthusiastically supporting Chris Dempsey, one of two Democrats vying for the post. 

“I don’t think people on either side of the aisle think complete one-party control in a state is a good idea,” said Amore, who is the director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and previously worked to establish new security screening systems at Logan Airport and then nationally for the TSA following the 9/11 attacks. 

“The turmoil has been well-documented, it doesn’t need more comment from me,” he said. “All I can do is put out my vision for the office, my vision of prudent Republicanism, and let the voters decide.”

MICHAEL JONAS

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Future workplace challenges: A state commission says the future of work is changing fast, with automation displacing employees and remote work becoming a permanent fixture. The only way workers can continue to find jobs, the commission says, is by developing new skills and tapping more flexible child care and transit support systems – all of which will require massive investments. Read more.

Homeowners getting shortchanged? A lawsuit filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation is challenging a state law that allows municipalities to foreclose on homeowners who fail to pay their taxes, sell the seized property, and then pocket all of the profit from the sale and not just what was needed to satisfy the unpaid taxes. Read more.

Orange Line cleared: Some but not all subway service is resuming after the partial collapse of the Government Center garage. The Orange Line is back, but the Green Line between North Station and Government Center remains closed as engineers try to determine whether debris from the collapse damaged the subway tunnel. Read more.

OPINION

More funding needed for Early College: Barry Maloney, the president of Worcester State University, and Luis Padraja, president of Quinsigamond Community College, say the Early College Worcester pilot is working and needs more state investment to take off. Read more.

Wrong regulation: Tom Balf, the founder and president of OceanVest LLC, says portions of the East Boston waterfront are reserved for water-dependent industrial uses, but that designation no longer fits and is now preventing the construction of new housing and climate change mitigation. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

A WBUR analysis of mortgage lending in Massachusetts from 2015 to 2020 finds Black applicants are three times more likely to be denied than White applicants. Hispanic applicants were denied at twice the rate of White applicants.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu rolled out a compromise plan in her spat with North End restaurants over fees for use of public streets for outdoor dining, but not all restaurant owners are on board with it. (Boston Globe)

Residents and Boston parks officials are at odds over plans for a $8 million remake of Malcolm X Park in Roxbury that calls for removal of 54 mature trees and the planting of 97 new ones. (Boston Herald) 

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

The FDA authorized a second COVID vaccine booster shot for those 50 and older but some doctors question the timing of the recommendation. (Boston Globe)

A new law goes into effect later this year that will prohibit “surprise billing,” in which patients get an unexpected bill for out-of-network health care services. (Gloucester Daily Times)

State legislators and veterans protest the VA’s planned closing of the Northampton Veterans Affairs hospital. (MassLive)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Sen. Susan Collins says she will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for a seat on the US Supreme Court, becoming the first Republican senator to announce she’ll support President Biden’s nominee. (New York Times) 

Members of Massachusetts’s congressional delegation back President Biden’s proposed tax on the wealthy. (Salem News)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

The Federal Trade Commission accuses the company that owns TurboTax of deceptively advertising that tax filing with the company is free. (NPR)

EDUCATION

New UMass Amherst men’s basketball coach Frank Martin meets with the media. Martin will be paid an average of $1.65 million per season, making him the state’s highest-paid employee. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

ARTS/CULTURE

Gloucester officials say CODA’s wins at the Academy Awards are also a win for Gloucester’s fishing community and its families. (Gloucester Daily Times)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

Nonprofit leaders Monica Cannon-Grant and Clark Grant pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on multiple federal fraud and conspiracy charges. (Boston Herald) 

A Yale administrator pleads guilty to fraud charges in connection with the procurement and sale of nearly $40 million in electronics. (NPR)

MEDIA