Could Boncore become sleeper in crowded DA race?
By 
The open race for Suffolk County district attorney is attracting a crowd, with five Democrats already in the hunt and several others still mulling a run for the post, which veteran prosecutor Dan Conley is giving up after 16 years in office.
The newest name to surface: state Sen. Joe Boncore, who said yesterday that he’s seriously weighing a run and will likely make a decision by next week sometime.
“I’ve seriously been considering putting my hat in the ring for the district attorney’s race,” Boncore told State House News Service. “Dan Conley had a great career as our district attorney and I think coming off the heels of the Legislature’s criminal justice reform bill the time is right for a district attorney who’s progressive, understands the new policies that need to come into place while still protecting and looking out for the public safety of all residents of Suffolk County.”
Those who say, “Joe who?” should know that many were asking the same question two years ago — until the Winthrop resident topped a seven-way field in the special election Democratic primary for the Senate seat he now holds.
The key to his victory? While a slew of Boston candidates were slugging it out over votes in that part of the district, Boncore owned his hometown of Winthrop, where he won 65 percent of the votes in the seven-candidate field, and ran decently well in neighboring Revere, where he had to battle for votes against the city’s former mayor, Dan Rizzo.
A similar dynamic could play out in the DA’s race if Boncore decides to take the plunge. He could own the northern tier of Suffolk County, pulling big numbers in Revere and Winthrop, which he currently represents, as well as in East Boston and the North End, which, despite demographic change, both still claim a decent population of reliable Italian-American voters who could gravitate to a preferito figlio in the race.
Boncore, a former public defender, would join a race featuring lots of candidates focused on criminal justice reform. Already declaring their candidacies for the Democratic primary are state Rep. Evandro Carvalho of Dorchester, defense attorney Shannon McAuliffe, who ran a program for focused on gang-involved youth for Chelsea-based nonprofit Roca, Suffolk assistant district attorney Greg Henning, former Massport legal counsel Rachael Rollins, and real estate attorney Linda Champion.
With all the declared and would-be candidates looking to the already crowded Democratic primary, the race could effectively be decided by something far short of a majority of voters, a problem well-documented by voting activist Paul Schimek in this CommonWealth piece last fall. Boncore landed in the Senate by winning just 25 percent of the primary vote in low-turnout special election.
There are plenty of ideas on the table for election reforms to address the issue of “plurality victors” — candidates who win seats with far less than a majority of the vote. There won’t be any change in place for this fall’s DA race, however, and the current structure will suit Boncore just fine if he makes the jump.
MICHAEL JONAS
BEACON HILL
Attorney General Maura Healey said companies selling electricity to residential homeowners are ripping them off, and the best way to deal with the situation is to pass a law shutting them all down. (CommonWealth)
Scot Lehigh marvels at how gun rights advocates, who have called for lawmakers to focus on mental health issues, seem to have a problem with proposed legislation that focuses on mental health issues — and how Speaker Robert DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker seem to be dodging and weaving on the bill instead of stepping up and taking a position on it. (Boston Globe)
Attorney General Maura Healey says Gov. Charlie Baker needs to “take a leadership role” on the problems roiling the State Police. (Boston Globe)
The Massachusetts Senate approved a $1.8 billion housing bond bill. (State House News)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Boston stalls on Yawkey name change and listens to more testimony on the pros and cons. (CommonWealth)
Two top City Hall aides, who collected some $400,000 in salary while on paid leave, are back on the job following dismissal of federal corruption charges against them. (Boston Herald) Notwithstanding the dropping of the charges, a Globe editorial says Mayor Marty Walsh should make clear that permits for events on City Hall Plaza or other city venues won’t depend on using union labor — the issue at the center of the case.
The Supreme Judicial Court denied an appeal from Hingham officials of a court order that set the price to buy the private water supply at $88.6 million and now the town must decide whether to move ahead with the purchase from Aquarion. (Patriot Ledger)
The Framingham City Council is reviewing the policy that allows 32 municipal employees to have a city-paid vehicle that they can drive home and use during non-working hours. (MetroWest Daily News)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
A Herald editorial says the new “Rosanne” TV show featuring a Trump-backing lead character is good for America. Columnist Adriana Cohen says so as well. (Boston Herald)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
A provision in the just-passed $1.3 trillion spending bill would nearly double the number of H-2B visas but businesses on the Cape, which most rely on foreign workers during the summer, are skeptical the increase will do much because of the backlog to apply. (Cape Cod Times)
President Trump escalated his beef with Amazon and its owner Jeff Bezos by claiming the Internet retail giant doesn’t pay enough taxes and uses the Postal Service as a “delivery boy.” The New York Times begs to differ.
Owners of 55 fishing vessels out of New Bedford that were shut out of their sector because of a groundfishing ban have leased their catch quotas to a different sector because they risked losing them. The ban was implemented after the conviction of Carlos Rafael, the so-called “Codfather,” for money smuggling and violating his quotas. (Standard-Times)
Shirley Leung has a tribute to retiring Bentley University president (and one-time MassINC board co-chair) Gloria Larson, who has been a trailblazer for women in leadership roles. (Boston Globe)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
A new study from Columbia University’s School of Public Health finds people who smoke marijuana are less likely to quit cigarettes and ex-smokers who pick up pot are more likely to relapse. (U.S. News & World Report)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The EPA is planning on rolling back Obama-era standards for vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency in a major victory for car makers but the new regulations will be challenged by California and a dozen other states that enact their own tougher standards. (New York Times)
Nantucket officials say someone illegally dug an opening between Miacomet Pond and the ocean, likely to release some of the water from the fresh water pond that had been swollen from the recent storms and prevent flooding. (Cape Cod Times)
CASINOS
Old rivals Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts are battling again, raising questions about the endgame of Mohegan Sun. (CommonWealth)
Gaming commission chairman Steve Crosby says Wynn Resorts proceeds with its Everett casino construction on an “at-risk basis,” suggesting the die isn’t cast on whether the company will be able to have gamblers cast die at the site given the questions about sexual assault allegations against company founder Steve Wynn and how the firm has handled them. (Boston Globe)
Wynn Resorts executives say the company is considering changing the name of the Everett casino, dropping the Wynn name. (Boston Herald)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
A judge has ruled a suit against former Fall River Diocese Bishop Daniel Cronin for failing to supervise an accused pedophile priest can move forward to a jury trial. (Herald News)
Prosecutors allege that a Roslindale pipe company facing manslaughter charges over the 2016 collapse of a trench in the South End that killed two workers forged documents showing the workers had undergone excavation training. (Boston Herald)
Nestor Ramos has some choice words for the generously paid State Police at Logan Airport, who most of us know because of encounters with Staties there who dish out choice words and scowls to anyone daring to pause for a minute to pick up a loved there. (Boston Globe)
David Pecker, who has long used his tabloid empire that includes The Enquirer to burnish President Trump’s image, played on his friendship with Trump in a meeting with Saudi Arabia officials. (New York Times)