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What's non-negotiable and what's at risk

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Under the cover of the appointment of Paul Kirk as the US Senator from Massachusetts and the mess created by an email from the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Education regarding a charter school approval came a huge story. The state, after years and years of talk, will take over CSX rail lines between Framingham and Worcester, and between Taunton and Fall River/New Bedford. First, this is overall a very good thing. Murray’s announcement at a Greater Boston Chamber breakfast helps move the state’s transportation infrastructure ahead in some very positive ways. More frequent commuter rail service between Boston and Worcester is a no-brainer that previous administrations did not get done. Also, the state’s takeover of Worcester line will allow for changes […]

Tough Time for Incumbent Mayors

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(Disclosure: I know several of these folks professionally.) Boston Mayor Menino looks like the outlier among his peers after his strong showing in the preliminary election. In Fall River, incumbent Robert Correia finished third and won’t make it to the general election. Several other mayors fared a bit better — finishing second but making it into the general election. Brockton’s Mayor Harrington, Lynn’s Mayor Clancy, Pittsfield’s Mayor Ruberto, and Westfield’s Mayor Boulanger all survived second place finishes. But I can’t recall a period when more incumbents faced such stiff challenges.

Helpful Governing Tips

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Re: Use of Email Tip #1: Don’t use it to try and engineer the installation of a lightly-qualified supporter into a plum job. Tip #2: Don’t repeat #1 a few months later with an even higher press profile. Tip #3: Don’t dispose of an authority head and blame them for something that your and their emails clearly contradict. Bonus Sub-Tip: Go easy on the WWII references. Tip #4: Don’t use email to lay out the political calculus for highly controversial decisions that are supposed to be made based on objective criteria. Thus ends today’s session at the Lomasney Center for Political Communications at Pioneer Institute.

The Perfect Storm in Gloucester

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We have long lamented the politicization of education policy broadly, but especially on charter schools, since the creation of the position of the Education Secretary and the packing of the board of education. Think back to the decision to kill off a great charter application in the Brockton area for purely political reasons. Or consider how the 21st-century skills agenda moved forward in the MCAS contract without any board approval. Looking for reminders? Okay, try here, here, here, and here, as well as a number of reports, op-eds, etc., which I will not list out. All of this is the lead-up to the perfect storm in Gloucester, where the Gloucester Times notes, with charity, Ed chief’s e-mail kills his, secretary’s […]

Ouch

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The print version of the Globe (corrected here online) quoted MassTrans Executive Director-designee Jeff Mullan as commenting on the recent rash of fires at MBTA stations. Turns out they actually were quoting the current Sec’y of Transportation Jim Aloisi (who resigned but is still in office until the end of October). PS- You’ll note another oddity in the same corrections column. They run a movie review-related correction for an error in the same day’s paper. Turns out that, as a cost-savings measure, the “G” section is printed several days in advance.