A YIMBY super PAC enters the arena

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The nonprofit Abundant Housing Massachusetts has already thrown itself into battles to bring more development to Bay State cities and towns amid a supply crunch and high demand.

But as the statewide group sees resistance at the local level, two of its supporters are turning to what’s become a mainstay vehicle in politics: a super PAC.

Molly Goodman, a founding board member, and Josh Rosmarin, a Democratic political operative, filed paperwork this week with campaign finance regulators setting up the super PAC, which can operate with few restrictions on its fundraising and spending.

For a model, the new committee is looking to the Environmental League of Massachusetts and its super PAC, which has raised $2 million over the last decade and boosted its preferred candidates in local and State House races through digital advertising buys.

Forming a super PAC is easy. The hard part, unless your father owns the New England Patriots, is the fundraising. The new housing super PAC is expected to turn to developers and biotech companies for money as it readies to dive into municipal races this year.

The action comes amid a sustained period of debate about housing costs, one of if not the very top issue plaguing municipalities and state government.

Voters in Marblehead earlier this month rejected multi-family zoning requirements under the MBTA Communities law. Abundant Housing joined two other nonprofits, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) and One Commonwealth (which formed last year with the blessing of Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll) in trying to get voters to support the zoning changes.

Marblehead's select board chair sent a letter earlier this week to Healey, asking for an exemption from MBTA Communities compliance in light of the referendum’s results, which endanger state funding for Marblehead. The chair, Dan Fox, indicated other compliance attempts are unlikely to fare any better, citing some opponents’ "apprehensions about the implications of a state-mandated housing initiative."

Healey told MASSterList she hadn’t seen the letter yet. “The single greatest crisis we face as a state right now, and states around the country are facing it, [is] housing is too damn expensive,” she said. “We've got to build more housing... We got to lower housing costs. The way you do that is building more housing. I think there are a lot of ways to get there.”

For housing advocates, at least, the super PAC is looking like another way to do just that.

Is a super PAC the answer? Let me know what you think: [email protected].

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Happening Today

9:00 | Rep. John Lawn of Watertown is expected to be arraigned on operating under the influence and leaving the scene charges after an early-morning arrest Wednesday. | Boston Municipal Court, 24 New Chardon St., Boston

10:00 | Tufts University hosts a roundtable discussion with Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper and Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. | Joyce Cummings Center, 177 College Avenue, Medford

12:00 | The Senate meets in a formal session, with plans to deliberate and vote on two pieces of legislation dealing with child custody disputes (S 2550) and debt collection practices (S 2551). | Senate Chamber

5:00 | Groups including ACLU Mass., Embrace Boston, Indivisible Mass. Coalition, Mass. AFL-CIO, and more organize a march and rally to honor the legacy of civil rights icon and late Congressman John Lewis, and to "stand up against the authoritarian excesses of the Trump administration." | Copley Square, Boston

POLITICAL INTEL

The latest rankings from Morning Consult voter survey, which frequently showed Charlie Baker as one of the most popular governor in the country, put successor Maura Healey at No. 16 with a 59 percent approval rating. She fared better than NH’s Kelly Ayotte, who has a 50 percent approval rating, as well as New York’s Kathy Hochul and Maine’s Janet Mills, who made the top 10 list for least popular governors. Vermont’s Phil Scott topped the list for the third year in a row.

Republican Sen. Patrick O’Connor decided against a run for mayor of Weymouth, where voters will pick someone to finish out Bob Hedlund’s term. Hedlund resigned Tuesday, having previously cited health concerns. O’Connor, viewed by some as a possible candidate for Congress when Stephen Lynch retires, is expected to support Michael Molisse, who was sworn in as Weymouth’s acting mayor on Wednesday and plans to run for the post.

Eva Millona, a former Department of Homeland Security official and president and CEO of the Mass. Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), has joined Eastern Bank Foundation as a fellow focused on a new English proficiency initiative.

FROM BEACON HILL

‘I AM A STATE REP’: Watertown’s John Lawn identified himself as a lawmaker to police when they found him unable to complete sobriety tests early Wednesday morning, according to reports. They charged him with operating under the influence of liquor and leaving a scene where there was property damage. - WCVB

LEGAL SHIELD: House lawmakers approved new reproductive and gender care protections, calling it an update to a 2022 state law that came after the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. – State House News Service

BUSINESS DESK

AI UPTAKE: Scott Kirsner asks, “Is Massachusetts keeping pace with the AI technology race?” A new report ranks the West Coast higher, but includes Boston as a “star hub.” – MassLive

CLAWBACK PLAN: A bankruptcy judge is allowing Steward Health Care, the troubled former operator of several hospitals across the state, to move ahead with a wind-down and sue insiders like Ralph de la Torre as a way to pay its bills. – Wall Street Journal

NEWS NEXT DOOR

ESCALATING QUICKLY: The fight in Newton over road lines has reached a new stage, where residents have repainted the colors of the Italian flag after city officials removed them and painted them yellow. – Boston Herald

FALL RIVER BLAZE: The city plans to increase staffing at its fire department after a deadly fire at an assisted living facility. – Boston Globe

NEW BEDFORD FIRST: New Bedford’s police force welcomed its first Mayan officer, who came to the US as a five-year-old undocumented immigrant. – New Bedford Light

MORE HEADLINES

Federal government eliminates suicide prevention line dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth

MBTA evaluating system for faulty cables after Blue Line evacuation

Estate where Obama vacationed sets sale record for Martha’s Vineyard

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