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Keller at Large
Aaron Michlewitz knew what was coming.
The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, a close ally of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu who shepherded her controversial push for higher commercial property taxes through the House last year, told WBUR the day before last Thursday’s Senate vote that it was time for Wu to scrap her two-year-long crusade. “She's tried to put some public pressure on it. I don't think it's really changed the needle here,” said Michlewitz. “So I do think that she's going to have to go back to the drawing board next cycle and see if she can come up with something that's different and something that's maybe more feasible.”
Ya think?
The 33-5 vote killing Wu’s bid for a multi-year lift in the legal cap on commercial tax rates wasn’t just a defeat – it was a rout that made a farce of months of Wu-world efforts to weaken Senate resistance. And it unnecessarily raised doubts about her political skills and judgment, just weeks after her slam-dunk re-election seemed to cement them as beyond reproach.
It’s been almost two years since a report from the Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis warned that collapsing commercial property values brought on by the work-from-home movement threatened to blow a massive hole in Boston’s revenue flow, a terrifying thought for a metropolis that relies more heavily on that tax stream than any other major US city. The study called for a “dramatic political response” but also noted that “Boston’s current and former leaders are in no way responsible for this coming crisis.”
A policy playbook for Massachusetts to win the talent race. Get it now!
HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Ed Markey hold a field hearing as they push for extending Temporary Protected Status for people from Haiti. The TPS designation is slated to expire Feb. 3, which could put more than 350,000 Haitian nationals at risk of being deported. | Livestream
10:30 | House members start meeting privately to discuss legislation aimed at reducing energy costs in Massachusetts as representative work to build consensus. The session, hosted by Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz and Energy Committee co-Chair Mark Cusack, will focus on House energy affordability legislation (H 4744). | House Members’ Lounge, State House, Boston
10:30 | Attorney General Andrea Campbell hosts a roundtable discussion to mark the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s second term. | One Ashburton Place, 20th floor, Boston
12:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joins GBH News’ Boston Public Radio for “Ask the Mayor,” taking questions from listeners and a live audience with hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. | GBH Studio, Boston Public Library, Boston
1:00 | The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion holds a hearing on diversity efforts at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. The committee is co-chaired by Sen. Liz Miranda of Boston and Rep. Bud Williams of Springfield and each have convention center properties in their communities. Testimony is by invite only. | Hearing Room A-1, State House, Boston | More Info and Access
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Director, Bureau of Program Integrity — NEW!, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General |
Executive Director — NEW!, Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition |
District Director, Office of Boston City Council President Liz Breadon |
Policy Director, Office of Boston City Council President Liz Breadon |
Transportation Engineer, Public Works, City of Newton |
Senior HR Manager for Training & DEI Programs, Mass Gaming Commission |
Senior Economic Justice Attorney with Focus on Safety Net Programs, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute |
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HEALEY KICKS OFF REELECTION EFFORT
Gov. Maura Healey formally launched her reelection campaign Tuesday, retooling her political website and publishing a 2-minute video highlighting her first term and taking aim at President Trump. The launch comes days before she is set to deliver her state of the state address.
An Arlington Democrat, she’ll be facing the winner of the GOP primary. Three candidates are running for the nomination: former Charlie Baker administration aides Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, and former medical device executive Michael Minogue.
Healey, who will be joined on the November ticket by Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, leaned into the “affordability” theme that has dominated political talk from Democrats and Republicans since the results of the 2025 election showed Democrats winning governorships in New Jersey and Virginia on similar messages.
Healey pointed to a bill she signed aimed to spur more housing construction, and a turnaround, still in progress, of the troubled MBTA.
“That’s why I'm running for reelection. To lower costs, make life better, and stand up to Donald Trump. He's raising costs, taking away our healthcare, and tearing families apart,” Healey said in the video, which showed scenes of federal immigration agents smashing car windows and dragging people out of their cars. Such images have driven down public support for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency as its officers have snatched up U.S. citizens, part of their multibillion-dollar dragnet of undocumented immigrants.
The Kennealy camp was first out of the gate with a response, saying in a release Healey “essentially absolves herself of all responsibility for her first term, claims to be running to fix the messes that she herself created, and makes plain that her only viable campaign strategy is to blame her failures on President Trump.” — Gintautas Dumcius
FROM BEACON HILL
MASS SAVE WARNING: As House leaders meet privately over energy affordability legislation, Brian Swett, Boston City Hall’s first chief climate officer, warned that cuts to the Mass Save program would affect the city’s Energy Saver program to install heat pumps and offer free consultations to lower gas and electric bills for residents. – CommonWealth Beacon
DRUG LAB SCANDAL: Massachusetts is still reeling from the effects of the state’s drug lab scandal, which was uncovered during the Deval Patrick administration. The state’s Supreme Judicial Court may have to step in and dismiss more cases on top of the original thousands. – Boston Globe
HEATING UP: Representatives of the natural gas and home heating oil industries, as well as the three Republican candidates for governor, are criticizing Gov. Maura Healey for delaying the start date of the “Clean Heat Standard” until 2028, pushing the date past the 2026 elections. – Boston Herald
LOCAL SALES TAX: A bill filed by two Salem lawmakers, Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Manny Cruz, would allow local governments to set up a local option sales tax of 5%, in addition to the statewide 6.25 percent. – Eagle-Tribune
NEWS NEXT DOOR
GOOD TO BE SHERIFF: Massachusetts county sheriffs are adding to their pay by “longevity bonuses” and education benefits. – Boston Globe
FACILITY SHUTS DOWN: Three months after a Burlington sterile drug product facility was named “Manufacturer of the Year” with great fanfare by the Mass. Legislative Manufacturing Caucus, its owner is shutting the facility down. – Boston Business Journal
QUINCY COUNCIL: After Quincy voters swept out allies of Mayor Tom Koch from the City Council, its new members are set to take up controversial topics like Koch’s big raise, passed by its predecessors. – Patriot Ledger
LAYOFFS AT CRRC: The Chinese maker of the new MBTA cars plans to lay off workers, citing U.S. Customs for its blockage of the car shells coming from China. – MassLive
POLICE REFORM: Police reform advocates are frustrated with Boston’s Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, arguing the civilian agency isn’t being rigorous in its oversight of the police department. – Boston Globe
FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS: A federal judge in Boston called President Trump “authoritarian” and said Trump administration officials failed to honor the First Amendment rights of international scholars. – WBUR
TEAMSTERS ELECTION: Teamsters President Sean O’Brien kicked off his reelection campaign this weekend, criticizing his opponent for tying him to President Trump and taking aim at e-commerce giant Amazon. – Boston Herald
TALE OF THE TAPE: Shannon O’Brien, the chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, said she and another commissioner are looking to cut red tape for businesses as marijuana prices plummet. – GBH News
ECONOMIC CHIEF: Segun Idowu, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s first economic development chief, is resigning at the end of February. – Boston Business Journal
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Research Associate, Worcester Regional Research Bureau
Human Resources Assistant, Town of Acton
Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Treasury Manager, Massachusetts Housing Partnership
Chief Program Officer, The Arc of Plymouth and Upper Cape Cod
Information Management Counsel & Records Access Officer, MA Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission
Political & Campaigns Coordinator, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
Director of Public Policy, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Communications and Digital Assistant, The Markey Committee
Program Director: Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), Massachusetts Housing Partnership
