Concerns repeatedly raised have been substantiated by the September 8, 2025, MassDOT document release. The records reveal undisclosed communications and conflicts of interest involving the Head of the MassDOT Selection Committee and Applegreen’s bidding team. This conduct undermines the integrity of the process and demands immediate investigation, accountability, and disqualification of Applegreen to preserve public trust. Learn more.
At first glance, a local recall fight might seem like another example of small-town politics. In Winthrop, the North Shore town of 20,000 people, it’s also a proxy battle in the war over the MBTA Communities law.
Winthrop is currently considered noncompliant with the MBTA Communities law, which calls for zoning that allows for multifamily housing. As a result, the town recently lost $1.2 million in state aid that would have helped several neighborhoods deal with frequent flooding, according to one elected official.
The town council deadlocked on a vote earlier this year to come into compliance. One of the four who voted for compliance, Max Tassinari, is now facing a recall effort from residents who oppose the MBTA Communities law and argue the town is already full up.
The recall’s proponents aimed for the November ballot but tripped over signature requirements and the town clerk, Denise Quist, who declined to place it on the ballot. “She has no authority to do that,” said Diana Viens, who is part of the recall effort.
They filed an emergency petition this week with the Supreme Judicial Court to force the town clerk to get the recall on the ballot. They’re represented by Lynnfield attorney Michael Walsh, who was part of a group several years ago that unsuccessfully challenged a law making early voting and vote-by-mail permanent.
Viens claimed Tassinari should not be voting on implementing the housing law because he works for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “If your employer directly benefits financially, or if there is any interest, with you or family members, you need to recuse yourself,” she said. But Tassinari said MassDOT doesn’t handle housing policy.
Tassinari’s colleague on the council, Joe Aiello, the former chair of the MBTA’s oversight board, came to his defense, saying, “people have lost their minds” over the MBTA Communities law. Aiello said the same group previously made similar accusations against him and attempted a recall that failed to gather enough signatures.
The MBTA Communities law was created by the governor’s office and the Legislature, he said, and there is no conflict for either him or Tassinari.
For Aiello, the biggest concern remains the neighborhoods that need relief from climate change-related flooding, and residents could face a tax increase down the road if the town can’t access state funds due to noncompliance.
“It’s always been a wonderful, friendly place,” he said of Winthrop, where he’s lived since 1982. “And now we have this divisiveness that’s been driven by a set of people who see [MBTA Communities] as a doomsday on the town.”
Where else are proxy battles being waged over the MBTA Communities law? Let me know: [email protected].
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HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association holds its annual Healthcare Safety and Violence Prevention Summit. MHA President Steve Walsh delivers opening remarks alongside MHA's vice president of clinical affairs Patricia Noga. | MHA Conference Center, 500 District Ave., Burlington | Register
9:00 | MassBudget hosts back-to-back policy discussions on whether revenues from legal cannabis and legal gambling are aligning with the public good. Cannabis is up first, featuring a panel that includes Cannabis Policy Committee co-chair Rep. Dan Donahue and former Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz. The 11 a.m. gambling revenue discussion features Economic Development Committee co-chair Rep. Carole Fiola and Marlene Warner from the Mass. Council on Gaming and Health. | TSNE Nonprofit Center, West Room, 89 South St., Boston | Register
10:00 | House Speaker Ron Mariano, Energy and Environmental Secretary Rebecca Tepper and Quincy Mayor Tom Koch join the Mass. Clean Energy Center to tout the Green School Works Program, which is designed to advance the electrification and decarbonization of school buildings across the state. | Snug Harbor Elementary School, 333 Palmer St., Quincy
1:00 | Attorney General Andrea Campbell joins GBH News' Boston Public Radio for her "Ask the AG" segment. It's broadcast from New England Public Media's Starr Studio in Springfield. | 88.5 NEPM or GBH 89.7 | Livestream
2:00 | Gov. Maura Healey kicks off the first meeting of the new Discovery, Research and Innovation for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) Initiative with its newly announced members. | Room 157, State House Boston
FROM BEACON HILL
HEALEY V. GOP: Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll took some swipes at the two GOP candidates running for governor, seeking to tie them to President Trump, a likely preview of messaging in the 2026 election. – Boston Herald
HIGHWAY FIGHT: Global Partners, the losing bidder on a highway plaza redevelopment project, is asking a judge to stop the Massachusetts Department of Transportation from moving forward with winning bidder Applegreen. – Boston Globe
SHERIFF SLAPPED: Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott has reached an agreement with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance after regulators alleged he used political funds for personal business ventures. – Boston Herald
Boston is at an economic crossroads. The vitality of its downtown business district, drained by the COVID-19 epidemic, continues to slowly rebound but has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Commercial property values have declined, creating the potential for major budget challenges for the most property-tax dependent big city in America. With Boston’s financial underpinnings at risk, what is the strategy and vision for Boston’s future, particularly for its major business districts? Join business and community leaders to explore challenges and opportunities ahead. Register here!
NEWS NEXT DOOR
NO VACANCY: Boston office space has a 24% vacancy rate, triple what it was just before the pandemic, but top of the line properties like the Hancock tower (200 Clarendon), known as Class A space, are doing well. – Boston Business Journal
HOLYOKE PAY: A 40% pay bump for the payor, and 30% for city councilors, are at the center of sparring between two Holyoke leaders. – MassLive
BOSTON BLUEPRINT: Immigration officers are using a blueprint they come up with in the Boston area – wearing masks, smashing windows, etc. – and seeking to replicate it in L.A., D.C. and Chicago. – Wall Street Journal
CHELSEA EXIT: Public schools in Chelsea are seeing a drop in their student population as immigration enforcement has ramped up. – WBUR
SKYSCRAPER SCRAP: Boston’s Downtown Crossing neighborhood is ground zero in a fight over bringing more tall towers to the area. – NBC10 Boston
RECOUNT REQUEST: Mavrick Afonso, who works for the state’s executive office of housing, is asking for a recount after finishing in third place in the City Council race for Tania Fernandes Anderson’s district seat. Afonso is joined by the other candidates who also lost the preliminary, which narrowed the field to two, Said Ahmed and Miniard Culpepper. – Universal Hub
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