Lieutenant Gov. Tim Murray has already told the world he wants to be governor. He’s putting some muscle behind those ambitions, outraising the rest of Beacon Hill in 2012. Murray’s problem is, he’s still acting like a guy whose path to higher office is defined by endorsements and party loyalty and fundraising clout. Murray isn’t able to play that game anymore. He’s one of the few folks remaining on Beacon Hill acknowledging this fact.
The Associated Press reports today that Murray raked in $447,000 in political contributions last year, easily besting the next-highest fundraiser, Treasurer Steve Grossman, who raised $352,000. The two share clear gubernatorial ambitions, so their off-cycle fundraising efforts represent a proxy war between their respective political organizations, and a show of political strength. This weekend, Grossman told WCVB he is “leaning strongly… in the direction of running for governor.” Murray made a point of responding to Grossman’s non-announcement, telling the State House News Service he won’t be pushed off the ball: “Who runs or who doesn’t isn’t going to affect my decision. The people deserve a robust campaign so I’m not going to make any decisions based on what other people may or may not do.”
Prospective gubernatorial candidates aren’t in the business of dumping on their own prospects, so when he talks about running for governor, he doesn’t mention stuff like “patronage” and “the former head of the Chelsea Housing Authority.” But the fact remains that Murray’s shot at the Corner Office was always an outside one, and it’s been significantly complicated by certain events connected to a sitting federal grand jury. These are facts that no show of fundraising strength can brush aside.
When Boston magazine profiled Murray two years ago, it headlined the piece “Hack in Action.” It was no hit piece. The headline encapsulated Murray’s role in the current administration — handing out jobs, shaking the hands of boyo legislators, and tending to the political wheels that enable a sprawling administration to carry out its agenda. Sometimes, this task involves leading a gubernatorial mission to the local VFW, where a key Worcester state rep is tending bar. And sometimes, it involves arranging a no-show job for the son of a favored housing authority director. Either way, Murray’s current job has been minding Beacon Hill’s old-boy network — something that becomes a liability when running for governor in a state that has consistently lined up behind anti-establishment outsiders for the post. So even on his best days, Murray was looking at a tough slog to the Corner Office.
Murray’s current Chelsea difficulties likely make an unfavorable position wholly untenable. It’s not just that Murray was connected at the hip with Mike McLaughlin, a man who lied about his salary, walked out the door with cash in his pocket, and is currently being hounded by state and federal investigators. The Globe has reported that McLaughlin pressed Chelsea Housing Authority employees to donate to Murray — something he, as a federal employee, was not legally allowed to do. Worse, the paper spoke with “several employees” who reported that “McLaughlin’s aides sometimes asked for significant cash donations to Murray and other politicians, donations that do not appear in campaign reports. ‘He always wanted it in cash. No checks,’’ said one employee.”
In a recent column, Joan Vennochi called Murray’s ambitions “delusional” in light of the legal and ethical clouds hanging over him. She speculated that he must have “score[d] an early prescription for voter-approved medical marijuana.” That’s brutal treatment for a guy who’s just wondering aloud about his own political prospects, but if Murray actually jumps into the gubernatorial race, it’s likely to get worse for him. And it’s something that no campaign warchest can head off.
–PAUL MCMORROW
Municipal Matters
Former state rep Jose Santiago was fired from his public works job in Lawrence after being charged with violating a restraining order, the Eagle-Tribune reports. At his arraignment, the Eagle-Tribune reports, officials disclose that Santiago has had a total of four restraining orders filed against him by women. The paper also runs down a long list of legal problems facing Lantigua’s political team.
The Salem City Council picks a new president, and seems to be close to breaking a stalemate on filling the seat vacated by now-state-Sen. Joan Lovely, the Salem News reports.
The Brockton City Council is considering a home rule petition that would allow the police chief to immediately shut down a bar he deems a public safety risk following extreme incidents.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch used his midterm State of the City address to announce a sweeping agenda, including an array of environmental changes ranging from replacing all the traditional street lights with LEDs to placing solar panels on more than a dozen schools and city buildings.
Casinos
The developer looking to build a commercial casino on the New Bedford waterfront has narrowed its suit against the state, filing an amended complaint seeking to have the process immediately opened to groups beyond the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.
National Politics/Washington
A Million Kids March on Washington in support of gun control may be in the offing. Former rep Gabrielle Giffords readies a gun control push.
The leader of the Rhode Island Roman Catholic Diocese has urged Ocean State lawmakers to set drop consideration of legalizing gay marriage, calling it “immoral and unnecessary.”
Why the White House is backing a C-SPAN reality show for Joe Biden. Seriously.
Immigration enforcement last year cost more than all other federal law enforcement efforts combined.
Elections
US Rep. Steve Lynch thinks he’d be a tough Senate candidate, but he’s not saying he is a Senate candidate. Newton rabbi Jonah Pesner is also exploring a run. So much for Ed Markey clearing the field. Meanwhile, one political observer says Markey should face a primary challenger for his own good. The Globe, in an editorial, offers a big push for Barney Frank to get the interim Senate nod from Gov. Deval Patrick. Wendy Kaminer also hops on the Frank-for-Senate-for-now bandwagon.
Business/Economy
A pair of local developers bid to construct two convention center hotels in South Boston.
The Wall Street Journal editorial page knocks the latest foreclosure settlements.
Local restaurants are feeling a lot healthier following the relaxing of restrictions on drug companies wining and dining doctors.
Education
Massachusetts receives a grade of D+ from Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization for its education laws and policies
WBUR’s Here & Now offers an update on Burlington High School’s shift away from textbooks to iPads.
Health Care
Harvard researchers advocate a public health approach to gun deaths, similar to past efforts on smoking and motor vehicle safety. WBUR interviews one of the researchers.
The flu is hitting the Cape, as well as the rest of the country, pretty hard this year.
Pharmaceutical companies are feeling bullish about the pace of federal approvals of their products.
Transportation
A number of state lawmakers, concerned that delay may mean officials are considering other alternatives, have sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers urging approval of the Stoughton route for the planned South Coast commuter rail line.
Not so dreamy: A small fire broke out on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at Logan Airport.
Energy/Environment
A group of anti-Trans Canada pipeline protesters who glued and chained themselves to a Westborough office building apparently had a fine enough time in the lockup after their arrests.
Colorado officials require groundwater tests before and after drilling for oil and gas, the Denver Post reports.
The Central Massachusetts wind industry is falling on tough times.
A federal appeals court denies a bid to block the Seabrook nuclear power plant’s relicensing.
Criminal Justice
Raymond Dougan, a Boston judge who was recently cleared following a complaint of judicial bias by the Suffolk County DA, may have improperly accepted $85,000 of free legal advice in fighting the charges, the Globe reports.
Globe columnist Kevin Cullen says US District Court Judge Richard Stearns is not a bad guy or a bad judge — but he’s the wrong judge to preside over the upcoming Whitey Bulger trial.
A 58-year-old Fall River man who was a youth sports coach and a sixth-grade teacher in the Dighton-Rehoboth school district was arrested on child molestation charges in an investigation that earlier had snared his brother.
Media
Politico is letting some workers go, but officials there dispute there are layoffs, Huffington Post reports.