JOHN SILBER, the late Boston University president and the 1990 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, was known for his “Silber shockers,” which were blunt comments on a variety of topics.
Nowadays, we may be in an era of “Mariano missiles.” House Speaker Ron Mariano, a former schoolteacher from Quincy, can be similarly blunt, or teasing, in his remarks, as he was while speaking at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
Calling out members of his leadership team who were in the audience, he noted that a former Ways and Means chair Jeff Sanchez was allowed to sit at the table with them. “You can’t miss his dome,” Mariano said. Sanchez’s successor, Aaron Michlewitz, sat nearby. “Aaron and I converse daily,” Mariano continued. “Not always pleasantly. But daily.”
Later, when discussing his support for standardized testing, Mariano said it was based on when he lost his job as a teacher, but two of his colleagues across the hall, who were “borderline incompetent,” kept theirs. “I’ll say borderline because I’m being kind today,” he added.
But the biggest missile came afterwards when he was talking to reporters about the financially struggling Steward Health Care, the for-profit chain that’s been backed by private equity. Lawmakers plan to dig into how private equity has affected the health care sector at a hearing Monday morning, and the list of people slated to testify include Healey administration officials, academics, and public health experts.
One name not on the list is that of Ralph de la Torre, the Steward CEO who has achieved notoriety for owning a $40 million yacht while his health care system drowns in red ink. De la Torre was in charge of Steward when it bought, and then later shut down, Quincy Medical Center years ago, much to the dismay of the city’s leaders and residents.
Mariano was asked whether he had recently spoken to de la Torre, and his analysis of what the CEO has wrought was short and to the point: “Not since he pissed through my hospital,” Mariano said, as one of his aides quickly ended the scrum.
MCAS muddle
Ballot questions often ask voters to weigh in complicated issues that, in an ideal world, are better sorted out through the give and take of the more deliberative legislative process.
The brewing battle over MCAS is already proving the point.
The question that the state’s largest teachers union is pushing toward the November ballot would remove the requirement that students pass the 10th grade MCAS exam to graduate from high school. But you wouldn’t necessarily know that by listening to the state’s top leaders.
Asked about the issue on Tuesday on WBUR, Gov. Maura Healey said, “I think that assessment is important. We need to be able to assess how our young people are doing, so I do not support getting rid of MCAS.” House Speaker Ron Mariano used identical language following a Thursday morning speech to business leaders, telling the Greater Boston Chamber’s Jim Rooney he does not support “getting rid of MCAS.”
Some may understand the pols’ shorthand reference, but to others their replies could be confusing. The ballot question would not “get rid of MCAS” or the assessment of students using the standardized test. The state is required under federal law to test students in grades 3-8 and once in high school.
There are arguments for and against using MCAS as a high-stakes bar students must clear to receive a diploma – the issue that may go before voters. But it would be easy to fail a test asking exactly what the ballot question would do if you only had the two leaders’ comments to go on.
Ticking clock on tobacco?
The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision to uphold a novel law in Brookline that would prevent anyone born after January 1, 2000, from buying tobacco or e-cigarettes is already being seen as a green light for other municipalities.
Brookline’s approach represents a radical shift in discouraging tobacco use, but one that is fundamentally limited by its borders. It would be inconvenient, though possible, for a young adult barred from tobacco purchase in Brookline to pop over to a nearby community. But its largest neighbor may be mulling a policy change.
Asked about Brookline’s phased-in tobacco ban a few days after the SJC decision, Mayor Michelle Wu noted on Boston Public Radio that bans on certain types of tobacco, like menthol cigarettes, can impact stores in certain communities differently if there was a strong preference for the product.
An age-based approach “can even the playing field,” Wu told Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. “In the name of public health, I think it’s something we all should be looking into.”
Melrose, Stoneham, and Wakefield share a health director and have been considering a “nicotine-free generation” law that would prohibit sales of any tobacco or e-cigarette products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2004. Their boards of health held several meetings on the proposed bans, according to public records and health officials, but held off on a vote as the SJC suit was underway. Malden discussed the ruling on Wednesday and the three towns are likely to move on their proposed bans this spring.