Sorry, Gov. Charlie Baker. You may hold the corner office, but you’re only the second most influential voice on Beacon Hill Twitter. First prize goes to the press. In particular, the State House News Service, the indispensable wire service that covers every legislative session, myriad hearings, the governor, Legislature, and generally all things Beacon Hill.
The most gossiped-about item in Massachusetts politics this week is a spreadsheet created by Legislata, a political software company that analyzed the lists of who every member of the Legislature follows on Twitter. Legislata compiled the information to identify the most influential capitol voices.
The political popularity contest finds Baker is followed by 90 percent of lawmakers, and the State House News Service by 92 percent. The only other person to hit 90 percent is Democrat Robert DeLeo, the longest-serving House speaker in state history, who retired from his post after 12 years as at the end of 2020.
That number may make DeLeo’s successor, Speaker Ron Mariano, jealous, since Mariano is followed by just 77 percent of legislators. But that still makes Mariano the sixth most influential Twitter personality, surpassed only by the outspoken Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey (88 percent) and Mariano’s appointed Ways and Means Chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (78 percent). With the House and Senate often known for their rivalries, Mariano is tied with Senate President Karen Spilka.
The two legislative leaders are followed closely by former Boston mayor and current US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and by the Massachusetts Democratic Party. (In a state known for one-party dominance, the MassGOP is far down the list, at 619, followed by 20 percent of legislators, while Massachusetts Republican Party chair Jim Lyons ranks 421t and is followed by 28 percent).
The most followed rank-and-file representatives are Reps. Kay Khan, Jay Livingstone, and John Mahoney. On the Senate side, it’s Sen. Eric Lesser.
The most influential reporter is GBH’s Statehouse denizen Mike Deehan, who ranked 15th on the list and is followed by 75 percent of lawmakers. Deehan even beat Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who are both followed by 72 percent of lawmakers. The Boston Globe is the most influential media outlet, ranking 34th with 69 percent of the Legislature following it.
Partisanship clearly plays a role. Healey is followed by 93 percent of Democratic lawmakers, but only 65 percent of Republicans. The Republican Polito is followed by 85 percent of GOP lawmakers but just 71 percent of Democrats. Only 58 percent of Republican lawmakers follow the Globe, compared to 72 percent of Democrats.
To the 57 percent of lawmakers who are likely reading this, those followers of CommonWealth Magazine, thank you for ensuring that we are as influential on Beacon Hill as US Sen. Ed Markey (ranked 125 and 126, respectively). CommonWealth did beat out the MBTA in popularity (which ranked 136) – but that’s generally not too hard to do.
SHIRA SCHOENBERG
FROM COMMONWEALTH
Boston exam schools: The Boston School Committee approved sweeping changes to the admissions policies for the city’s three exam schools to promote a more diverse student population. But a growing body of research is questioning whether all the focus on the elite exam schools is warranted.
— The research tracked students who just barely made the cut and barely missed the cut for exam schools in other cities and found outcomes were similar. That suggests it’s not the exam schools and their teachers who are making a difference in the lives of students. Indeed, the reason exam schools seem like an academic promised land is the fact that they attract the best and the brightest who tend to go on to better colleges, jobs, etc.
— Boston School Committee member Hardin Coleman voted to change the exam school admission policies, but he said the real priority is improving the school system’s 122 other schools and not focusing solely on who gets exam school seats. “If you really want to make improvement, it’s about improving the quality of teaching and learning in all the schools,” he said. Read more.
Seaport panned: The five Boston mayoral candidates by and large are not fans of the Seaport District. At a forum on development hosted by the Responsible Development Coalition, the reaction ranged from horror to more measured concern about the area’s lack of diversity.
— Michelle Wu, Andrea Campbell, and Kim Janey were the most critical, with Wu describing the Seaport as a playground for the rich and a transportation and environmental disaster. Campbell said she was aware of only one black-owned business in the district, a barber. Janey, the acting mayor, called the district a missed opportunity. “The hope and the goal is that we never repeat the Seaport,” she said.
— John Barros and Annissa Essaibi-George were more measured in their response. Essaibi-George called the Seaport an “Anywhere USA” that lacks diversity, while
Barros, the former chief of economic development under Marty Walsh, recounted how the former mayor’s administration tried to improve the design of buildings in the area and bring a bit more diversity to it. Read more.
Plea deals: Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington and a DA’s office in North Carolina are participating in a study of why and how plea deals are negotiated with defendants. With more than 90 percent of cases settled by a negotiated agreement, the study is attempting to understand how they are done and whether some defendants are treated differently than others. “Opening my office for scrutiny in the name of digging deeper into the differences between who our system affords mercy to and who it does not is leading by example,” Harrington said. “We welcome the results of the work, understanding it will likely point to necessary reforms from my office and prosecutors.” Read more.
$150 million extra: The House and Senate passed a municipal transportation infrastructure bill, adding $150 million to the standard $200 million appropriation. The extra money went for grant programs for bus lanes, electric vehicles, and other projects. Read more.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
BEACON HILL
Firefighters ask lawmakers to ban manufacturers from using PFAS chemicals in firefighting equipment. (Eagle-Tribune)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
A developer trying to redevelop the Eagle Mill in Lee is awarded $16 million in housing tax credits by the state to aid with the construction of 56 affordable and market-rate housing units. (Berkshire Eagle)
120 prominent Buddhists urge Northampton Mayor David Narkowicz to save six cherry trees scheduled to be removed as part of a roadway improvement project. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Gov. Charlie Baker is blaming “informal behavior” over the 4th of July weekend for an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Despite the upward trend, rates remain near record lows. (WBUR)
MassWildlife is advising the public to take down bird feeders and birdbaths to prevent the spread of a mysterious illness among songbirds in the midwest and some eastern states. (Enterprise)
Battling addiction got much harder during COVID-19, with increased isolation and many sober houses having to close. (Telegram & Gazette)
The American Red Cross is facing a severe blood shortage, between the pandemic and summer vacation pushing off blood donations. (MassLive)
Mass General Brigham says it will not use a controversial newly approved Alzheimer’s drug for patients on blood thinners because of concerns over side effects. (Boston Globe)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the widow of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy and a longtime friend of President Biden, is reportedly under consideration to become the US ambassador to Austria. (Boston Globe)
Millions of people will start receiving payments from the IRS from the federal expanded child tax credit this week. (MassLive)
ELECTIONS
As Gov. Charlie Baker’s fundraising seems poised to pick up, Attorney General Maura Healey says she will probably not make a decision on a run for governor until the fall. (Boston Herald)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The Associated Press looks at where things stand with housing protections in Massachusetts, now that a federal ban on evictions is set to expire.
Brimfield’s iconic outdoor antiques show reopens for the first time since COVID hit. (Telegram & Gazette)
New data suggests the red-hot housing market may be starting to level off. (MassLive)
Farmers harmed by last year’s depressed market due to the pandemic are now struggling with weeks of rain. (Telegram & Gazette)
EDUCATION
Discontent – and possibly a lawsuit – is brewing in Boston over the city’s new admissions policy for exam schools. (Boston Globe) The New York Times runs its own story about Boston’s overhaul of exam school admissions, which is meant to boost enrollment of Black and Latinx students.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Vineyard Wind signs a deal with the Massachusetts Building Trades Council to use at least 500 union workers to build its $2.8 billion offshore wind farm. (Boston Globe)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
USA Today looks at how the COVID-related backlog in the court system is harming criminal defendants, including in Massachusetts.