Kathy Souza, a candidate for Select Board in Somerset, was asked at a recent debate how she would heal the division in town over a scrap metal export operation at Brayton Point, where a coal-fired power plant was torn down to make way for offshore wind development that has yet to arrive.
Souza replied that she didn’t think the town was divided, citing the landslide victory of Allen Smith, an opponent of the scrap metal operation, for Select Board in April. On Monday night, Souza put an exclamation point on that statement by winning her own special election for the Select Board, giving opponents of the scrap metal operation control of all three seats.
Souza’s election marks a remarkable grassroots victory for a group of residents who felt they were promised offshore wind development at the 308-acre Brayton Point property and instead got a noisy, dirty business that hauled scrap metal in from the surrounding area and shipped it to Turkey. The group, going by the name Save Our Bay – Brayton Point, has now taken political control of the town and is trying to convince the Baker administration to lend a hand.
Souza’s victory margin wasn’t as great as Smith’s. Smith won 69-29 percent, while Souza defeated Melissa Terra by a margin of 57-43. Souza and Terra had matching vote totals in precinct one, Terra won precinct two by 10 votes, and Souza won precincts three, four, and five. She racked up her biggest margin (346-119) in precinct five, which is closest to Brayton Point.
The special election was called when Holly McNamara, the chair of the Select Board, abruptly resigned her seat days after Smith’s victory, saying she couldn’t stomach all the “hate and venom” that had spread throughout the community. “The town is as divided as most have ever seen it,” she said.
But now the Select Board is united and preparing a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker asking him and the Department of Conservation and Recreation to step in and resolve the dispute at Brayton Point. Commercial Development Inc., the owner of Brayton Point, wants to lease additional land at the property to other businesses, but has been blocked by the town so far. The issue is tied up in court.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation recently acknowledged it owns the deep-water pier at Brayton Point and 12.5 acres of adjacent land. The land had been leased to the previous owners of the coal-fired power plant, but the terms of the lease suggest that once the power plant was torn down the lease was void.
Souza and the other two members of the Select Board say the state, as the landlord, should get involved and straighten the mess out. “It’s their land,” Souza said after her victory Monday. “Why should the town be spending money fighting in court when it’s the state’s land.”
Souza said she is eager to help her colleagues complete the letter to Baker, possibly as early as this week, and then push for the state to help the community get back on track. The Trump administration put offshore wind on hold for several years as it sorted our regulatory issues, but the Biden administration has reversed course and is looking to expand the offshore wind industry quickly. Even so, it could be five years before any benefits could start flowing to Brayton Point.
“We can’t wait five years,” Souza said. “The state needs to come in and help us now.”
BRUCE MOHL
FROM COMMONWEALTH
A special hearing officer working for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers concludes three former state assistant attorneys general engaged in misconduct by withholding exculpatory evidence from defense attorneys representing people convicted as a result of misconduct by drug lab chemist Sonja Farak.
— Farak worked at the state drug lab from 2004 to 2013 and pleaded guilty to stealing drug samples from the lab to feed an addiction. Thousands of cases in which Farak was involved were overturned because of her misconduct.
— During the investigation into Farak’s activities, the Board of Bar Overseers hearing officer concluded the three assistant attorneys general were aware of evidence that could have cleared more of those convicted but did not share it with their attorneys. The three officials all argued the failure to release the information was a mistake and not intentional, but the hearing officer disagreed.
— Discipline for the three former assistant AGs will be determined later. Read more.
OPINION
Urban villages: Consultant Amy Dain takes you on a tour through downtowns and Main Streets across Massachusetts and finds the secret sauce that makes them special. With some help improving transportation connections between these “urban villages,” Dain says they may be the answer to many of the state’s biggest challenges — the housing shortage, traffic, climate change, social isolation, and social inequity. Read more.
Work to be done: Hospital executives Juan Fernando Lopera and Joseph Betancourt say it’s time to double-down on efforts to vaccinate communities of color. Read more.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
BEACON HILL
Gov. Baker appoints Kimberly Roy, director of external affairs at the Worcester sheriff’s office, to a seat on the Cannabis Control Commission. (Telegram & Gazette)
Tensions are growing between the Baker administration and Democratic lawmakers over how — and when — to spend some $5.1 billion in federal relief funds. (Boston Herald)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Worcester’s former top housing official is set to go to trial for fraud, for allegedly helping a developer steal federal money. (Telegram & Gazette)
Northampton Mayor David Narkiwicz asked a homeless encampment underneath the South Street Bridge to vacate the area while construction work is done. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE\
Early-onset Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers spoke Monday in support of a bill that would remove age restrictions on in-home care through MassHealth. Advocates say it would allow people under 60 to remain in their homes longer while receiving nursing-home-level care. (Patriot Ledger)
The FDA has approved a warning to accompany the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine of rare cases of the nerve condition Guillain-Barre syndrome connected to its administration. (New York Times)
Some lawmakers and medical officials are pushing for tighter rules requiring students to get childhood vaccines, including eliminating the religious exemption. (Eagle-Tribune) More than 400 people signed up to testify at a legislative hearing on both sides of the contentious issue. (MassLive)
After a steep drop, the number of COVID-19 cases is rising again in Massachusetts, likely due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant. (MassLive)
ELECTIONS
A group of deep-pocketed Republican donors say they’ll withhold any giving to the Mass. GOP until major changes are made, including removal of its chairman, Jim Lyons, but vow to pony up $1 million if changes are made. (Boston Globe)
The Globe profiles Boston mayoral candidate Andrea Campbell, whose success story came amid lots of family tragedy and upheaval.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Facebook plans to triple its footprint in Kendall Square. (Boston Globe)
EDUCATION
New Bedford public schools are receiving $73 million in federal relief money—a sum that increases its usual federal aid by $57 million—but leaders and community members are split on how the money should be spent. (New Bedford Light)
An “unschool” is launching in Pittsfield. (Berkshire Eagle)
Harvard Law School students on financial aid can have up to 90 percent of their after-tax salaries from summer clerkships taken by the school. Students are allowed to subtract a living allowance from the sum, but a recent student was denied her request to send some of her wages to her parents, both of whom work low-wage jobs and suffered financially during the pandemic. (WBUR)
Some Boston College students and parents are livid over the school’s refusal to grant exemptions from its vaccine mandate because aborted fetal tissue was used in some testing of the inoculations. (Boston Herald)
A proposed bill would offer students with disabilities an extra year of school if their education was affected by the pandemic. (Telegram & Gazette)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Environmental nonprofits release a report raising concerns about water quality at Massachusetts beaches. (State House News Service)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
A former New Bedford police officer filed a lawsuit against the city and three high-ranking officers, alleging retaliation and discrimination based on sexual orientation. He says he endured derogatory slurs and harassment that went unaddressed and that a coworker approached others in the office to inform them that the defendant was gay. This is the second discrimination lawsuit filed against city officers in a month. (South Coast Today)
MEDIA
Metro newspapers across the country are relying primarily on white subscribers to survive. (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Paul Kelley, the trailblazing Boston sports radio producer, will be inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame. (Salem News)