Political notebook: Tibbits-Nutt silence | cannabis chief resurfaces | Southie rep race

THERE WAS AN ominous juxtaposition at the MBTA board of directors meeting on Thursday.

Michael Widmer, the former president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, gave a presentation to the board focused on why the T finds itself on the edge of a financial cliff and what it needs to do to survive.

Over the course of his career, Widmer said there had been 35 to 40 reports on the MBTA’s precarious financial situation, all of which he characterized as a cry for more revenue. He said the problem at the T is well known, but the political will to tackle it has been missing.

What’s needed, he said, is the type of political coalition that banded together to push through universal health care in 2005 and 2006. He said the pieces are all in place now to move forward – a new general manager getting the T back on track and a governor who has appointed a task force to chart the path ahead. One key piece remains: “We really do have to come together to form that coalition,” he said.

A lively discussion ensued, with board member Thomas McGee, a former mayor and state senator, talking about missed opportunities in the past. Board member Mary Skelton Roberts said what brought people together on universal health care was the belief that access to health care was a right. “I don’t think we have that for public transportation,” she said.

Throughout the conversation, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, who was attending the meeting remotely, said nothing. Chastised this week by Gov. Maura Healey for her expansive remarks at an April 10 meeting of the advocacy group Walk Massachusetts (particularly her call for tolls at the state’s borders), the chair of the task force charged with finding new transportation revenues didn’t use the opportunity to explain how she was going to build the coalition.

Reached separately, Sen. Brendan Crighton, the co-chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee and a member of the task force, said he has confidence in Tibbits-Nutt and is confident the task force can continue its work. “There’s really no alternative,” he said.

Even though Healey ruled out Tibbits-Nutt’s idea about border tolls, Crighton said nothing is off the table at the task force. “It would be foolish for us not to look at all the options,” he said.

Former cannabis regulator now has ‘homegrown’ consulting company

The former executive director of the Cannabis Control Commission is turning over a new leaf.

Shawn Collins left the regulatory agency in December, as his former boss, Treasurer Deb Goldberg, warred with the woman she appointed – and then suspended – as chair of the regulatory agency. This week, he announced the formation of his own company, The HomeGrown Consulting (THC) Group.

Collins is partnering with his law school classmate and fellow central Massachusetts resident, Nick Adamopoulos, in the venture.

The name is a play on the well-known acronym for the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, but the 37-year-old Collins has a resume that also includes work on health care cost containment when he was an aide in the state Senate, and time spent within the bureaucracies dealing with alcohol regulation, finance, and the state lottery while at the state treasurer’s office.

The mandatory cooling-off period for Collins – he can’t approach his former colleagues at the Cannabis Control Commission for one year from the day he left – also means he will be looking beyond Massachusetts to states like New Hampshire and Vermont for clients. “There are not a lot of individuals with my experience,” he said, referring to his six years as the first head of the commission.

The last six months of his tenure were fraught, as O’Brien claimed he was attempting to undermine her. Collins declined to comment on the circumstances of his departure, saying, “I have a great deal of pride in the agency that was built over my tenure, having gone from nothing to where it stands today.”

A battle in South Boston?

If history is a guide, most State House lawmakers will be reelected with little trouble this year, as Massachusetts is one of the least competitive states for legislative elections. But a battle may be brewing in South Boston, where state Rep. David Biele could end up with a Democratic primary challenger.

Mark Rooney, an account executive at Eversource, is gathering signatures in a last-minute bid for the seat. The Rooney name is a familiar one in Southie: Mark is part of a large clan that includes Jim Rooney, the CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.  

Rooney and other potential legislative candidates face an April 30 deadline to get voter signatures into local elections officials.

Rooney, who hasn’t made a final decision on a campaign, said he is disappointed that Biele has not been more forceful on issues ranging from immigration and bike lanes. “Seems to be a nice guy but when it comes to showing up and speaking up, there’s something lacking there,” Rooney claimed.

Biele hasn’t faced an opponent since winning in 2018. Based on his social media posts, Biele has kept a busy schedule while caring for a newborn. Adam Webster, a campaign spokesman, said Biele has a history of delivering millions of dollars to the district. “If anyone considering running cannot see that, maybe they haven’t been around enough,” he said.