BAKER back on the trail – National spotlight shines on MA-07 – STATE POLICE warning signs

By Lauren Dezenski ([email protected]; @laurendezenski) and Brent D. Griffiths ([email protected]; @BrentGriffiths)

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.

BAKER’S CAMPAIGN TRAIL RETURN – This weekend’s cooler temperatures weren’t the only harbinger of fall in the air. Gov. Charlie Baker also made his long-awaited return to the campaign trail with 300 supporters on Saturday in Shrewsbury.

Baker’s campaign launch — which, for the record, doesn’t mean he’s completely ditched Beacon Hill for the campaign trail — coincided with a slate of stops and endorsements around the state.

We are now 22 days out from Primary Day, and while Baker faces a primary challenge from anti-LGBT pastor Scott Lively, don’t expect the Republican primary to register any serious acknowledgment from Baker. Despite Lively’s initial impact at the state Republican convention in April, Lively has subsequently failed to significantly break through with likely Republican voters in the polls.

The nation’s most popular governor, meanwhile, will hone his term-tow pitch around the nuts and bolts of his first four years. “If you want entertainment, watch Netflix,” Baker told the crowd at his campaign kickoff. “If you want an administration that is going to focus on results for the people of Massachusetts day after day, week after week, month after month — that’s us, folks.”

Baker’s headed on-air, too. Almost $1 million in TV ad buys are set to go live on Wednesday, with a bulk of the ads to be aired through Primary Day on Sept. 4 on Channels 4 and 7.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: [email protected].

TODAY – Gov. Charlie Baker attends the 42nd Annual New England Governors / Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference in Stowe, Vermont – Meanwhile, acting Gov. Karyn Polito joins local officials in Leominster, Phillipston, Gardner, Shirley and Groton to attend the ribbon-cuttings for the completed projects funded by the MassWorks Infrastructure Program – Rep. Jim McGovern and Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone are in El Salvador and Honduras on a fact-finding trip to countries where Temporary Protected Status designations would be ended.

ON THE STUMP –

– “Is This the Next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?” by Joanna Weiss, POLITICO Magazine: “The [Boston City Councilor Ayanna] Pressley-[Rep. Mike] Capuano contest, which takes place September 4, is not just another battle in the civil war between the Democratic Party’s progressive left and its moderate center. Instead, this race tells a different story about the party, and its clogged pipeline of talent.”

– “The next big test for the Democratic insurgency: JFK’s old district,” by Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News: “Rather than ideology, the Sept. 4 primary may be more a test of Democrats’ desire for fresh leadership, and especially from women and people of color, in one of the few majority-minority districts in the country represented by a white man.”

– Rep. Mike Capuano began airing a new ad Monday morning. Watch “Stop Donald Trump” here.

– “Berkshire NAACP Hits Neal For Declining Debate,” by Josh Landes, WAMC: “The NAACP Berkshire County Branch says Congressman Richard Neal, a Democrat from the first Massachusetts district, has declined an invitation to debate his primary rival in Pittsfield. Dennis Powell, president of the NAACP Berkshire County Branch, says he’s disappointed that Neal turned down the offer to debate Tahirah Amatul-Wadud ahead of the Sept. 4th primary.”

– “Pulled in two directions, a race for Massachusetts governor,” by Eli Sherman, Telegram & Gazette: “For the Democrats, both [Jay] Gonzalez and [Bob] Massie are running similar campaigns, including promises to reform the transportation system, expand renewable energy goals and implement a single-payer health care program. But Massie, a progressive Democrat who supported Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential election, is skeptical of Gonzalez, saying he has been slow to back many of the progressive ideas Massie has publicly supported for decades.”

– “Meet the 2018 Massachusetts Primary Candidates,” by Sue O’Connell and Alison King, NBC10 Boston: “The Massachusetts primary election is Sept. 4, and there are quite a few races to keep an eye on around the Bay State. Check out our interviews with the candidates below ...”

– “In race for Suffolk DA, residency questions swirl,” by Maria Cramer, Boston Globe: “As the crowded race for Suffolk County district attorney nears the Sept. 4 primary, questions have swirled around where some of the candidates live, giving rise to subtle jabs at their public events as the contenders try to gain an upper hand … Three of the candidates have had to answer questions about whether they are living in the district or moved there only recently to run for office, undercutting their community bona fides.”

– Winthrop and Chelsea Town Councilors join coalition of support for Suffolk County DA candidate Shannon McAuliffe, from the McAuliffe campaign: Today, three Winthrop Town Councilors, including Councilor at-large Michael Lucerto, Councilor Heather Engman, and Councilor Nick Loconte as well as Chelsea City Counselor Enio Lopez announced their endorsement of Shannon McAuliffe for Suffolk County District Attorney. They join a wide range of leaders in Suffolk County that have endorsed McAuliffe, including Sheriff Steve Tompkins and ten local unions.

DATELINE BEACON HILL –

– “Gov. Charlie Baker aiming for early September for criminal dangerousness proposal after deaths of Yarmouth, Weymouth officers,” by Gintautas Dumcius, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker plans to put forward a proposal on criminal “dangerousness” in early September. On Saturday, Baker pointed to Auburn Officer Ronald Tarentino, Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna and Yarmouth Sgt. Sean Gannon, calling their deaths at the alleged hands of men with lengthy criminal histories “horrible tragedies.”

– “New law seeks comprehensive approach to Alzheimer’s disease,” by The Associated Press: “ A new Massachusetts law seeks to make improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s and dementia. The measure was approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed last week by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who noted the impact Alzheimer’s has on people, whether they have the disease or are caring for someone with it.”

– “Chandler gets $35,000 bump with new emerita post,” by Andy Metzger, State House News Service: “When she handed over the Senate president’s gavel last month, Sen. Harriette Chandler made a soft landing financially thanks to the creation of a new title that was accompanied by a $35,000 stipend.”

– “Political Notebook: For Sen. Spilka, vive la France,” by Daily News Staff and Wire Reports: “It won’t be a hectic August for new state Senate President Karen Spilka, at least in terms of campaigning. With no political opponents to worry about in either the primary or general election this year, the Ashland Democrat was scheduled to leave Saturday for France, where for two weeks she was to blend a bit of business with pleasure.”

THE TSONGAS ARENA –

– “Flip a channel, see a candidate,” by Chris Lisinski, Lowell Sun: “Prepare yourselves, television viewers of the 3rd Congressional District: those lines -- the openings to campaign videos from Dan Koh, Rufus Gifford and Lori Trahan, respectively -- will continue to inundate airwaves for the next three-plus weeks as the Sept. 4 primary draws closer. Those three, who combined account for more than 65 percent of the $8.2 million raised by the entire race, have collectively spent hundreds of thousands of dollars already to broadcast their commercials across the district.”

THE WARREN REPORT –

– “Elizabeth Warren is seen as ‘front-runner.’ But is it too early?” by Liz Goodwin, Boston Globe: “ … Anointing a front-runner for the party nomination, more than 18 months before the Iowa caucuses and 834 days before the election? While the early buzz will certainly help Warren with fund-raising, getting her message out, and recruiting top-tier staff, it could hurt her as well, by raising expectations, drawing extra scrutiny, and putting a target on her back, according to several former candidates for the Democratic nomination.”

– “Police chiefs, headed by Dudley’s Wojnar, blast Sen. Warren for remark on ‘racist’ criminal-justice system,” by Mark Sullivan, Telegram & Gazette: “Police chiefs in Massachusetts have responded angrily to a remark by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren that the American criminal justice system is ‘racist ... front to back.’ The Massachusetts senator’s remarks drew a strongly worded response from the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Dudley Police Chief Steven J. Wojnar.”

– “Responding to Yarmouth police chief, Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she spoke about a racist system, ‘not individuals,’” by Gintautas Dumcius, MassLive.com: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren stressed that she was talking about the racism within the American criminal justice system, and not individuals, after the Yarmouth police chief called her initial comment “disrespectful and divisive.”

– “Warren draws a crowd at Eastham forum,” by Beth Treffeisen, Cape Cod Times: “A vocal crowd met U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Saturday afternoon as she aimed to bring optimism and hope to a room filled with Cape Codders and visitors dissatisfied with the current administration in Washington. Warren, who is seeking re-election to the Senate in November, held the “Outer Cape Town Hall” at Nauset Regional High School, drawing close to 500 people.”

– “Elizabeth Warren Is Ballers’ Best Hype Woman,” by Devon Ivie, Vulture.com: “On Sunday evening from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. EST, don’t even think about calling your gal pal Elizabeth Warren to gossip about Paul Manafort’s latest jacket acquisition. She has important things to do. She’s watching … the season premiere of HBO’s Ballers, a show in which Dwayne Johnson’s ex-football player character attempts to teach athletes financial responsibility.”

WOOD WAR — Herald: “TRAPPED” — Globe: “Warning signs unheeded in police scandal,” “Pioneering law boosts Alzheimer’s care,” “RAINS PUMMEL NORTH SHORE,” “Alewife garage set to open after fixes,” “In DA’s race, residency questions abound,” “He helped lift the veil on a national tragedy.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE –

– “For years, State Police brass had warning signs of payroll scandals,” by Kay Lazar and Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe: “Internal affairs investigators for the Massachusetts State Police spent much of 2014 searching for evidence that two troopers were secretly escorting funeral processions and taking cash under the table. What they stumbled on went far beyond that. They discovered the two members of troubled Troop E had routinely filed for more than 30 hours a week in overtime and paid details, but, according to the investigators, didn’t work the entire shifts, and sometimes no part of them at all. Yet the apparent overtime abuse never made it into the investigators’ final report, which concluded only that the officers had wrongly freelanced a few funeral procession escorts.”

– “Massachusetts district court filings have dropped over 20 years - why?” by Eli Sherman, MetroWest Daily News: “A Wicked Local review of Trial Court data from the last two decades shows new cases filed in District Court fell 36.5 percent between 1998 and 2017. The trend has accelerated within the last 10 years and is relatively consistent across the 62 district courts in Massachusetts, which excludes Boston. The capital city, nonetheless, is realizing similar decreases.”

– “Somerville’s mayor joins Jim McGovern on trip to El Salvador, Honduras,” by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “Representative Jim McGovern and Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone of Somerville are on a mission to expose violence and poverty in El Salvador and Honduras, they said Sunday, in the hope that a greater public understanding of living conditions there will help block President Trump from ending Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from the Central American nations. McGovern, a Worcester Democrat, said unless Congress intervenes, Americans will see families across the country torn apart, just as the nation watched this summer while parents and children seeking asylumn were separated by federal immigration officials at the US border.”

MAZEL! — To Masslive’s high school sports editor and reporter Meredith Perri and Joshua Clark, who got engaged this weekend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Weymouth Sen. Patrick O’Connor and Job Corps business community liaison Denise Perrault.

DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? — Yes! The Red Sox beat the Orioles, 4-1, to sweep a four-game series in Baltimore.

FRESH OUT OF THE GATE – THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE HORSE RACE: Democrats are taking on Democrats in this week’s episode of The Horse Race. First, Andy Metzger of State House News Service details some tension between Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker of the House Bob DeLeo in the wrap up of legislative loose ends. Then the Dorchester Reporter’s Jennifer Smith returns to breakdown this week’s debate between incumbent Congressman Mike Capuano and his primary challenger Ayanna Pressley. Plus, State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy checks back in on the race for secretary of state, and whether or not challenger Josh Zakim has sustained any momentum against incumbent Bill Galvin. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [email protected].

FOR MORE political and policy news from Massachusetts, check out:http://politi.co/1qNSlWx

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh ... New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW … Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 ... New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF ... Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v … Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb ... California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl ... Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw ... London Playbook http://politi.co/2xfDPuK … All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX