Well, so much for the 11th Commandment. In the increasingly bitter battle for the GOP nomination for governor, both sides have pretty quickly decided to ignore Ronald Regan’s famous dictum: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.”
Chris Doughty
Former State Rep. Geoff Diehl.
Chris Doughty, the Wrentham businessman who got into the race in January, blasted former State Rep. Geoff Diehl’s involvement in what the Doughty campaign called “the cheating scandal for the Massachusetts Republican Party Convention.” According to Doughty, “Diehl attempted to add 275 illegitimate delegates to the convention rolls. Diehl’s team also tried to put into question delegates who were legitimately elected.”
The campaign manager for Diehl, Amanda Orlando, calls the allegations from the Doughty campaign “factually incorrect and inappropriate,” according to The Boston Herald.
In addition, the Diehl campaign is challenging one of Doughty’s delegates, Leslie Doughty, because she had previously been a Democrat. And yes, she’s the candidate’s wife.
Paul Feeney
Eight Democrats crossed party lines to vote with the three GOP state senators this past week to suspend the state’s 24-cent gas gas tax through Labor Day. Among them was Sen. Paul Feeney, D-Foxboro. The amendment was defeated 11-29, including no votes from all four senators running for statewide office — Sonia Chang-Diaz, Diana DiZoglio, Adam Hinds and Eric Lesser.
State Sen. Becca Rausch
State Sen. Becca Rausch, D-Needham, recently hosted the inaugural meeting of her Small Business Advisory Council, consisting of 11 small business from across the Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex District.
“Small businesses have always been the backbones of our communities,” said Rausch. “Our local business owners have faced countless challenges through this pandemic, but in my district, I have seen so much innovation and persistence from these local leaders. I am excited to give our communities’ businesses a seat at the table to inform my work on Beacon Hill and meet the diverse needs of our local economy.”
Among the council members are Althea’s Beauty Depot in North Attleboro, Crosby’s Coffeehouse in Wrentham and An Unlikely Story bookstore in Plainville.
Last year, the Massachusetts Legislature approved $75 million in grant funding for small businesses grants through the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, which administered the largest state-sponsored business relief program in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications for MGCC grants are due by April 4, 2022.
The North Attleboro Election Commission will test the town’s election machines Monday in the lower level conference room at town hall from 8:30 a.m. until finished, the commission says on the town’s website. The annual town election is April 5. There is a single contest on the ballot — a four-way race for two three-year terms on the local school committee.
Jake Auchincloss
U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Newton, and his congressional colleague and fellow Marine Corps veteran Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, are hoping to redirect Russian billionaires’ assets by introducing the “Yachts for Ukraine” Act to use the oligarchs pricey floating palaces to aid Ukraine, The Boston Herald reports.
Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat whose district encompasses the Attleboro area, said in statement, “Our message is simple: if you’re an oligarch, we’re coming for your assets, wherever you have them hidden. If you’re in Ukraine fighting on the front lines of democracy, more help is on the way.”
This bill would permanently allow the funds from seized Russian assets to fund humanitarian and rebuilding efforts for Ukraine.
Auchincloss visited Attleboro last Thursday to stop in at Manet Community Health Center on North Main Street which opened earlier this year on the site of a former Bank of America branch. Auchincloss secured $500,000 for the clinic in the recently passed omnibus spending bill.
