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Massachusetts Democrats have been notably underwhelmed by the field jockeying to challenge Republican Governor Charlie Baker, and so far the 2018 race has drawn little attention.

Even further below the radar is the contest for who might join the eventual Democratic nominee on the ticket.

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Democratic activists, strategists, and officials say there is an unusual paucity of candidates for the number-two spot of lieutenant governor. Historically, that job has drawn multiple candidates from lower offices, who are seeking to raise their profiles and, if all goes well, secure one of the states six constitutional offices.

This time, party insiders say, theres just one so far. Quentin Palfrey, a former science and technology policy official in the Obama administration, has been courting activists and says hes exploring a run.

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Im looking at it seriously, and Ive been sort of thinking how that would fit and Ive been listening to people across the state, Palfrey told the Globe.

I feel like this is a really scary time, with [President] Trump and an assault on our values, Palfrey said, adding, I want to be in the fray.

In the last election cycle, with no incumbent, three Democrats were on the ballot. The 2006 campaign, when the seat was also open, saw a flurry of activity pre-primary, but also included three candidates on the ballot.

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The winner of the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor would join the partys gubernatorial nominee on the ticket, and they would face Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

As summer nears its end and down-ballot political activity usually picks up, other Democratic candidates could emerge. Boston city councilors Ayanna Pressley and Matt OMalley, Norfolk register of probate Patrick McDermott, and New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell are among the names in circulation, according to Democrats keeping tabs on the race.

But, at least thus far, Palfrey has accounted for the most aggressive pre-campaigning, according to party insiders.

Currently the North American executive director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Palfrey was state counsel for Hillary Clintons presidential campaign after working as a White House senior adviser on science and technology.

He also worked in the US Department of Commerce and, prior to that,was health care division chief in the Massachusetts attorney generals office.

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So far, only one Democrat is openly eyeing this statewide race. - The Boston Globe

State Minority Leader Leonard Fasano

State Minority Leader Leonard Fasano

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy

Ctnewsjunkie file photo House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter

Ctnewsjunkie file photo House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter

Connecticut House Democrat budget increases sales tax, spending

By Ken Dixon

HARTFORD >> The governors response was lukewarm, at best, Wednesday morning after majority Democrats in the House of Representatives released a tentative budget plan that would increase the states 6.35 percent sales tax to 6.85 percent.

House leaders said raising the tax by a little over one-twelfth would be a good way to avoid some of the major cuts to school and municipal aid that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered in July after the General Assembly failed to approve a new spending plan in time for the start of the fiscal year.

This is an honest, balanced proposal that reflects the many and diverse priorities of the families and businesses of our state, and with continued good faith negotiations by all parties will help us cross the finish line in the next few weeks, Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said in a statement indicating the proposal is likely not the final product. No one thinks the governors executive order is an acceptable option, so everyone bears the responsibility to get a sustainable budget in place, and this proposal provides a solid basis to move us forward.

The thing we have heard loud and clear from our caucus and our constituents is that one of Connecticuts greatest assets is our public schools and the quality of education our students receive, said House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford. I look forward to further discussions with the governor and all four caucuses on this proposal.

Malloy: Dont lead with revenue

Under the Democratic proposal, Bridgeport would get more than $800,000 over last years level of school aid, but would see a drop of about $4.4 million in other municipal support. Overall, Greenwich would lose about $600,000; Danbury would see a $1.9 million reduction; Norwalk would lose $3.4 million; Stamfords aid would drop $4 million; New Haven would lose $8.7 million; Middletown would lose about $2 million and Torrington would see a $419,000 drop.

The governor was underwhelmed.

I have not seen a budget that I would sign, other than the one I proposed, Malloy said, noting doubt that the Democratic plan would ever go into effect, but admitting it would further negotiations.

Speaking with reporters after the official opening of the University of Connecticuts Hartford Branch, Malloy criticized the additional $1.3 billion in revenue in the Democratic budget. Democratic leaders anticipate voting on the two-year, $39.7 billion budget during the week of Sept. 11, more than two months after the start of the fiscal biennium. Senate Democrats caucused the issue on Wednesday in the Capitol.

My view is that we shouldnt raise the sales tax to 6.85 percent, Malloy said. I think we should stop leading the discussion with revenue. I dont know how they bring it into balance. Theyre certainly not doing it with the $325 million that they say they would get from raising the sales tax. My fear is this is a billion dollars in additional revenue, and we have to analyze it.

Counterpoints

Republicans also immediately criticized the plan.

It took the House Democrats eight months to come up with another $1 billion tax hike as the only means to solve the states financial crisis, said House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby. The Democrats want to continue down the path that has led us to the precipice of fiscal ruin.

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said he wanted to reserve his comments for closed-door negotiations.

Republicans have been transparent about what our priorities are in each of the complete budget proposals we have offered and I hope that Democrats have taken these elements into consideration, Fasano said in a statement. I still believe strongly that we need to reach a budget that creates stability, protects core services, and protects residents from damaging tax increases, and hope to continue conversations to achieve this goal now that House Democrats have shared their ideas.

The two GOP budget plans offered by House and Senate leaders would raise revenue by about $1.5 billion over the biennium.

Earlier in the morning, around the time about 1,000 people were gathered at the renovated Hartford Times newspaper building, the site of the new UConn campus, hundreds of social-service providers on a state-ordered furlough day under Malloys stopgap executive order on continued spending stressed the need for more funding for programs that help the disabled.

If I wasnt here, I would be with them, Malloy said, stressing that he met with nonprofit providers and agrees that a new budget is needed. Malloy questioned whether Democrats have enough support to get the budget through the House, where they have a 76-72 majority, and Senate, with an 18-18 tie and a potential tie-breaker in Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.

I doubt very much that this budget will get through anywhere, but it may be the basis to have some discussions, Malloy said. Thats what I celebrate in this budget. Theres a lot of work yet to be done.

KDixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT

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Connecticut House Democrat budget increases sales tax, spending - New Haven Register

DETROIT Andy Thorburn, a health insurance executive who is plugging $2 million into a bid to replace Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), is the latest Democrat pushing the party to embrace single-payer health care even in swing districts. In a video announcement, Thorburn paints thecontest as a referendum on health care, between a Republican who voted for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a Democrat who wants to move, eventually, to Medicare for all.

First-time Democratic candidate Andy Thorburn released an ad embracing single-payer health care, in his campaign to replace Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.). (Andy Thorburn)

In an interview, Thorburn presented himself as a candidate who could debate health care from a position of total awareness. He ran Global Benefits Group, an international insurance company, until stepping back to the board this year.

The part that really bothered me, when Obama first presented his plan,was my friends and colleaguesstarting their arguments by saying: Hey, we have the best medical system in the world. Why change it? I was like, Look, I cant have a serious discussionwith you if you think that. Its the best system if youre rich. But its clearly not the best for everyone. Yeah, the shah of Iran came here for treatment once thats not the standard!

Progressives, who are stepping up their campaigns to promote single-payer legislation and baiting Republicans into attack ads have struggled with California. The states Democratic-run legislature had passed single-payer legislation during the term of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), knowing it would be vetoed; a new single-payer bill was bottled up by legislators, kicking off months of intraparty infighting.

Thorburn suggested that the Democrats national single-payer debate could start on different terms.

Im aware of the debate, Thorburn said. Look, the tax burden has to go up, but all youre doing is shifting from one pocket to another. And the end of the day, were paying less money for health care, because thats been the experience of every country that went to this system.

Asked about the effect that universal Medicare would have on the private insurance system, Thorburn acknowledged that it would hurt.

Move as quickly as you can, he said. It would have a negative impact on my business, but it would be relatively small. Almost all the countries that have universal insurance also have competitive supplemental insurance industries. Germany has Allianz, one of the biggest insurers in the world.

On Tuesday night in Detroit, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) were holding a town hall meeting to promote specific single-payer legislation in Congress Conyerss HR 676, and Sanderss tbd bill. Thorburn said he would study the bills, suggesting he could cut his own path without undermining anything Democrats were doing.

Im not one of those people who thinks [Nancy] Pelosis terrible, he said, referring to the House minority leader, but Im too much of a novice to think I know who should be speaker.

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In a swing district, a Democrat runs on (eventual) single-payer health care - Washington Post

A top Democrat on Tuesday stepped up criticism of the Trump administration's review of 27 national monuments by releasing a report charging that the process is being guided by the oil and coal industries instead of public interest.

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raul Grijalva of Arizona released the report, "Fossil Apostles: Fossil Fuels, the GOP, and the Fate of Our National Monuments," which details the "strong influence" of industry over the monument review process that is slated to wrap up this week. The process could result in recommendations to take the "national monument" designation away from some sites around the country.

The report attempts to show how the review process is unpopular among the public that it purports to give a voice to, and argued the process should be scrapped.

"The public has spoken and these monuments should be left alone," Grijalva said upon releasing the report. "If President Trump and Secretary [of the Interior Ryan] Zinke don't listen, then the courts and the voters will teach them that our public lands are not industry playthings to dispose of as they see fit."

"This administration cries about the importance of history when it comes to Confederate statues and then throws Teddy Roosevelt's legacy out the window as a favor to Big Oil," he added.

President Trump signed an executive order this year directing Zinke to begin a review of monuments that had been modified over the past 20 years by prior presidential directives.

The review included the Bears Ears monument in Utah that former President Barack Obama significantly expanded. Zinke and the administration have argued that the review is necessary to ensure that no group was left out in the decision-making process to expand the monuments.

In many cases, the expanded monuments have come with expanded restrictions on certain activities, such as extraction of fossil fuels and other mineral resources.

"This report demonstrates that the justification provided for the review a desire for robust public input is a diversion meant to obscure the review's true aim: the development by private companies of fossil fuel resources currently off-limits due to monument designations," according to the executive summary of Grijalva's report.

The report documented "extensive Republican efforts to undermine or eliminate public review of federal land management decisions, in direct contravention of the monument review's stated goal," the summary added. "The report goes on to show the enormous influence the fossil fuel industry has over the Trump administration and their congressional allies, as well as the expansive benefits already provided to that industry this year. Finally, the report describes the relatively small amount of fossil fuel resources placed off-limits by the monument designations under review."

The report pointed out that public polling shows a lack of overall support for weakening the monument designations. Across seven western states, public polling has shown that the "greatest support for weakening national monument protections is in Utah, where 60 percent oppose the idea and 30 percent support it," according to Grijalva's office.

The report argued that in addition to being unpopular, weakening the monument designations does not make much economic sense.

"Oil and coal companies are already awash in access to public land," the report reads. "According to a detailed review of Resource Management Plans, the oil and gas industry already has access to 90 percent of the public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that manages the most federal land."

"In fact, oil companies are not bothering to produce oil and gas on the public land they have already leased," it continued. "Fifty-three percent of public land acreage that has been leased to oil and gas companies across the U.S. is not in production as of fiscal year 2016. In Utah, that number is 61 percent. In addition, oil and gas companies are hoarding nearly 8,000 approved drilling permits that they are not using."

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, which the report criticized for supporting the review, is holding a press call on Thursday to discuss the monument review as it comes to an end. He has been supportive of rolling back the monument designation at Bears Ears and others.

Meanwhile, billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer is pouring money into a campaign meant to malign members of Congress for being "anti-public lands," the pro-market Western Wire reported.

It noted that the League of Conservation Voters began calling on the public to put pressure on "anti-parks politicians," and said the future of several national monuments would be determined by Zinke's review.

"With the futures of Organ-Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument on the line, the League of Conservation Voters is investing $100,000 in a final push to urge Congressman Steve Pearce and other members of Congress to stop attacking our public lands and to ensure the Trump administration hears the overwhelming outpouring of support for our national monuments ahead of the August 24th deadline for its unprecedented monument review,'" the group wrote in a press release targeting Pearce, a Republican from New Mexico.

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Democrat: Trump wants to turn national monuments into 'industry playthings' - Washington Examiner

New anti-Trump activists try not to be tea-party insurgents Belleville News-Democrat Instead, they wanted to know what they could do to help Democratic candidates win the House of Delegates in Virginia through a series of races that political analysts see as an important dress rehearsal for the 2018 congressional election. One by one ... and more »

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New anti-Trump activists try not to be tea-party insurgents - Belleville News-Democrat