By Lisa Kashinsky

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook is taking its annual end-of-summer hiatus starting Monday, Aug. 28. We’ll be back Tuesday, Sept. 5. Reach me in the meantime at [email protected].

MEANWHILE, IN RHODE ISLAND — There’s a 12-way Democratic congressional primary playing out just over our southern border that’s replete with celebrity endorsements, complaints over super PACs, a signature scandal and an accusation of inappropriate conduct.

Yet 11 days before voters head to the polls, there’s little indication of who’s ahead in the race to replace former Rep. David Cicilline in the Rhode Island district that hugs southeastern Massachusetts.

Independent polling has been nonexistent. One internal survey released by former Biden White House staffer Gabe Amo’s campaign yesterday put him second behind former state Rep. Aaron Regunberg (the one with the celebrity endorsements and the super PAC funded by family members) and ahead of Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos (the one who faced scrutiny for submitting potentially fraudulent signatures to get on the ballot, including the names of dead people). More than a quarter of the 451 likely voters surveyed were still undecided. The poll didn’t list all the candidates. Take it with a grain of salt.

Ocean State political observers instead tend to divide the field by the haves and have nots — who’s got the cash to air television ads (Regunberg, Amo, Matos, Don Carlson, state Sen. Sandra Cano) and who doesn’t. But pre-primary campaign finance reports filed yesterday show Regunberg, Amo and Matos with less than $200,000 apiece in cash on hand for the home stretch.

There are also ideological divides. Regunberg, the highest-profile progressive, is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Matos and Amo, meanwhile, are more moderate. The former has the New Democrat Coalition, a group of more moderate U.S. House Democrats, on her side. The latter is playing up his Biden ties with the backing of former White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

One thing that is clear in this murky race: Massachusetts’ most prominent Democrats don’t want to touch it.

Some of the Bay State’s biggest Democrats played in the last open congressional contest in Rhode Island — the 2022 race to replace Rep. Jim Langevin. David Segal regularly touted Sen. Elizabeth Warren as one of his major endorsers, alongside Sanders. Seth Magaziner, who won the primary and later the RI-02 seat, counted Rep. Jake Auchincloss among his backers.

But unlike last year, when fears of a national “red wave” reached even the bluest of states, Democrats aren’t worried about losing a U.S. House seat in Rhode Island. And so there’s little incentive in such an unclear race for Massachusetts’ top pols to get involved.

Auchincloss has “no plans to endorse,” spokesperson Matt Corridoni told Playbook. And while Sanders is set to campaign with Regunberg on Sunday, Warren hasn’t gotten involved. One potential factor in her neutrality this time around: While Regunberg may be drawing big names on the left, Mindy Myers, Warren’s former campaign manager and chief of staff, is helping Amo with television advertising.

Playbook also asked the state’s other senator, Ed Markey, and Rep. Bill Keating, whose district skirts Rhode Island, their plans. A Keating spokesperson said he’s staying on the sidelines. Markey’s team didn’t respond.

At least one Massachusetts Democrat is diving in, though. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is backing Amo, who used to be the White House liaison to mayors.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. See you in September!

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll awards Community Development Block Grants at 10 a.m. at Gardner City Hall. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu gives an update on the city’s approach to Mass and Cass at 10 a.m. at The Base in Roxbury and is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m.

THIS WEEKEND — I’m on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday discussing the GOP debate and Beacon Hill inaction on tax relief. Wu is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday.

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— VICTORY LAP: Gov. Maura Healey continues to tout the policy wins she secured in her first budget as concerns mount over her vetoes. As Healey celebrated the launch of her “MassReconnect” program that makes community college free for residents over the age of 25 who lack college degrees, state Reps. Bud Williams and Gerry Cassidy called on House leaders to override the governor’s veto of $250,000 in funding for prostate cancer research. Their letter follows alarm bells raised about other cuts Healey made to the $56 billion budget, including $1 million for a youth mental health text line and $1 million for nonprofit security grants.

— “After rollout, Mass. police watchdog agency acknowledges holes, possible errors in disciplinary database,” by Sean Cotter, Boston Globe: “Not 24 hours after the new Massachusetts police-watchdog agency released for the first time a statewide database of thousands of officer disciplinary complaints, it admitted the eagerly awaited list had gaps, errors, and major omissions. At least three of the police departments in larger cities and towns around Boston were omitted from the database released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, Commission.”

— More: "Ousted Mass. police chiefs missing from state discipline database," by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR.

— MEETING WITH MAYORKAS: Weeks after firing off a letter urging Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to expedite work permits for asylum-seekers, Healey met with him during his visit to Boston yesterday, the Herald’s Chris Van Buskirk reports.

“We had a productive conversation with Secretary Mayorkas and his team about the support that Massachusetts needs to address the rapidly rising number of migrant families arriving in Massachusetts, including work authorizations,” the governor said in a statement afterward. “We look forward to continued partnership to address this emergency and deliver results.”

— “Proposal calls for 'equity' in migrant relocations,” by Christian M. Wade, Salem News: “The bill, initiated by Rep. Michael Finn, D-Springfield, would limit the number of individuals sheltered at local hotels and motels to 1% of a community’s population, and require the state to provide local officials with at least 24 hours notice before migrants are placed in a temporary shelter.”

— “Mayor Wu moves to ban tents and increase police at Mass. and Cass,” by Tori Bedford, GBH News: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to issue an ordinance by the end of the month that will ban encampments of unhoused people around Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue — or Mass. and Cass — while increasing policing and limiting access to some streets in the area, Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Dr. Bisola Ojikotu said.”

— More: “Wu to propose 4th South End shelter in Mass and Cass plan, and area leaders are not happy,” by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald.

— “Former Gov. Patrick to host fundraiser for D3 candidate Patton,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: “Former Gov. Deval Patrick is hosting a Dorchester fundraiser [on Sept. 1] for Matt Patton, a Savin Hill attorney who worked on Patrick’s 2010 reelection campaign as deputy field director and is now running for the District 3 City Council seat.”

— “A religious wrinkle in the rent control debate,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Magazine: “In between claims that the [proposed] ballot measure [to bring back local-option rent control] improperly includes unrelated items in the same proposal and that it would allow taking property without just compensation, coalitions of real estate and property interests include an unusual claim — that the rent control measure tries to put religion on the ballot.”

Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here.

— “T promises this fall’s subway shutdown won’t be like the one last year,” by Daniel Kool, Boston Globe: “The MBTA will suspend service on the Red Line’s Ashmont branch and Mattapan Line for more than two weeks in October to repair tracks and speed up trains, general manager Phillip Eng announced Thursday, in the latest effort to improve service on the beleaguered system. But, the T chief promised, it won’t be déjà vu for riders who remember the debacle last year when the agency closed the Orange Line for repairs, only to result in slower service. Eng said the plan is: ‘Get in, get it done, and get out.’”

— “MBTA overtime isn’t in any slow zone at nearly $70M to date,” by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: “The MBTA has logged $69.30 million in overtime this year with months still left to go. A Herald analysis of the added hours shows 11 employees — including Transit Police officers — already eclipsing $100,000-plus in OT, state Comptroller records show.”

— “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sets timeline for new MBTA board seat appointment,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she plans to appoint a member to the city’s new seat on the MBTA Board of Directors before its next meeting in September.”

— “Nearly 90 Democrats urge Biden to do more to address student debt,” by Liz Brown-Kaiser, NBC News: “A group of nearly 90 Democratic members of Congress urged President Joe Biden in a letter Wednesday night to do more to address the burden of student debt, according to a copy shared exclusively with NBC News. The letter — led by two progressive Massachusetts lawmakers, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley — is also signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and other Democrats.”

— “Trump surrenders at Georgia jail in election case,” by Kierra Frazier, POLITICO: “‘You should be able to challenge the election,’ [former President Donald] Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport as he was about to depart after being booked. ‘I thought it was a rigged and stolen election. What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. I did nothing wrong.’” See the first mug shot of a former U.S. president.

— “McDonald resigns as chair of Amherst School Committee,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Character smears, allegations of corruption and ‘vitriol and distraction’ are being cited by Amherst School Committee Chairwoman Allison McDonald as playing into her decision to resign from her elected position immediately. McDonald … is the second Amherst representative to resign this week. … Both resignations come less than a week after the Amherst-Pelham and Union 26 school committees and Superintendent Michael Morris announced a separation agreement in which he will step down from his position effective Aug. 31. Morris’s departure comes in the midst of an ongoing Title IX investigation.”

— “New gas pipeline rules floated following 2018 blasts in Massachusetts,” by Steve LeBlanc, The Associated Press: “Federal regulators are proposing a series of rules changes aimed at toughening safety requirements for millions of miles of gas distribution pipelines nationwide following a string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018.”

— "2,048 confirmed cases and 17 deaths in a week. See the latest COVID-19 data from Mass.," by Boston Globe staff.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Maria Nation and Chandra Allard. Happy belated to former NH congressional candidate and MAGA Inc. spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who celebrated Thursday.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to WCVB’s Sharman Sacchetti, Hampshire County Register of Deeds Mary Olberding, Eric Fehrnstrom, Quint Forgey and Francis Morris, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Westford state Rep. Jim Arciero, Robert Orthman, Sierra LaBonte, Jaime Watson and Noah Futterman.

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY — to late-August babies state Rep. Christine Barber, Katie Bowler, Revere Ward 3 City Councilor Anthony Cogliandro and Meghan Sorensen, who celebrate Monday; Kelly Smith, Michael Segal and Ben Martello, who celebrate Tuesday; the Washington Post’s Martine Powers, a Boston Globe/POLITICO alum, and Julia Hoffman, who celebrate Wednesday; and to state Rep. Smitty Pignatelli and state Sen. Becca Rausch, who celebrate Thursday.

HAPPY EXTRA EARLY BIRTHDAY — to early September birthday-ers Amy Friguletti and Alan Dershowitz, who celebrate Friday, Sept. 1; former Rep. Michael Harrington, who celebrates Saturday, Sept. 2; state Rep. Andy Vargas, state Rep. Dawne Shand, state Sen. Jo Comerford, The Boston Globe’s Dan McGowan, Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara, Scott Bosworth, Leo Stella, Caroline Lehman, Nick Andersen and POLITICO’s Kelly Garrity, who celebrate Sunday, Sept. 3; and to Boston City Councilor Gabriela “Gigi” Coletta, Sebastian Zapata and former Boston mayoral candidate John Barros, who celebrate Monday, Sept. 4.

MEA CULPA — We missed Gumdrop Day! Happy belated to all who celebrate this important #mapoliwithanimals holiday. See Gumdrop now!

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: A DAY AT THE STEEPLECHASES — Hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela talk to the Boston Globe’s Tal Kopan about Rep. Stephen Lynch and the ethical questions surrounding congressional earmarks. Smith explains the legal issues surrounding churches getting historic preservation grants. Koczela talks new polling on Joe Biden and Maura Healey. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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