The New England Patriots have a little 1986 rematch tonight in Chicago on Thursday Night Football. While Amazon's Prime Video has the national broadcast, you can still watch locally on WCVB and WMUR. But first, the news: Recall me maybe: Facing criminal charges at both the state and federal level, Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña has reiterated that he will not resign from office. But now, a citizen-initiated effort is underway to put his future up to a vote. As WBUR's Kevin Vu reports from Lawrence , a recall effort is officially moving forward, after city officials certified more than 100 signatures needed to start the process. It comes a day after the Lawrence City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night declaring "no confidence" in DePeña. "He's a person that is managing $400 million a year in the city, and people don't trust him," Sarah Perez, a leader of the recall effort, told Kevin. - Catch up: DePeña — who was reelected to a second four-year term last year — was first arrested in August for allegedly using money from federal small business loans to pay for personal expenses. Then in September, he was hit with a state-level indictment for secretly recording conversations outside his City Hall office and alleged witness intimidation. DePeña has pleaded not guilty in both cases. He said last month that he intends on serving the remainder of his term.
- What's next: Recall organizers now must collect at least 7,078 signatures from Lawrence voters within 30 days. That countdown begins once they receive petition papers from the city clerk — which is expected sometime this week. If they meet that threshold, DePeña will get a five-day window to resign. If he doesn't, the City Council would call a special recall election in the next two to three months.
- How would a recall election work? Voters would get two questions in a recall election. First, they would be asked whether they want to recall DePeña, and second, they'd be asked who they want to replace him for the rest of his term, if a majority vote "yes" on the first question. Unlike with Fall River's infamous 2019 mayoral recall, Lawrence's city charter would not allow DePeña to be a candidate to succeed himself.
Water under the bridge: Massachusetts' top highway official is changing jobs to focus on another key element of the state's infrastructure. The board of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority — which oversees water and sewer for dozens of Boston-area communities — voted yesterday to make Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver its next executive director. Gulliver, who's been the head of highways for nearly a decade, is poised to get a hefty raise with the new gig, from $210,000 a year to likely in the mid $300,000 range. On Beacon Hill: The House passed its $2.3 billion supplemental budget bill yesterday, after officially rejecting Gov. Maura Healey's gas tax holiday proposal. A Republican-backed amendment to add the two-month suspension of the tax to the bill was rejected 121-30. Democratic House Speaker Ron Mariano said Republicans should instead be focusing on the "root of the problem": stopping the war in Iran . "We [wouldn't] have to worry about gimmicks and tricks to get some simple solutions," Mariano told reporters. At City Hall: The Boston City Council voted yesterday to subpoena MBTA General Manager Phil Eng to compel him to attend a hearing on the proposed center-running bus lane project on Blue Hill Avenue. Councilor Miniard Culpepper said he made the rare request after Eng did not show up at a field hearing last week. Seven other councilors also voted in favor. Councilor Brian Worrell (who, like Culpepper, opposes the project) called it an opportunity for residents and the council to "get direct answers" from the T and Eng. P.S.— The MBTA has unveiled five new collectable CharlieCards featuring images of Boston landmarks. But unlike the first round, the T isn't saying where these ones will be. T officials said the cards will be added to in-station fare vending machines over the coming weeks, describing the release as more like a scavenger hunt. "We are hopeful riders will be pleasantly surprised at various stations across our system," MBTA spokesperson Maya Bingaman said. |
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