Massachusetts Politics

Ex-Cop Guilty of Misusing Funds for Disabled Veterans.   On May 16, Glenn P. Pearson, a former sergeant in the Whitman Police Department, pleaded guilty in connection with the misappropriation of funds from accounts owned by disabled veterans, the Office of Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb announced.   According to Weinreb, Pearson crossed the line while serving as a fiduciary of the accounts.   From 2007 to 2012, he was a federally authorized fiduciary for eight disabled veterans. A press release from Weinreb says that Pearson, age 60, admitted guilt to wire fraud, misappropriation by a federal fiduciary, preparation of fraudulent tax returns, and obstruction of the Internal Revenue Services.   He’s scheduled for sentencing on September 19, at which time he faces up to 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.   “Mr. Pearson abused his position as a fiduciary and took advantage of vulnerable members of our society,” Weinreb s...

The board of trustees of Salem State University voted 7-3 on May 24 to elevate John Keenan, a lifelong resident of Salem, former state rep and former House chair of a powerful legislative committee, to the presidency of the university.   The job pays around a quarter-of-a-million dollars a year. Since leaving the legislature in 2014, Keenan has been serving as the university’s general counsel and vice president for administration.   Before Keenan can assume the presidency, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education must vote to confirm his election, a vote that may take place at the board’s next monthly meeting. Keenan served in the legislature for 10 years and was a force to be reckoned with.   He was a smart, strategic and at times audacious lawmaker.   Friendly, direct, and never tricky or pompous, he was an easy person to like and get along with on Beacon Hill.     I admire Keenan for the political vision and touch he displayed as House chair of the Jo...

It’s outlandish of course that people were talking not so long ago about Seth Moulton, a two-term member of the Congress from Massachusetts, as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and yet another sign how poorly we select presidential candidates since the emasculation of political parties half a century ago.   In any case, Moulton has repeatedly stated that he will not run for president; however, one must still acknowledge that speculation regarding a Moulton White House run is not at all unreasonable or delusional, and that, were he to run and be nominated by his party in the summer of 2020, and were he to face President Trump in the final, assuming Trump stays in office for four years and is able to obtain the Republican nomination a second time, Trump could well have a hard time beating Moulton. In a blog post of February 1, Lauren Johnson of the Washington, D.C. firm Speak Strategic, laid out the reasonable case for Moulton as Demo...

Charlie Baker sent a letter to key members of the U.S. Senate this past Friday, an ominous document concerning matters with the potential to cause enormous harm in Massachusetts: federal cost sharing reduction payments, and the effort by the Republican majority in both branches of Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare.   Anybody who cares about the financial health and stability of the Commonwealth should read this letter.   It may be the most alarming document Gov. Baker has signed during his two-and-a-half years in office.   Here’s a link to the text: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3727267-Baker-AHCA-Letter-to-Senate-Finance-Committee.html Cost Sharing Reduction Payments.   After the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. Obamacare, became law, hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents gained health coverage because the feds pumped new subsidies into the states, like ours, that agreed to expand their Medicaid programs -- subsidies that made health ins...