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OUT OF LEFT FIELD — Michelle Wu swept into the Boston mayor’s office 14 months ago with a clear mandate for her progressive policies. Now she has to convince progressives to go along with them.

Wu laid out a vision for her second year in office in a State of the City address that focused heavily on housing and green initiatives. It also included significant changes to the city's planning processes that would dilute the quasi-independent Boston Planning & Development Agency she’s long pledged to “abolish.”

Some of Wu's goals can be accomplished through executive actions, like her plan to establish a planning advisory council and shift BPDA employees to a new city department for planning and design.

But Wu will need buy-in from both the City Council and Beacon Hill for others, like her forthcoming home-rule petitions on "urban renewal" and rent control. And therein lies her biggest challenge.

Wu will have to craft legislation in a way that appeals to both the progressive city councilors who hold the key to advancing her plans to Beacon Hill, and to the more moderate Legislature that serves as the gateway to the governor.

Several of those progressive councilors have already signaled — some publicly, some privately — that they want Wu to go even further on rent control. They’ve expressed particular disappointment that Wu would allow rent increases of up to 10 percent under her draft plan.

“If you’re saying that it’s progressive, let’s be progressive,” Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who’s suggested capping increases at closer to 5 percent, told Playbook. “The mayor is smart to figure out what is pragmatic at this point for her. But I think at council we have to make sure that we are actually intentional about it.”

Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune said a 10 percent cap is “a bit high” to “stabilize people in their homes.” But she praised the “just-cause” eviction protections Wu also intends to include in her proposal.

Wu will need a simple majority of the 13-member council to send her rent control petition on to Beacon Hill. She’s unlikely to win over the body’s more centrist members, at least three of whom have publicly expressed concern over her plan. That means she can’t afford to lose the left, either.

Yet the further left Wu goes on rent control, the harder it could become to sell her proposal up the hill. Progressive state lawmakers are pushing their own rent control bills on Beacon Hill. But more moderate legislative leadership has so far been noncommittal.

“It’s on us to make the case for why this is the proposal that will work for Boston,” Wu told reporters after her speech, adding that "it's been a very thorough process based on Boston-specific market conditions, rents in every single neighborhood and also nationwide best practices."

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Thoughts on Wu’s plans for year two? Email me: [email protected].

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey addresses the Associated Industries of Massachusetts at 9 a.m. at the Boston Marriott Newton.

— “Climate activists, kids deliver letter to Gov. Maura Healey at State House,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Energetically singing about the need for clean air and healthy homes, nearly 150 environmental activists marched to Gov. Maura Healey’s office at the Massachusetts State House Wednesday afternoon to deliver a letter outlining their climate resiliency demands. … The group’s top requests to Healey asks the new administration to protect indoor and outdoor air quality for all communities, block the construction of ‘dirty’ energy plants and pipelines, and reject utility companies’ plans to ‘prolong the piping of methane and other dangerous gases under our streets and into our homes.’”

— “New Bedford Rep. Cabral files migrant assistance bill,” by Adam Bass, WBSM: “The bill, introduced on Jan. 19, would direct the Department of Transitional Assistance to provide cash assistance and benefits for migrants legally residing in Massachusetts. Those with young children, pregnant women and caretakers would be more likely to receive these benefits. The bill also calls for nutritional assistance benefits for immigrants eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).”

— “Westfield Sen. John Velis appointed to national mental health task force,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Velis, a Westfield Democrat, was appointed to the task force by the Council of State Governments and the National Conference of State Legislatures in recognition of his leadership and work as vice chairman of the Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Committee in the last legislative session.”

— “Why a Western Mass. senator is ‘discouraged’ by Lego’s move to Boston,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “A Western Massachusetts state senator on Wednesday decried the Lego Group’s decision to relocate its U.S. headquarters from Enfield, Conn. to Boston. The move, as state Sen. Jake Oliveira sees it, is a blow to the economy and community in Western Massachusetts.”

— “In first State of the City address, Michelle Wu pledges to overhaul Boston’s planning process,” by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: “In her first State of the City address, Mayor Michelle Wu pledged to overhaul the city’s urban planning process, challenging business and elected leaders to support her vision as she works to sustainably grow Boston back to its population peak of 800,000. Wu’s speech, delivered Wednesday evening at the MGM Music Hall in Fenway to an audience of several thousand, included pledges to ensure academic excellence in every public school, speed the city’s transition from fossil fuels, and grant public land to builders for free to construct affordable housing.”

— “At Boston City Council, meetings may not have so many fireworks,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Boston City Council full meetings seem likely to have fewer fireworks this year after the president is enforcing rules moving debate to hearings and working sessions after a year of public outbursts.”

— "MBTA’s ‘aggressive’ year-long bus driver hiring campaign failed. Black and Hispanic riders are paying the price," by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: "The MBTA’s failure to retain and attract bus drivers is worsening racial inequity in Boston, new data shows, as service cuts reduce residents’ access to jobs. Longer wait times are forcing those who can afford it into cars, worsening congestion and emissions, and those who can’t into lost wages, time away from family, and missed opportunities."

— “MBTA to close part of Orange Line this weekend to work on slow zones,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “The MBTA will shut down part of the Orange Line this weekend to work toward eliminating slow zones that were supposed to be eliminated during the month-long shut down of the entire line last year.”

— “Federal prosecutors investigating contested MBTA Transit Police case,” by Evan Allen and Andrew Ryan, Boston Globe: “Federal prosecutors have opened a grand jury investigation into the events surrounding a coverup of MBTA Transit Police misconduct, an episode that has dogged Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden since last summer, when police officials accused his office of trying to kill the case. The federal investigation comes amid an extraordinary public schism between Hayden and Transit Police officials, who pushed for the prosecution of their own officers and were dismayed by Hayden’s handling of the matter.”

— “SJC to weigh super PAC ballot question case,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Good government groups want the state's highest court to overturn a decision by former Attorney General Maura Healey to reject a ballot question calling for limits on campaign spending by political action committees. A lawsuit filed by several Massachusetts voters, which goes before the state Supreme Judicial Court next month, argues that the AG's office erred when it rejected a petition to limit contributions to super PACS and other groups.”

— “Power to the people: How activists are working to change New England’s grid operator from the inside,” by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe: “In late November, roughly 100 members of No Coal No Gas showed up at a meeting of the Consumer Liaison Group, successfully electing six members to its governing committee. The short-term goal was to earn some level of access to ISO-New England — a famously opaque entity that plays a critical role in determining whether the region can meet its emission-reduction targets. The consumer group doesn’t have any real power to influence the grid, but it does have a guaranteed audience with ISO-New England four times a year. The long-term goal? To try and force the grid operator to act more ambitiously on climate — hewing more closely to the emissions goals of most New England states — while also becoming more transparent about its policy decisions.”

— “More Mass. residents ask for help with rising fuel costs this winter,” by Yasmin Amer, WBUR: “According to state numbers, first time applicants for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a federal program that provides financial aid for fuel, increased by 76% in Massachusetts compared to this time last year.”

— “Mass. gets poor grade on anti-tobacco spending,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Massachusetts has hiked age requirements to buy tobacco products, raised taxes and enacted some of the toughest regulations in the country, which has consistently earned it top rankings by anti-smoking organizations. But when it comes to overall spending on tobacco control, the state still gets failing grades. That’s according to the American Lung Association, which gave the state an ‘F’ grade in its annual ‘State of Tobacco Control’ report for devoting too little from tobacco taxes and other sources of revenue to helping people quit.”

— "Deaths of Black, Hispanic and young Massachusetts residents rose in 2021," by Mark Herz, GBH News: "The death rate for Massachusetts residents rose 6% in 2021, compared to the most recent pre-pandemic year, 2019. That’s according to an analysis of the latest state-level data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was released in January. That increase in deaths was largely because of COVID-19, which killed nearly 5,000 people in the state in 2021 — one in five of whom were young, and many of whom were Hispanic or Black."

— “Health care providers are seeing 'a steady stream' of people traveling to Mass. for abortion care,” by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, WBUR.

SPOTTED — at Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s State of the City address: Gov. Maura Healey, AG Andrea Campbell, Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden, Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, former Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey, state Sen. Liz Miranda, state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, Boston City Council President Ed Flynn and Councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Michael Flaherty, Erin Murphy, Gigi Coletta, Frank Baker, Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia and Tania Fernandes Anderson.

TRANSITIONS — Former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito has joined Firefly Health’s advisory council.

— Elizabeth Mahoney, a former senior adviser to former Gov. Charlie Baker, has been appointed VP of policy and government affairs at the Massachusetts High Technology Council.

— Boston-based nonprofit Breaktime has hired Farrah Ridoré, a former regional director for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as policy director.

— State House News Service alum Matt Murphy is joining the Executive Office of Administration and Finance as chief of communications and legislative affairs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Matt Kaye and state Sen. John Velis. Happy belated to Amy Sokolow, who celebrated Wednesday.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: LATINOS IN MASSACHUSETTS — Dive deep into Amplify Latinx and The MassINC Polling Group's recent survey of more than 1,200 Latinos in Massachusetts — considered to be the "largest ever Latino focused poll on civic engagement and economic prosperity" in the state — with hosts Steve Koczela and Lisa Kashinsky and Amplify Latinx CEO & President Eneida Román. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

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