Is our governor a little frustrated?

Massachusetts will enter Thanksgiving with nearly 4 billion U.S. dollars, and these funds can be used for the entire economy instead of sitting idly by. But the Legislative Democrats failed to achieve their fall agenda goal last week: to have Governor Charlie Baker legislate to distribute funds for the US Rescue Program Act and the 2021 fiscal year state budget surplus.

Due to the changes in the rules passed in 1995, the legislature is currently on a seven-week vacation for formal meetings. Negotiations will continue, and agreement may be reached at any time—may not even be reached this year.

On Thursday, the day after the branch abandoned its last scheduled official meeting of the year without reaching an agreement, Baker said that he believes the money should have been used to build more housing, reimagine the city center, and to those who Workers whose lives have been disrupted are retrained. Pandemic.

"We may be studying these things now," he said. "But we don't. And we are one of the few states in the country that really haven't started putting these funds into use. The legislature promised to complete the vacation before they go home. I can't tell you how frustrated I am— Not only for me, but also for all mayors and small businesses and those who are looking for opportunities to do something different from what they did and get before" the skills needed to do so. These people are the people I am most worried about right now. "

But the good news is that Baker's approval rating is moving in a positive direction, as he is weighing whether to seek a third term in 2022.

According to a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB, 56% of Massachusetts residents said they support the work Baker is doing, and 69% said the state of the state is the same as before he took office in 2015. better.

Baker's approval number is still lower than the 78% peak he reached in August 2020, but he is up four percentage points compared to March when the University of Massachusetts and WCVB conducted similar surveys. Baker has not yet decided whether he will run for the election again next year, but so far, he may face competition from the left and the right. In the governor race, three Democrats and one Republican.

"Governor Baker is still a very popular Republican in states where the Democrats are overwhelming," said Tatishe Nteta, the director of the polls and an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Opinion polls show that Baker continues to fight with members of his own party. Only 41% of Republican voters said they approve of the work Baker is doing, and 49% said he did not meet their expectations. In contrast, his approval rate in the Democratic Party is 65% and among the unregistered voters. 48%.

74% of respondents who were identified as moderate said they thought Baker did a good job, and his approval rate among people of color (58%) was higher than that of whites (54%).

The UMass Amherst/WCVB poll conducted a survey of 750 Massachusetts residents between November 9th and 16th, with an error rate of 4.3%.

As the holidays approach, state and federal officials have made every adult in Massachusetts eligible to receive the COVID-19 booster shot, provided that enough time has passed since they were first vaccinated, Baker said he hopes people will be vaccinated Vaccines to strengthen their protection against the coronavirus played the Grinch this time last year.

Baker said on Thursday: "I think the main reason for this is that it is another protective measure against COVID. As we enter the winter, people always worry that people are more indoors than outdoors." "If people increase vaccination They have doubts about the drug and they should talk to their doctor. The doctors we talked to, doctors in Massachusetts, most of whom think people should get boosters."

Baker said he hasn't got his own booster yet, but plans to do so.

Legislators have repeatedly praised the smooth way in which the redistricting process was 10 years ago, but this round seems to have produced more sourness among the Democrats in Beacon Hill.

Baker signed the new political boundary between the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Senate into law earlier this month, and Secretary of State William Calvin reiterated his criticism of the process and results when he appeared on WCVB's "On the Record" show today.

Galvin told co-hosts Janet Wu and Ed Harding that the legislative Democrats used their new map to divide Massachusetts.

"Obviously, democracy is under attack, not only in all parts of the world, but in our own country. It is easy for us to sit down and say,'Oh, it's all the bad guys in Texas' or'all the bad guys elsewhere. . But when you participate in the division of electoral districts — I must say, as a Democrat, Democrats are doing the same thing this time — you didn’t help anyone, and of course you didn’t help voters.”

Regardless of Galvin’s concerns, the new state House of Representatives and Senate districts are now law. But the state’s new congressional district-disappointing and close in the Senate vote-and the governor committee's district have not yet done so. These bills were delivered to Baker's desk on Wednesday night, and he must take action on these bills before Saturday.

"I know my message about reforming the way we do business has been heard loudly and clearly. You agree to change. You know that the old guard is scared. The runoff puts the status quo at risk." — Mary Kate Feeney's challenge to Framingham's 3rd district councilor Adam Steiner (Adam Steiner) resulted in a tie. The city council will discuss the possibility of a special election on Tuesday to determine the winner.

"These two ballots show the ballots of other races. The oval is completely filled, but there is only a small noise in the oval match of the 3rd District City Council... Based on the ballots, I seem to be very clear about these two voters. I don’t want to vote in the City Council game. The Wandering Mark will not change this intent." — Steiner disputed the two ballots that were recorded as blank on November 2 but were determined to be Feeney during the recount on Tuesday.

“If the board does not proceed to acquire the entire property, it will violate its duties to the public.” — David Lurie of Boston-based Lurie Friedman LLP commented on the High Court judge’s ruling that only the Hopedale Select Board can exercise the priority of purchasing 155 acres of woodland Earlier this year, the board of directors and Grafton & Upton Railroad signed an agreement to divide the land between the two parties, which the judge considered invalid.

Contributors to this week's political notebook include Dan O'Brien, deputy director of multimedia, and the State Council Press Office.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: The governor is frustrated because of the $4 billion in relief funds being shelved

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