FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: AUCHINCLOSS HAS A CHALLENGER — Emily Burns is a Newton mother of three who wants to go to D.C. to take on the “so-called leaders using so-called science as an excuse to strip our rights away.”

Burns, a political newcomer who identifies as a libertarian and is running as a Republican, will launch a campaign against Rep. Jake Auchincloss in the 4th Congressional District today.

But her run is less about Auchincloss — who she doesn’t mention once in a launch video that features images of Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Joe Biden — and more of a single-issue campaign against pandemic rules and restrictions.

“People feel silenced. They don't feel like they can disagree with [pandemic] policies because every time people try and disagree with any policy right now, it's just like, ‘Oh, you're a Trumper, you're a racist’,” Burns told me. “I don't think the people agree with where we're going. I want to start a conversation.”

Burns voted for former President Donald Trump, calling it an “easy decision” because it was “a vote against lockdowns and a vote for free speech.” She said she’s “very pro-vax,” just “anti-mandate.”

Trump lost the 4th Congressional District by 31 points in 2020. Auchincloss beat Republican Julie Hall, a Trump supporter, by 22 points.

This November’s elections will be an early test of how well Burns and other Republicans can run against pandemic restrictions in the 2022 midterms.

Burns is stepping up her game by hiring Republican consulting firm Axiom Strategies and putting up $250,000 of her own money to start as she wages her Covid-focused campaign against an incumbent who’s spent his ten months in Congress padding his war chest and allying himself with party leadership.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Annissa Essaibi George is in the fight of her political life — and she’s finally acting like it.

Essaibi George came out swinging against Michelle Wu, her mayoral rival and fellow city councilor, in last night’s debate on WBZ, hammering her opponent over her support for rent control and needling her to directly answer questions like whether she supports “defunding the police.”

“We don’t need scare tactics in the city of Boston,” Wu shot back at one point.

Essaibi George came into this debate — and the general election — as the underdog. She was at a vote-total disadvantage even before a new MassINC Polling Group survey showed her trailing Wu by 32 points.

Essaibi George spent the night trying to paint Wu as a disconnected politician behind a podium while playing up her own work in education and on mental health issues.

But Wu parried back those attacks and Essaibi George let other opportunities to draw distinctions with her rival slip away as the candidates largely stuck to their talking points.

Not every issue Essaibi George picked is a winner with voters: A MassINC poll from April found 76 percent of Boston voters support rent control.

Essaibi George is keeping with her sharper tone with two new 15-second ads, part of a $100,000 broadcast, cable and digital TV buy. In one, a former student of hers says she’s voting for Essaibi George for “real change, not empty promises.”

But Essaibi George is running out of time to improve her prospects. Early voting starts Oct. 23 and Election Day is less than three weeks away.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito visits Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School at 12:30 p.m. Sen. Ed Markey, Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan host a press conference on legislation to address the opioid crisis at 1 p.m. at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey gives remarks at the ribbon cutting for a new fire engine in Roxbury at 9 a.m. and hosts a Salsa Dance Party as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month at 5:30 p.m. on City Hall Plaza.

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– “Massachusetts coronavirus cases up 1,471, hospitalizations rise,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The single-day average of COVID-19 cases is now 957, compared to 1,896 cases a month ago.”

– “Lawmakers Push Surplus Decisions Deeper Into Fall,” by Matt Murphy, State House News Service (paywall): “Sitting on roughly $5 billion in unbudgeted tax revenue from last year, the House on Wednesday passed a $303 million budget to cover old expenses, but delayed choices on how to spend the bulk of the surplus until later this fall as the Legislature also considers how to use billions of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds.”

– “Advocates hope tightened seat belt law could boost state’s near-worst seat belt-wearing rate,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “Bay State drivers can only get citations for not wearing a seatbelt if they’ve been stopped for another offense — but that could soon change. Driver safety advocates, several legislators and the governor want to allow police officers to pull drivers over for not wearing a seatbelt alone.”

– “Mass. Lawmakers Move To Get Patients Meds That Doctors Prescribe, Rather Than The Cheaper Drugs Insurance Companies Want,” by Mike Deehan, GBH News: “Lawmakers and health system reformers are moving to end a practice known as ‘step therapy,’ a cost containment tool promoted by the insurance industry that requires doctors to treat patients first with less expensive drugs, and then, if those don't work, to move on to more costly medications. Advocates say the current system denies patients the medication their doctors want them to take. The state Senate unanimously passed a bill last summer limiting insurers' ability to insist on lower cost medication. It's unclear how House leaders will greet Wednesday's initiative.”

– “Survey: Three-quarters of Mass. residents support universal vaccine mandate,” by Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: “Seventy-five percent of adults in Massachusetts support a universal vaccine mandate, while 81 percent support a vaccine mandate for people getting on planes, 71 percent support one for children going back to school, and 78 percent support one for students going to college, according to the research released last week by the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States.”

– “Fall River City Councilor takes to Facebook to protest Gov. Baker's COVID vaccine mandate,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: “City Councilor Christopher Peckham took to Facebook last week to protest Gov. Charlie Baker’s executive order requiring state workers, including prison personnel, to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or face termination. Peckham is employed by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater. In his post, Peckham said he was not vaccinated and was preparing to be terminated from his job, as Baker's mandate has an Oct. 17 deadline."

– “Baker's vaccine mandate heads to federal court,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Eagle-Tribune: “A challenge to Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state employees goes before a federal judge Thursday, who will hear arguments by lawyers for law enforcement officers to block the new policy going into effect.”

– “DPH Chief Sees ‘Very Good Trend’ On COVID-19 Cases,” by Katie Lannan, State House News Service (paywall): “The state's acting public health commissioner said Wednesday she sees a ‘very good trend’ in COVID-19 metrics in Massachusetts, which have lately featured declining hospitalization and case numbers.”

– “CDC downgrades virus risk in Hampshire, Franklin counties,” by Brian Steele, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Hampshire and Franklin counties are now experiencing ‘substantial’ community transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, down one level from the ‘high’ designation that covered every county in the state for the past several weeks.”

– “Boston city workers could face termination over vaccine mandate, Kim Janey says as number drops,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Acting Mayor Kim Janey said the city’s willing to eventually boot any employees who refuse to follow its vaccine mandate as the number of workers out of compliance dropped to 637 — though the administration’s not saying when the next phases of enforcement against others will move ahead.”

– "Poll: Half of Boston's voters support the police department," by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: "A new WBUR poll found that more than half of likely voters in Boston have a favorable view of the Boston Police Department. But among non-white voters, those high marks shrunk, with 48% of people of color supporting the police department. Most voters opposed reducing police funding and supported hiring more police officers. But there was also majority support for redirecting some 911 calls to other agencies."

– "Most Boston voters would have to move to buy a home, poll finds," by Simón Rios, WBUR: "More than half of likely Boston voters believe they would have to move to another neighborhood to buy a home in the next five years, according to a new WBUR poll."

– “The Long View: Boston's White Working-Class Voters In Decline, Strength Of White Progressives Rising,” by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: “In past election cycles, Boston’s predominantly Irish- and Italian-American neighborhoods have dominated local politics, but in this year’s race, changing demographics in South Boston, Dorchester and other traditionally high-turnout, white working-class enclaves could spell an end to those areas’ dominance.”

– “Poll: Incumbents Mejia, Flaherty top at-large pack with plenty undecided,” by Seth Daniel, Dorchester Reporter: “Forty-five percent of likely voters say they don’t know whom they will vote for on the council balloting, according to a new survey of likely voters from the MassINC Polling Group. … The poll of 501 likely voters — conducted for the Dorchester Reporter, the Boston Foundation and WBUR — showed incumbents Julia Mejia and Michael Flaherty in the top two slots [and Ruthzee Louijeune and Erin Murphy tied for third].”

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Teamsters Local 25 and 1199 SEIU have endorsed Ruthzee Louijeune for Boston City Council at-large, per her campaign.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SEIU 509 and the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund have endorsed Carla Monteiro for Boston City Council at-large, per her campaign.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Rep. Jake Auchincloss and his 4th Congressional District predecessor, former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, have endorsed Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s reelection bid, per her campaign.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Former Rep. Michael Capuano has endorsed City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne for mayor of Somerville, per her campaign.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Rep. Ayanna Pressley has endorsed Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer’s reelection bid, per her campaign. Spicer “has delivered for the residents of Framingham,” Pressley said in a statement. “[S]he has laid out a clear, inclusive vision for the future of Framingham, and the city will continue to benefit from her leadership.” Spicer finished more than 2,000 votes behind rival Charlie Sisitsky in the city’s preliminary election.

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Pressley has endorsed Charlotte Kelly for Somerville City Council at-large, per her campaign.

Kelly is running a joint campaign effort with two other at-large candidates, Willie Burnley Jr. and Eve Seitchik, all of whom have been endorsed by the Boston chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Pressley’s endorsed Burnley as well, but hasn’t endorsed Seitchik.

Pressley’s picks in Somerville have included both progressive candidates and those backed by the local DSA in an election that could result in a socialist takeover of Somerville’s council. She’s picked some DSA-backed candidates, including J.T. Scott and Ben Ewen-Campen for reelection, but chose Judy Pineda Neufeld for Ward 7 over DSA-pick Becca Miller.

Pressley previously said her endorsements were based on the candidates’ “wealth of experience” and “dedication to bold policymaking.”

– “Coogan will participate in three of six mayoral debates; challenger Ponte accepting all,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: “Mayor Paul Coogan said the six debates his campaign has been invited to are three too many and he is declining to participate, but his opponent, City Councilor Cliff Ponte, said he’ll be there for the half-dozen forums. On Monday, Coogan explained his decision in a post on his personal Facebook page saying it would mean six debates over a 12-day period.”

– “Attleboro mayoral challenger Todd McGhee a no-show for most city elections,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle: “Since 2008, [Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux] has voted in 29 of 37 elections for which he was eligible, a rate of 78 percent. Some elections were special ward council elections. Meanwhile, [Todd] McGhee has voted in 12 of 45 elections for which he was eligible, or 27 percent, since 2004 when he first voted in Attleboro.”

– “For majority-Black Brockton, a proposal to keep its Senate district majority white has left some people of color feeling ignored,” by Matt Stout and Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: “Over the past two decades, the once mostly white city of Brockton has transformed into New England’s only majority-Black city and the home of some of the country’s largest Haitian and Cape Verdean populations. But not a single one of its lawmakers on Beacon Hill is a person of color. ...while the House is looking to add a new majority-minority district in the city, Senate leaders this week proposed keeping the 105,000-person city’s lone state Senate district virtually untouched, stunning those hoping to further empower Brockton’s growing minority communities.”

– “Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette promises to be outsider as GOP challenger to 'insider' McGovern,” by Marco Cartolano, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “A Republican candidate looking to challenge Rep. James P. McGovern said that opposition to human trafficking, the national debt and states rights are key to his campaign. Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette, 51, of Shrewsbury wants to unseat McGovern, a Worcester Democrat and 24-year incumbent, whom Sossa-Paquette called ‘the ultimate insider’ for his long career in Washington, D.C.”

– “East-west rail: Connecting Springfield and Hartford with Boston could boost ridership 54%, help secure federal funding as Congress debates infrastructure bill, advocates say,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “Connecting at least some of the potential Boston-Worcester-Springfield commuter rail trips with Hartford, [advocates] said, could boost ridership by as much as 54% over estimates completed in January by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and its consultants. … Kimberly H. Robinson, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in Springfield, announced the [new] findings Wednesday in a Zoom news conference with state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow; Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin; and Lyle Wray, executive director emeritus of the Capitol Region Council of Governments in Hartford.”

– “Supreme Court to consider Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence,” by Robert Barnes, Washington Post: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed prepared to reinstate the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, despite aggressive questioning from the court’s liberals about whether crucial evidence was kept from jurors who decided not to spare his life. … The case created a dilemma for the Justice Department, which had asked the Supreme Court to reverse the appeals court decision even though President Biden has halted federal executions and opposes the death penalty.”

– “Baker shifts thinking on offshore wind,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Gov. Charlie Baker signaled a major shift in his thinking on offshore wind Wednesday, unveiling legislation that would entice developers to put down roots in Massachusetts by spending $750 million of federal funding on infrastructure improvements and removing price caps on procurements.”

– “Offshore wind is America's new industry. Who will build it?” by Miriam Wasser and Benjamin Storrow, WBUR.

– “East Longmeadow town manager Mary McNally resigning; cites ‘toxic environment,’ verbal abuse from town councilor,” by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: “Town manager Mary E. McNally announced she intends to resign on Dec. 3, citing what she called a ‘toxic environment’ in town hall involving verbal abuse and harassment by one of the town councilors.”

– “Woman sues Pembroke-based Dunkin store owner after being burned by hot coffee,” by Wheeler Cowperthwaite, Patriot Ledger: “A Brockton woman is suing the owner of a local Dunkin' for $100,000 in damages after she suffered severe burns in a drive-thru. A lawsuit filed in Plymouth says three cups of scalding hot coffee spilled on her and employees then pointed and laughed as she tried to tear off her pants to prevent her legs from burning.”

– “St. Vincent Hospital declares impasse in strike talks with nurses,” by Cyrus Moulton, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “St. Vincent Hospital on Wednesday declared an ‘impasse’ in negotiations to end the nurses’ strike, meaning it believes no further progress can be made in talks. … The nurses' union alleged the action was illegal and said it would have no effect on the strike.”

– “‘An unethical choice’: Eversource withholds millions of dollars in taxes from 87 Massachusetts communities,” by Douglas Hook, MassLive: “Eversource is withholding millions of dollars in property taxes from 87 communities across Massachusetts, according to Eversource’s active litigation with the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board (ATB). … For almost a decade Eversource has withheld millions of dollars in communities across the state.”

TRANSITIONS – ML Strategies has brought on Courtney Taylor as senior vice president in D.C. Joe Caiazzo and Nick Clemons, both Kennedy 2020 campaign alums, have started their own public affairs firm, The JCN Group; Clemons was Kennedy’s campaign manager.

THIS WEEK ON THE HORSE RACE: WHAT HAPPENS IN MASS. IF ROE V. WADE FALLS — Hosts Steve Koczela and Lisa Kashinsky talk with NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Executive Director Rebecca Hart Holder about the broader ramifications of the Texas abortion law. Haverhill state Rep. Andy Vargas of the Legislature's redistricting committee joins to discuss the mapmaking process. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to the Boston Globe’s Victoria McGrane, Natasha Silva and Pierce J. Haley. Happy belated to Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who celebrated Wednesday.

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