WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER/SO HAPPY TOGETHER — After five hours of arguments for and against a redistricting map that would split Fall River and New Bedford into two different congressional districts, Assistant House Majority Leader Mike Moran paused and shook his head.

“I didn’t think this was going to be a big deal,” the House redistricting chair said, sounding equal parts exhausted and bewildered.

Boy was he wrong.

To recap: Fall River is currently split roughly in half between Rep. Jake Auchincloss’s 4th District and Rep. Bill Keating’s 9th District; New Bedford is completely in the 9th. The proposed redistricting map would put all of Fall River in the 4th, while New Bedford would remain in the 9th.

Discord over the disunion came to a head at yesterday's public hearing. One side argued that the proposed map would empower Fall River by making it the most populous city in the 4th District. The other claimed breaking up Fall River and New Bedford would weaken the entire region’s federal advocacy efforts.

But this is about more than money. It’s a battle over a decade’s worth of political clout.

Keating lives in Bourne, keeping the 9th District’s seat of power closer to Cape Cod. Coupling Fall River and New Bedford in the 9th District could shift that center of gravity and help send someone to Congress from either Gateway City — ending a nearly century-long drought that New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell called an “ongoing travesty.”

Others contend that Fall River’s population could make it a much bigger player in the 4th District, even when lumped in with wealthier enclaves like Newton and Brookline. Auchincloss, who lives in Newton, said in his testimony that Fall River would be the district’s “flagship city.” But his predecessor, former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, questioned that claim given that Fall River’s voter turnout is much lower than in the pricier Boston suburbs.

Putting Fall River fully in the 4th benefits Auchincloss politically, as would other proposed changes to his district that would lop off a few towns Jesse Mermell won in last year’s Democratic primary.

Mermell, who’s mulling a rematch, told me mapmakers need to unite Fall River and New Bedford so they can “fully flex their muscle” for immigrants, communities of color and working families “that have too long been under-served.” On the flip side, Republican Julie Hall of Attleboro, who's challenging Auchincloss again, said yesterday she’s “pretty satisfied” lawmakers added “a little bit more of the conservative areas” to the 4th District.

Mapmakers will decide “in coming days” whether they’ll be making any changes to the congressional and Governor’s Council maps, Moran said.

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: [email protected].

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito attend the opening of new MassMutual offices in Fall River at 11 a.m. and make a public safety announcement at 2:30 p.m. at Worcester District Court. Polito presides over a Governor’s Council meeting at noon and joins Rep. Jim McGovern at Worcester Regional Airport at 4 p.m. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey delivers her farewell address at Roxbury’s Hibernian Hall at 4 p.m. Mayor-elect Michelle Wu makes a Mass & Cass-related announcement at 11 a.m.

THE DELEGATION’S BACK IN TOWN — Rep. Lori Trahan visits a Methuen childcare center at 9:30 a.m. Auchincloss, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Seth Moulton attend the MITRE BlueTech Lab groundbreaking at 10:15 a.m. in Bedford. Auchincloss joins the JCRC for a virtual conversation at noon. Rep. Richard Neal and Secretary of State Bill Galvin attend the Eagle Mill redevelopment groundbreaking at 11 a.m. in Lee. Neal visits the Berkshire Family YMCA - Pittsfield at 1 p.m. Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley tour East Boston Social Centers’ childcare center at 11:45 a.m. McGovern announces a new resolution on nutrition education at 1:30 p.m.

– “Massachusetts coronavirus cases up by 1,397 with 24 new deaths as key trends plateau,” by Alexi Cohan, Boston Herald: “After the new 1,397 virus cases, the seven-day daily average of cases is now 1,154, which is down from 1,898 infections several weeks ago. The rate has stayed in the range of 1,300 since early October.”

– “Breakthrough COVID cases in Massachusetts rose last week as overall new cases also go up,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive: “Massachusetts public health officials reported 4,608 new breakthrough COVID-19 cases of vaccinated residents over the week ending Nov. 6, an increase of about 1,400 cases compared to the week prior.”

– “Senate unveils major mental health bill,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Leaders in the Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday unveiled a comprehensive mental health bill, which would set a floor for the rates insurers must pay for mental health services, address the emergency department boarding crisis, and require insurers to cover more mental health services, including an annual wellness exam. … Many of the same provisions were included in a mental health bill that the Senate passed in February 2020, but which was waylaid by the pandemic and never became law. The Senate plans to debate the bill next week, before lawmakers break for the rest of the year. The earliest the House could take it up would be next year.”

– “Massachusetts senators to debate ARPA spending bill for coronavirus relief,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “State senators are slated to debate a massive coronavirus relief spending bill. … Senate lawmakers — like their cohorts in the House — have loaded the relief bill up with 722 amendments totaling more than $5.5 billion in additional spending. While the majority of the amendments — which run the gamut of investments in schools, public safety, economic development, local projects and more — are likely to get spiked, watchdogs say it’s indicative of the attitudes on Beacon Hill.”

– “Bills filed in state House, Senate would legalize medical marijuana insurance coverage,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “A bill filed by state Rep. David LeBoeuf, D-Worcester, in the House and Sens. Julian Cyr, D-Truro and Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, would legalize health insurance coverage for medical marijuana products and related clinical visits.”

– “Bad medicine for business? Vaccine mandate for Central Mass. companies of 100 a 'recipe for disaster',” by Henry Schwan, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “Some of the largest companies in the city and Central Massachusetts aren't happy about COVID-19 vaccination mandates spelled out by the White House last week. A ‘recipe for disaster’ is how Chris Crowley of Polar Beverages on Southbridge Street described an order that requires all private businesses with a minimum of 100 workers to get their staff vaccinated against COVID-19.”

– “Boston school bus drivers protest city proposals on pay and working conditions,” by Jenna Russell, Boston Globe: “Demanding respect from city leadership — and threatening to strike if they find no other route to a fair contract — more than 200 Boston school bus drivers and union supporters rallied Tuesday morning at the office of the company that manages school transportation. Leaders of the school bus drivers’ union said they are deeply frustrated after seven months of negotiations that have gone nowhere, and company proposals they described as unfair.”

– “3 Boston police officers shot, suspect killed during standoff,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Three officers were wounded when a man who’d engaged police in an armed standoff for hours opened fire on them, leading the cops to fire back, killing him, according to the department — which has now seen two significant attacks on officers in the past few days. The three officers shot on Tuesday are in the hospital and all are expected to survive, though some of the injuries are serious, Superintendent-in-Chief Greg Long told reporters as night fell over the Dorchester scene.”

– “Mayor-elect Michelle Wu meets with transition team,” by Andrew Brinker, Boston Globe: “Mayor-elect Michelle Wu met Tuesday morning in City Hall with several members of her newly announced transition team and later told reporters that the group is preparing for a ‘speedy transition’ after she takes office next week. … She said she has had daily check-in calls with Acting Mayor Kim Janey ‘just so we are on the same page.’”

– “How a crowdsourced spreadsheet helped predict Boston's mayoral election in minutes,” by Lucia Maffei, Boston Business Journal: “The Rivera Consulting General Election Night Spreadsheet tracked election results that evening faster than the city's own numbers became available, becoming a resource for Boston-area residents and onlookers the night of Nov. 2.”

– “Boston mayoral race one of the most expensive in city history,” by Elizabeth Koh, Boston Globe: “With a few receipts still to be counted, this year’s race for Boston mayor appears to be one of the priciest elections in city history, with campaign spending topping $8.8 million, according to new campaign finance data. The final tally, which won’t be available for weeks, is likely to come close to, or even surpass, the $9.4 million spent in the city’s last open election for mayor, a hotly contested race in 2013.”

– “Sunu-no: Top GOP recruit won't run for Senate," by Stephanie Murray, POLITICO: "New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday he won't run for Senate — spurning national Republicans who clamored for him to challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. Instead, Sununu will run for reelection, he said."

– Attention pivoted to former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who Hassan narrowly defeated in 2016, but sources close to Ayotte told WMUR she was out. A source close to former ambassador and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who moved to New Hampshire for an unsuccessful challenge to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2014, told me that while Brown “has said he has one more rodeo left” he’s focused right now on supporting his wife, Gail Huff Brown, in her congressional campaign.

– More: “Sununu announcement act rubs top Republicans the wrong way,” by Natalie Allison, POLITICO: “Mitch McConnell and Rick Scott found out the same way everyone else did that their top recruit to help secure the Senate majority was a no-go: They saw it on a local television livestream.”

– SCOOPLET: Gov. Charlie Baker still hasn’t announced his 2022 intentions, but he does have another fundraiser on the books. And this one’s just him — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito isn’t listed as a guest on the invitation obtained by POLITICO (though attendees are instructed to donate to the Polito Committee if they’ve maxed out to Baker’s). Tickets run from $250 to $1,000 for the 6:30 p.m. fundraiser today at the Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton that’s co-chaired by Ron Mastrogiovanni and Al Minahan.

– “Joe Kennedy III, advocates testify against Beacon Hill plan to split Fall River and New Bedford in different Congressional districts,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Legislative leaders crafting Massachusetts’ congressional map pushed back on Tuesday against criticisms of their decision to split the South Coast’s two major cities into separate districts, punctuating hours of deeply divided — and sometimes parochial — testimony over how best to draw boundaries through the region.”

– “Vermont Publisher Chelsea Green Sues Sen. Warren for 'Suppressing' Book,” by Chelsea Edgar, Seven Days: “Vermont publisher Chelsea Green has filed a federal civil lawsuit claiming that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stifled free speech when she called on Amazon to curb the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and cited one of Chelsea Green's books as a source of ‘dangerous conspiracies.’"

– “Big bucks headed from DC to fix sewer systems,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Eagle-Tribune: “A $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature, includes major federal investments in roadways, bridges, railways and broadband internet. But the massive spending bill also carves out $1.4 billion specifically for dealing with combined sewer overflows along the nation’s rivers and streams. Rep. Lori Trahan, a Westford Democrat who pushed to divert more federal resources to dealing with the sewage discharges, said the influx of money will provide ‘robust investments’ to address chronic sewage overflows.”

– “Prosecutors file an appeal in the Jasiel Correia case, seeking 10 more fraud convictions,” by Dan Medeiros, Herald News: “While former mayor Jasiel F. Correia II appeals his conviction on 11 fraud and extortion charges, his prosecutors have filed an appeal of their own: they want the jury's 21 convictions to stand. On Monday, the U.S. government filed notice with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that it is appealing a decision by Judge Douglas Woodlock to acquit Correia of 10 other counts of wire fraud and tax fraud.”

– “Attorneys in Zhukovskyy case spar over evidence as trial date nears,” by Amy Coveno, WMUR: “Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 25, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, is facing charges of negligent homicide, manslaughter, driving under the influence and reckless conduct in connection with a June 21, 2019, crash in which seven motorcyclists were killed. … Zhukovskyy's defense team objected to the state's slate of witnesses who claim they saw him driving erratically before the crash. The defense also worked to exclude testimony about Zhukovskyy's drug use on the day of the crash and revealed plans to argue that the lead motorcycle had a role in the crash.”

– “Questions raised about Springfield mail-in voting,” by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: “City Councilor Justin Hurst said Tuesday that he believes some voters who requested mail-in ballots this year received them too close to Election Day, while the city clerk disputed his description and said the program was a success, with more than 2,000 ballots returned. In a statement, Hurst said he wants to meet with Mayor Domenic Sarno and city clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez, who oversees the election office, to discuss his concerns.”

– “Northampton election breaks mold,” by Brian Steele, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Two women will serve at large on the City Council for what could be the first time in Northampton’s history after voters chose Jamila Gore and Marissa Elkins in last week’s election.”

– “GE to split into three companies by 2024,” by Greg Ryan and Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal: “General Electric announced Tuesday morning that it plans to split into three publicly traded companies over the next three years. … Asked about the future of GE's Boston headquarters, a spokesperson said only that the region will remain an important hub for the company, considering it will want to hold onto corporate talent as it undergoes its transformation. GE currently has about 3,300 employees in Massachusetts, most of them at the aviation facility in Lynn.”

– "Mass. abortion rights group going it alone," by Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: "NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, one of the organizations that successfully pushed for the state law that expanded abortion rights last year, is being renamed Reproductive Equity Now after a break with its national organization. Reproductive Equity Now intends to continue its state-level advocacy in Massachusetts and offer grassroots support in places like neighboring New Hampshire, which recently enacted strict new limits on abortion." (More background on the split from Playbook in July).

– “New allegations of racism, antisemitism surface in Danvers after graffiti is discovered at middle school,” by Bob Hohler, Boston Globe: “Racist, homophobic, and antisemitic graffiti was found in a student bathroom at a Danvers middle school, town officials disclosed Tuesday. The discovery marked the latest in a series of disturbing incidents in the North Shore community.”

– “Worcester community activist on being first openly nonbinary person elected in Mass.” by Rupa Shenoy and Dan Guzman, WBUR: “A Worcester community activist will make history this winter when they become the first openly nonbinary person to take office in Massachusetts. Thu Nguyen won an at-large seat on the Worcester City Council last week and will take on the new role in January. Nguyen says they ran for office not as ‘the nonbinary candidate,’ but rather as ‘a candidate who happens to be nonbinary.’ They are also the first Southeast Asian American elected to office in Worcester.”

TRANSITIONS – Tim Biba is moving on from his role as Rep. Seth Moulton’s communications director for a new opportunity with a public relations firm. Aisha Miller and Tanisha Arena have been appointed to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter has been appointed chair of the Harvard Institute of Politics’ Senior Advisory Committee.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to MassINC’s Steve Koczela, Shawn Duhamel and Alex Bausch.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [email protected].