Speaker 1: Now live from the Boston Convention Center at the annual
Speaker 1: meeting of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. It's a
Speaker 1: special edition of Bloomberg Sound On with Joe Matthew on
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Radio. It's one of the busiest days of the
Speaker 1: election cycle, with primaries in five states. Welcome to the
Speaker 1: fastest hour in politics, and yes, a special edition of
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Sound On. We're in Boston Live. We're the biggest
Speaker 1: meeting of business in politics is happening tonight courtesy the
Speaker 1: Boston Chamber of Commerce. We're gonna be hearing from some
Speaker 1: of the smartest minds in the hub here, including Lisa Wheeland,
Speaker 1: the CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority. That's the agency
Speaker 1: that manages the intersection of transportation and trade and oversees
Speaker 1: the port here in Boston, but is now connecting to
Speaker 1: new markets thanks to a massive dredging project. We'll talk
Speaker 1: about that and the supply chain crisis how it's impacting
Speaker 1: economies in the Northeast. Are panel today to local names
Speaker 1: with national influence in politics. Scott Ferston of Liberty Square Group,
Speaker 1: and Jennifer Nessour is back with us, former chair of
Speaker 1: the Massachusetts GOP as we meet Jennifer right here in
Speaker 1: her hometown. So we've got a lot on the way
Speaker 1: this hour. You picked a good day to join us.
Speaker 1: And as we join you from the Boston Convention Center
Speaker 1: in the Seaport district of Boston, if you know this
Speaker 1: part of town or not, we're overlooking Boston Harbor. We
Speaker 1: can see Logan Airport on one side and as I
Speaker 1: look to my left the Boston skyline on the other.
Speaker 1: It's a gorgeous view. And the annual meeting year of
Speaker 1: the Greater Boston Chamber. It's the biggest business event of
Speaker 1: the year in a rather unique economy. Here. Bloomberg is
Speaker 1: the media sponsor, and a special greetings to Bloomberg Radio
Speaker 1: here in Boston, our listeners on one oh six point
Speaker 1: one FM. This meeting is happening today against the backdrop
Speaker 1: of primary politics. We're gonna be talking about this a
Speaker 1: lot this hour. Voting in five states, including Pennsylvania, where
Speaker 1: the Senate race is one of the most closely watched
Speaker 1: in the country and by the way, one of the
Speaker 1: most expensive so far as well. And that is where
Speaker 1: we're gonna start with our panel. Scott Pherson is with
Speaker 1: us Liberty Square Group along with Jennifer Nessour no stranger
Speaker 1: to this program, former chair of the Massachusetts GOP. What
Speaker 1: a treat to have both of you here. It's great
Speaker 1: to see you, Jennifer. I'll start with you if I can,
Speaker 1: not on the races yet, but on the on the
Speaker 1: issues that we're hearing people talk about in the room
Speaker 1: here that translate to every state and every contest in
Speaker 1: the country. Number one is inflation. Right, Supply chains might
Speaker 1: come in there, uh, and of course they're deeply intertwined.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be speaking soon with the CEO of Massport uh,
Speaker 1: and some of the other attempts to reopen the economy.
Speaker 1: I guess, as I'm learning today showing up in Boston,
Speaker 1: there's a new variant that is sending case loads higher.
Speaker 1: And these are all conversations that we're having around the
Speaker 1: country right now here in Boston. Though, how much of
Speaker 1: a concern is this COVID issue when we're looking at
Speaker 1: historical high inflation, historically high inflation and an attempt to
Speaker 1: reopen from an economy that might not let us reopen
Speaker 1: quite the way we want. First of all, it's great
Speaker 1: to be here and great to actually see you in
Speaker 1: person in the flesh reopening. Speaking of reopening, Um, I
Speaker 1: think the economy. It's always the economy, stupid, right, and
Speaker 1: so it is inflation, it's the fact that when we
Speaker 1: go and put gas in our gas tanks, it's the
Speaker 1: other day it costs me five dollars a gallon to
Speaker 1: put gas in my gas tank in Massachusetts. That's crazy,
Speaker 1: and so for I think for a lot of people,
Speaker 1: especially in an area where a lot of people are
Speaker 1: driving all the time, that's what people are looking at,
Speaker 1: putting food on the table, housing costs, food costs, gas costs,
Speaker 1: and it just seems like you're never getting a break.
Speaker 1: And so I think here in Massachusetts, where we were
Speaker 1: closed down for a long time, people are ready to
Speaker 1: get out. But when things are costing so much money
Speaker 1: and businesses can't find people to work for them, you're
Speaker 1: going We're going to see the economy take a big
Speaker 1: hit here if things continue on the trajectory that they're on.
Speaker 1: What do you make of this part of the conversation, Scott,
Speaker 1: You've run campaigns, These these translate across the country right now,
Speaker 1: and if you're a Democrat running for office or for
Speaker 1: re election, you're going to be hit with questions about inflation. First,
Speaker 1: how do you manage that before it's a problem. I
Speaker 1: think you have to manage it. It's um. I've been
Speaker 1: I agree with with with Jen. I've been traveling around
Speaker 1: the country. I've been in Illinois and Ohio and uh
Speaker 1: in Texas and Georgia and other places, and people are
Speaker 1: you know, they're talking about inflation. They don't use that word.
Speaker 1: It is gas prices, it's food prices. Housing is a
Speaker 1: huge issue. And the places that I've been to, which
Speaker 1: are are sort of swing districts, Um, the unemployment is
Speaker 1: very low. So it's it's not that it's not the
Speaker 1: people are out of work. It's that people feel stuck
Speaker 1: in whatever house they're in, even if their house is
Speaker 1: worth a whole lot more than they paid for it.
Speaker 1: They don't feel like they have options in the way
Speaker 1: that the people did. And gas prices is a real concern. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, if you're a farmer of this country, just
Speaker 1: by acreage is farm we we we you know, it's
Speaker 1: a huge amount of of of acreage. Uh. It takes
Speaker 1: on the coast. Yeah, it takes a lot to fill
Speaker 1: up a tractor. It takes a lot to develop a
Speaker 1: truck takes a lot to fill up a tractor trailer
Speaker 1: moving goods from port Uh is oh um. So with
Speaker 1: that in mind, this is the backdrop for a huge
Speaker 1: primary day here. And I realized that these are, uh,
Speaker 1: these are not arguments between Democrats and Republicans, but they
Speaker 1: are giving the fodder for the debate here. Uh, Jennifer,
Speaker 1: if we can start with with Pennsylvania. That seems to
Speaker 1: be the most sort of mainstream contest that people are
Speaker 1: talking about because it includes a TV star and a
Speaker 1: major Trump endorsement with Dr oz Um. This race has
Speaker 1: changed a lot. David McCormick doctor oz beat each other up,
Speaker 1: spent millions, including a lot of their own money for
Speaker 1: weeks and weeks, only to watch Kathy Barnett come from
Speaker 1: nowhere with a hundred thousand dollars and threatened to win
Speaker 1: this election. What's going on in Pennsylvania? Well, I mean
Speaker 1: that is gone. That is really the the question. Fairly.
Speaker 1: You did frame it incredibly fairly, because I think it
Speaker 1: was really between the two of those guys um until
Speaker 1: she came in. Now, I'll tell you I got an email.
Speaker 1: I'm you know, of course on all the email change
Speaker 1: and lists around right and again email yesterday and it
Speaker 1: started with that she wouldn't have been born if her
Speaker 1: mother wasn't races, And I write exactly that was what
Speaker 1: I said, Um, And so I found it incredibly offensive
Speaker 1: as a woman, as a mother with three daughters. I
Speaker 1: thought it was disgusting to see that. I didn't want
Speaker 1: to read anything else. I don't care what she was saying. So, Um,
Speaker 1: I think that the voters of Pennsylvania have to really
Speaker 1: look at this race and look at who's out there running.
Speaker 1: I think it's less about the Trump endorsed candidate and
Speaker 1: more about who is going to protect their interests and
Speaker 1: like we've been talking about who's going to help the economy,
Speaker 1: who is going to help and make sure that they're
Speaker 1: on the way up and knock the way down in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 1: It could go either way. Is it hurting Republicans the
Speaker 1: party as a whole to have guys like me talk
Speaker 1: about this through the prism of a Trump endorsement every Tuesday?
Speaker 1: I mean, there's obviously more involved in this contest. Or
Speaker 1: we simplifying this to be its own reality TV show? Yes?
Speaker 1: I think so. I mean we're talking at stake here
Speaker 1: is democracy, and I think that's what everyone needs to
Speaker 1: focus on, is what is good for democracy. What is
Speaker 1: good for democracy is having leaders who are going to
Speaker 1: lead in front. They're going to make sure that they
Speaker 1: are putting the priorities of the people who voted for them,
Speaker 1: and that is not just their voters, but all the electorate,
Speaker 1: all the people in their state, ahead of their own priorities.
Speaker 1: And so I would like to look at it instead
Speaker 1: of the endorsement end of it, because I think both
Speaker 1: parties have have their issues right now. I think it
Speaker 1: more has to look at what is good for democracy
Speaker 1: and who is the candidate that is best. So Scott
Speaker 1: on the Democratic side of this contest, it's another whopper.
Speaker 1: The Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman has a stroke on Friday,
Speaker 1: and it's going to be in a hospital bed, maybe
Speaker 1: even in surgery having a peacemaker, implanet as the results
Speaker 1: are coming in tonight. Yet he's gonna win with a
Speaker 1: layup here, right, What does that tell us about the
Speaker 1: Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. It's obviously not very competitive. No,
Speaker 1: I mean federman Is, I mean Connor lamb Is is
Speaker 1: a is a good candidate and should have made this
Speaker 1: competitive and for whatever reason did well. I think I
Speaker 1: think primaries both in Republicans as it is, and that
Speaker 1: that primary and Democrat primaries are really controlled by a
Speaker 1: very small slice of the electorate. It's as if we
Speaker 1: let only people who play dungeons and dragons vote in primaries,
Speaker 1: and then and then that's what we have to vote
Speaker 1: for November, the people that they pick. And I think
Speaker 1: we're seeing that a little bit in both things. Federman
Speaker 1: is really a populist and that's coming through and um
Speaker 1: in a time when we've got eighty nine year old
Speaker 1: senators running for reelection. Um. I think the fact that
Speaker 1: he's fit otherwise, but but in the hospital isn't going
Speaker 1: to UM isn't going to deter anybody from voting for him? Yeah? Um?
Speaker 1: Is this because of the image six ft eight I
Speaker 1: don't have to describe as wardrobe to you. The the
Speaker 1: goat ds a tough guy. People think what tough guy
Speaker 1: is stroke he'll be fine. Well, I think we we
Speaker 1: also want people that don't fit the normally. I think
Speaker 1: the idea of sending somebody who looks like John Federman
Speaker 1: to think about sure, but another candidate might be besieged
Speaker 1: by concerns about their health right now. It doesn't seem
Speaker 1: to be him. No, but that makes him unique, doesn't it.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you are running a campaign in your
Speaker 1: Canada had a stroke on Friday before the primary, you'd
Speaker 1: be a little concerned. Well, I belong to a party
Speaker 1: that on occasion we like dead people. So I didn't
Speaker 1: say that, Yeah, um, that's gonna be your general contest.
Speaker 1: Then Fetterman v uh, we'll find out tonight. Oz Mccormicktaly
Speaker 1: looks like Oz. I mean, maybe you think, Jennifer that
Speaker 1: that Oz pulls this out. He's up by two points
Speaker 1: in the poll of polls. It's really kind of within
Speaker 1: the margin, isn't it. Yeah, I think it's within the mark.
Speaker 1: I think it is within the margin. I do think
Speaker 1: that Oz is going to pull this out, though, um,
Speaker 1: for no other reason than just sheer name recognition. At
Speaker 1: the end of the day, you know, to what Scott
Speaker 1: was saying, it's like you pull out a very small
Speaker 1: segment of the population. Everyone who's going is voting for
Speaker 1: their person, unless you're the person who actually takes your
Speaker 1: responsibility to vote in every election seriously. And then you
Speaker 1: see doctor Oz is on there, and you know doctor
Speaker 1: Oz and you feel good about him and you've seen
Speaker 1: him on TV and that's exactly because one reality sensation
Speaker 1: to another. Yeah, wow, this is gonna be something to
Speaker 1: watch tonight. Um, stay where you are. We'll have the
Speaker 1: panel with us for the hour. Scott and Jennifer. Delighted
Speaker 1: that you're with us on our special hour of Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: Sound on. As we turned to a special guest here
Speaker 1: that I told you would be coming, Lisa Whelan, his
Speaker 1: CEO of mass Sport. What we call it Massport here.
Speaker 1: Most people don't know. That's the Massachusetts Board Authority and
Speaker 1: it's the it's the quasi governmental agency that runs everything
Speaker 1: we're talking about here, transportation, travel, trade, the port, the airport.
Speaker 1: It's wonderful to see you in person. Thank you for
Speaker 1: coming to see us on Bloomberg. Jim, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for having me. Well it's Joe, but that's fine.
Speaker 1: It's all three letters. Now, Um, where to start with
Speaker 1: this idea of supply chains. We've had reporters out of
Speaker 1: the Port of Long Beach, We've been to the Port
Speaker 1: of l A. We have spoken with the White House
Speaker 1: about this repeatedly and how to unclogged our ports. I
Speaker 1: wonder what you've experienced here in Boston in terms of
Speaker 1: ships lining up, in terms of UH shipping containers piling up.
Speaker 1: Is this something that you're working through as well. So
Speaker 1: clearly no port in the US has been immune to
Speaker 1: some of the supply chain disruption that we've experienced. But
Speaker 1: here in the Port of Boston, we are congestion free
Speaker 1: or a regional port, which makes this difference than some
Speaker 1: of the gateways that you've mentioned. UH. And so what
Speaker 1: we offer to to New England's importers and exporters is efficient, reliable,
Speaker 1: flexible UH service all at a congestion free port. Uh
Speaker 1: and so that makes us a little bit different, But
Speaker 1: that doesn't mean that we haven't seen some of the
Speaker 1: issues that others have experienced. UH So, certainly just UH
Speaker 1: schedule reliability. It's taking ships a lot longer to get
Speaker 1: to the East Coast than it used to. We used
Speaker 1: to take a ship to get from China to Boston
Speaker 1: thirty days. Now it's taking about sixty days. Why because
Speaker 1: they're going through other ports on the way, or are
Speaker 1: there issues we haven't talked about yet. So so, certainly
Speaker 1: some of the issues that we've seen with ports shutdowns
Speaker 1: the congestion that you mentioned in other ports, right ships
Speaker 1: backing up waiting to getting those ports on the way
Speaker 1: to Boston. So this all ends up impacting every major
Speaker 1: economy or even small economy in the country. I think
Speaker 1: one of the things that we've learned our supply chains
Speaker 1: are quite complex. One of the silver linings is that
Speaker 1: people now have a better understanding of where the stuff
Speaker 1: comes from that they use every day, whether it's the
Speaker 1: wine that you drink at night, the furniture in your homes,
Speaker 1: the shoes on your feet. Reports play an important role
Speaker 1: in getting all of those things that we use each
Speaker 1: and every day to us. You've been involved in a
Speaker 1: series of upgrades to the port over a course of years.
Speaker 1: I know, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, you're
Speaker 1: you're just past phase three now in digging and dredging
Speaker 1: the harbor to be able to accept ships and goods
Speaker 1: that you never could before. What what is the status
Speaker 1: of that you're connecting Boston to markets that you never
Speaker 1: did business with before, That's correct. So one of the
Speaker 1: things that we set out to do was to revitalize
Speaker 1: the Port of Boston UH and keep it competitive, and
Speaker 1: that meant deepening our Harbor to accommodate the larger container
Speaker 1: ships that are coming through the Panama Canal. It meant
Speaker 1: modernizing our container facility Conmly Terminal with larger cranes, deeper berths,
Speaker 1: and more technology. Uh. And so those projects are are
Speaker 1: near completion. And what does that mean. It means it's
Speaker 1: open up new trade routes to New England's importers and
Speaker 1: export from where. What does that mean for you in
Speaker 1: terms of business? Yeah, so it means to new services
Speaker 1: from Southeast Asia. So traditionally we've had a couple of
Speaker 1: services calling Boston, one from China, one from North Europe. Uh.
Speaker 1: And we've recently announced that we've added two services to
Speaker 1: Southeast Asia, connecting us to Vietnam that's a service with
Speaker 1: Zoom Lines and another one connecting us to the Indian
Speaker 1: subcontinent with Mediterranean Shipping Company. That that just provides greater
Speaker 1: global connectivity for importers and exports. Does it mean goods
Speaker 1: you could not get into this port before as well?
Speaker 1: Sure certainly does. But it also probably means that uh,
Speaker 1: more of those understood, right. So some of the things
Speaker 1: that coming into the board of Boston Furniture, Wind and
Speaker 1: Spirits sporting goods, and then on the export side, seafood.
Speaker 1: UH seafood is also a big import into the Port
Speaker 1: of Boston paper products, so it does provide additional sourcing strategies,
Speaker 1: a diversification, if you will, for import of the first
Speaker 1: things people see when they fly into Boston. A lot
Speaker 1: of folks at the meeting tonight of the Cranes uh
Speaker 1: in in South Boston that have been awfully busy. I understand,
Speaker 1: But what kind of a of a labor issue are
Speaker 1: you facing. The worker shortages I know have been impacting
Speaker 1: every part of if you think of it your portfolio.
Speaker 1: We're certainly dealing with it in the airline business. How
Speaker 1: about in the shipping business. So we've been pretty fortunate.
Speaker 1: We've taken very very clear actions to keep our workers safe.
Speaker 1: We've been open every day, we've never shut down because
Speaker 1: of COVID. And here in the Port of Boston, we
Speaker 1: have a great relationship with the International lungshore Rman's Association.
Speaker 1: We've worked very closely with them to improve productivity over
Speaker 1: the past few years, and that's what helps keep us competitive. Uh.
Speaker 1: How about the airport, A lot of us have been
Speaker 1: sitting in gates, maybe sitting in planes on tarmacs as
Speaker 1: we try to reopen. This sort of confluence of revenge
Speaker 1: travel versus lack of manpower has created some real stresses
Speaker 1: I know for the industry. What does that mean for
Speaker 1: Logan Airport in Boston? Sure, I mean you think about
Speaker 1: the stresses and supply chain, right with all of this
Speaker 1: increase in demand. Similarly, we're seeing that on the airport
Speaker 1: side of things, as people are excited to return to travel.
Speaker 1: We're excited to welcome passengers back, um, but coming out
Speaker 1: of a pandemic with labor shortages also, you know, planes
Speaker 1: that were parked for a long time coming back into service,
Speaker 1: those create some challenges. But at the same time, I
Speaker 1: think we're pretty optimistic about what we see at Logan.
Speaker 1: We're not quite back to where we were pre pandemic,
Speaker 1: but we look ahead to a very busy sp ing
Speaker 1: in summer travel season with the restoration of a number
Speaker 1: of European flights. Uh And I think it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 1: How close are you, uh to being back to being
Speaker 1: made whole in terms of of routes specifically, never mind
Speaker 1: actual volume of aircraft. Yeah, so we're getting close this summer.
Speaker 1: We'll see a restoration of a number of services that
Speaker 1: were suspended during the pandemic. And then we see airlines
Speaker 1: making investments in new routes as well, which is pretty exciting.
Speaker 1: We've got Delta launching service to Tel Aviv and Athens,
Speaker 1: American launching new services into Canada, and we'll have five
Speaker 1: carriers going into the London market, which is all great
Speaker 1: news for travelers. About that, Um, do you have a
Speaker 1: projection or do you not play that game? Uh? For
Speaker 1: the rest of the year in terms of traffic and
Speaker 1: and in fact getting back to where you were before
Speaker 1: the pandemic. Yeah, so I think we're a couple of
Speaker 1: years off. Couple of years. I thought you'd say months. No,
Speaker 1: we're Logan is at about sevent of pre pandemic passenger volume. Uh.
Speaker 1: So I anticipate that will take us a couple of
Speaker 1: years to get back to where we were, but we're
Speaker 1: on the right trajectory. Is it airline by airline or
Speaker 1: are they all dealing with this similar recovery right now?
Speaker 1: Do you speak with the carriers individually? We do, We do,
Speaker 1: and I think you know the the labor challenges are
Speaker 1: affecting everyone and so we're seeing them adjust their schedules
Speaker 1: accordingly to try to smooth out some of the operational
Speaker 1: challenges that you mentioned and others have experienced. UH. And
Speaker 1: certainly I think that the impact that's had on the
Speaker 1: travel experience and the customers has been unfortunate. But I
Speaker 1: think we're seeing them make adjustments to try to to
Speaker 1: solve for some of that. It's fascinating conversation. Lisa. Really
Speaker 1: appreciate your talking with us today on Bloomberg. Lisa Whelan
Speaker 1: runs Massport and I hope you have a great time tonight.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Before you leave us, By the way, tell
Speaker 1: our listeners what they're gonna miss at this event. They're
Speaker 1: wondering around the country while we're here. Well, I will
Speaker 1: say that we're here to to thank for great individuals
Speaker 1: who are getting inducted right and honors, you know. UM.
Speaker 1: But from my perspective, given the topics that we're talking about,
Speaker 1: Governor Baker, UH and Tom Glenn, whose mass Sport's former CEO,
Speaker 1: been tremendous supporters of the port. UH. Tom initiated our
Speaker 1: revitalization strategy, and Governor Baker was incredibly supportive, helping us
Speaker 1: to pay for dredging and the modernization the Ukranes. So
Speaker 1: we're thankful for their leadership and we congratulate them tonight.
Speaker 1: Enjoy yourself. Thank you again on Bloomberg. It's great to
Speaker 1: meet you. Thank you, Lisa, Thank you as we spend
Speaker 1: time here at the Boston Convention Center on Bloomberg Sound On.
Speaker 1: I'm Joe Matthew in the Hub of the Universe with
Speaker 1: our panel. Scott first and Jennifernssour is with us. So
Speaker 1: how about it. We just heard from somebody who touches
Speaker 1: these issues on a on a direct basis, a firsthand basis.
Speaker 1: Every day. It's gonna be years before the airport is back.
Speaker 1: I was surprised to hear that, Scott, were you, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was surprised to hear that too, because it's certainly,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think maybe we've been locked down for
Speaker 1: so long, any activity seems like it's it's back. Yeah,
Speaker 1: But certainly I've you know, traveled through the airport and
Speaker 1: and it doesn't feel like it's it's uh, you know,
Speaker 1: it's fully backups, you know, or hit or miss the
Speaker 1: roads coming here too. So you can see that, and
Speaker 1: I think, you know, how does that impact it as
Speaker 1: we're talking about the election. I think that does that
Speaker 1: that sort of lingering effect. You might have a job,
Speaker 1: but it's gonna take a while for families to recover
Speaker 1: too fully from pre pandemic. They're not wearing masks on
Speaker 1: those planes, though, Jennifer. And that's that's bringing even more
Speaker 1: people back into the fold, isn't it. I think so.
Speaker 1: I I actually had the pleasure of going mask free
Speaker 1: on a flight. Did it feel weird? Was it just me?
Speaker 1: I felt like I was doing something wrong? It was weird.
Speaker 1: I thought I was gonna get yelled at right. I
Speaker 1: was like, oh, I'm gonna get some some puncil's office. Um.
Speaker 1: It was very weird. And I I am a little
Speaker 1: bit of a germophobe, and I was before covid um
Speaker 1: and so it was strange to watch and um, but
Speaker 1: it felt great to be back there. And I think
Speaker 1: that a lot of people will start hopefully traveling again.
Speaker 1: I mean, I've been to Logan. It feels like it's
Speaker 1: really crowded. But I think one of the things is
Speaker 1: there are restaurants that are still not open, right. There
Speaker 1: are um parts you know there, there are flights that
Speaker 1: are still not coming in or going out. Um. And
Speaker 1: so I think that that's one of the reasons that
Speaker 1: it does feel so full. Boston is slowly starting, but
Speaker 1: it definitely you know again, it's like everything is perception.
Speaker 1: When you saw the streets completely empty and then a
Speaker 1: few people on the streets, and now you see so
Speaker 1: many more. Bank line is pretty low here, exactly. That's it.
Speaker 1: I was amazed to learn that this that the Boston
Speaker 1: market suffered a greater loss in leisure and hospitality jobs
Speaker 1: than any in the country, any city in the country,
Speaker 1: New York, you think of the place as we go,
Speaker 1: San Francisco, l A, Orlando had nothing on Boston. That's
Speaker 1: a long term impact. When you talk about those types
Speaker 1: of jobs and the families they support. Do you worry
Speaker 1: about employment here in the state coming back or or
Speaker 1: is it a story like we're hearing another parts of
Speaker 1: the country where there are two open jobs for every
Speaker 1: job seeker. Yeah, I think this is part of the success.
Speaker 1: M I'll give I'll give wide credit to the governor
Speaker 1: and to the legislature and everybody who who did this.
Speaker 1: I mean, we were hit harder first, way harder first,
Speaker 1: and uh in the shutdown that happened. When you think
Speaker 1: about it, we've been suffering it longer and going through
Speaker 1: this longer than most parts of the country. Um, so
Speaker 1: both the impact was tougher here. Um the job market
Speaker 1: was already tight anyway going into it. So you've got
Speaker 1: just a number of things that there was kind of
Speaker 1: a built in resiliency here in the later stages of
Speaker 1: COVID that other cities might not have had. And I
Speaker 1: think you see particularly, you know, there's two economies here,
Speaker 1: the tech economy, the service economy, and the tech economy
Speaker 1: just blipped and moved on and we all work out
Speaker 1: of our houses, and the service economy just tanked. And
Speaker 1: I think it's going to take a long time for
Speaker 1: the tech economy to get back and sync with the
Speaker 1: service costs. And I mean, I don't want to get
Speaker 1: too wonky into politics or or economics on a politics
Speaker 1: show here, but that's been the real issue. Is this.
Speaker 1: There was this big overcorrection demand for good created this
Speaker 1: huge bottleneck in our ports no matter where you are, apparently,
Speaker 1: and it's going to be a slow turn back to services, Jennifer,
Speaker 1: where things maybe find some balance on the room. Definitely.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you walk into any shop, any business,
Speaker 1: whether it's a large conglomerate or a mom and pop shop.
Speaker 1: If you go from a very large, um, you know,
Speaker 1: chain restaurant down to the small ones in Beacon Hill
Speaker 1: and backband the South End, you see the same thing
Speaker 1: going on. There aren't enough servers, there aren't enough people
Speaker 1: working in stores, not enough people to help not there's
Speaker 1: if you go into shops a lot of times, there's
Speaker 1: not enough goods that are out there. Um. And I
Speaker 1: think our restaurant industry, our travel and leisure has definitely
Speaker 1: taken a hit. That's where you could see it. I
Speaker 1: think the most is in the service industry. And going
Speaker 1: back to what you said before, it's not that the
Speaker 1: that the unemployment rate is high. It's just that there's
Speaker 1: no one there and whether people took off and left
Speaker 1: or both just said I'm getting enough money from the
Speaker 1: government and I don't have to do anything, um. But
Speaker 1: but it's really impacting one consumers but also the business
Speaker 1: owners right absolutely. Um, that's not going to change for
Speaker 1: the rest of this election cycle. Scott. How much of
Speaker 1: an issue is the economy in local elections here? Is
Speaker 1: it just the same as national Well, I think there's
Speaker 1: there's sort of as we talk about it on primary day,
Speaker 1: there's two things, right, So you've got the dungeons and
Speaker 1: draggers players who get to decide who we get to
Speaker 1: vote for in November. So by the time that most
Speaker 1: people are gonna be paying attention, just regular voters who
Speaker 1: are affected by the economy, who are affected by gas
Speaker 1: prices and grocery prices, they're gonna get there, and they're
Speaker 1: gonna have in Pennsylvania dr Oz and Fetterman and and
Speaker 1: you know, then you've got the whole overlay of choice
Speaker 1: issues and what the court might do, um and and
Speaker 1: other things that are affecting it. You know, how does
Speaker 1: that all play out? I think, um, you know, and
Speaker 1: then the balance of power. I don't think that people
Speaker 1: are gonna be thinking about the balance of power. I
Speaker 1: think we're gonna talk more about the primaries with Scott
Speaker 1: and Jennifer. We haven't even mentioned Madison Cawthorne yet. Up next,
Speaker 1: Carrie Goldberg, Bloomberg's Boston bureau chief. This is Bloomberg, broadcasting
Speaker 1: live from our nation's capital. Bloomberg to New York, Bloomberg
Speaker 1: eleven frio to Boston, Bloomberg one of six UA to
Speaker 1: San Francisco, Bloomberg nine sixty to the country, Sirius x
Speaker 1: M General one nine and around the globe, the Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Business app and Bloomberg Radio dot Com. This is Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Sound On with Joe Matt Hughes. When I landed at
Speaker 1: Logan Airport here in Boston, my phone buzz with a
Speaker 1: local news alert. There was a story from the Globe.
Speaker 1: The headline the new highly transmissible O macron variant b
Speaker 1: A two one to one is dominating in mass Are
Speaker 1: we doing this again? We're gonna talk about it next
Speaker 1: with Carrie Goldberg, the Boston bureau chief for Bloomberg out
Speaker 1: with also in a using story today on why hospitals
Speaker 1: are postponing cat scans and ratcheting care. Yeah, it's about
Speaker 1: the supply chains. We'll get into that next in a
Speaker 1: special edition of Sound On from Boston. I'm hoping some
Speaker 1: or dervs you know, might go by here, Carrie pretty soon.
Speaker 1: We're set up in the massive mezzanine level, the lobby
Speaker 1: level outside the ballroom at the Boston Convention Center here
Speaker 1: in the Seaport District, where the Chamber of Commerce is
Speaker 1: having its annual Business Meeting, the biggest business event of
Speaker 1: the year. Here in the Hubb of the universe, and
Speaker 1: with Bloomberg the media sponsor, we thought we'd come up
Speaker 1: here and talk to some folks who normally don't get
Speaker 1: to see, including Carrie Goldberg, the Bloomberg Boston bureau chief.
Speaker 1: What a treat to have you. Thanks for coming to
Speaker 1: see us year, Carrie. You spent a lot of time
Speaker 1: covering COVID. You spent a lot of time covering the
Speaker 1: recovery and the supposed reopening from COVID, and it's being
Speaker 1: challenged again. How concerned are you as you see New
Speaker 1: York reach a high level that Boston might be there
Speaker 1: next right, Boston is pretty much already there. In fact,
Speaker 1: the positive test rate in Massachusetts over eight percent at
Speaker 1: this place, And I have to confess that I'm looking
Speaker 1: around at this big room full of hundreds, I'm cringing.
Speaker 1: I'm looking at them, almost none of them are wearing masks,
Speaker 1: and I'm just as a longtime mouth reporter, I'm feeling like,
Speaker 1: are you sure? Are you sure? Yeah? You're in the
Speaker 1: Half of these people may have flown in like I did.
Speaker 1: Um is it impacting business right now? I know there's
Speaker 1: a lawsuit, for instance, in the North End, which is
Speaker 1: kind of the little Italy of Boston where restaurants are
Speaker 1: are fighting this idea of having to pay for for
Speaker 1: street dining, for instance. There's been a lot of growing
Speaker 1: pains that continue right although I would say that's not
Speaker 1: directly due to COVID. I mean, it is the outdoor dining,
Speaker 1: which is student COVID. But I wouldn't say that this
Speaker 1: new wave that we're seeing right now, which the Northeast
Speaker 1: seems to be leading in, is affecting businesses at this point.
Speaker 1: Is that because we're not paying attention right now, And
Speaker 1: that would be just exactly. We're all in a lot
Speaker 1: of denial. And it's not just denial. I mean, the
Speaker 1: fact is that to a great extent, we have d
Speaker 1: couple his high rate of cases from the rate of hospitalization,
Speaker 1: not totally but mostly. So you know, it's a reasonable
Speaker 1: decision to hobnob in this giant room. They have lobster
Speaker 1: rolls too, So I mean, come on, so you talk
Speaker 1: about COVID, you can't escape the topic of supply chain.
Speaker 1: We just spoke with the mass Sports CEO a while ago,
Speaker 1: and you've got a remarkable story on the terminal. We
Speaker 1: remember when you know they were they were eliminating elective
Speaker 1: surgeries and so forth. At the beginning of COVID. This
Speaker 1: is a little different. Hospitals around the US as carry
Speaker 1: rights are postponing cat scans and rationing care while waiting
Speaker 1: on shipments of medical die that's made in a Shanghai
Speaker 1: plant that of course has been dealing with lockdowns here.
Speaker 1: This is such a classic example of the ripple effects.
Speaker 1: Something happening in Shanghai is going to impact somebody who's
Speaker 1: living right here in the Boston area. How how severe
Speaker 1: is this problem? Right? So the problem is significant, all right?
Speaker 1: I mean, hospitals around the country are postponing some of
Speaker 1: their cat skins, and they're worried that if this continues
Speaker 1: to get worse, which you probably will before it gets better,
Speaker 1: that they may have to postpone emergency cats. Cat skins.
Speaker 1: Like when you have you might be having a heart attack,
Speaker 1: you might be having a stroke. You go into the
Speaker 1: e er. They need to check to see what's going
Speaker 1: on in your brain or your heart. They need that, right,
Speaker 1: They need this fluid that they put into your body
Speaker 1: to see what's going on in there. And if they
Speaker 1: run out, which they haven't yet, but which they're worried
Speaker 1: that they will then they won't be able to do that.
Speaker 1: Are there solutions being presented? Here? Are we hoping for
Speaker 1: the best. So hospitals are trying to conserve anyway they can,
Speaker 1: They're using smaller doses, they're they're trying to put off
Speaker 1: anything that they can. But you know, the American Hospital
Speaker 1: Association just sent a letter to the maker of this
Speaker 1: Digeneral Electric, which is a Boston based company, saying, look,
Speaker 1: we are very worried that there's going to be a
Speaker 1: severe gap between demand and supply in the coming weeks.
Speaker 1: So there's great concern. So is this the next baby
Speaker 1: formula of the White House is going to have to
Speaker 1: deal with this next week? And say the President is
Speaker 1: invoking the National Defense Actor of the Production Act to
Speaker 1: make this better. I mean, we need we need to
Speaker 1: see how it develops. Um g E is doing all
Speaker 1: it can. It's actually flying supplies in that would normally
Speaker 1: come by ship, and so you know, it is coping
Speaker 1: as best it can. But she is saying at this point,
Speaker 1: the the factory that closed in Shanghai is only back
Speaker 1: up to fifty of its normal production. So that's better,
Speaker 1: but it's not enough. And so Basically, we're gonna see
Speaker 1: this crunch in the coming weeks, and it is possible
Speaker 1: that it would reach the point where the White House
Speaker 1: needs to do something. Oh my god. Well, uh, it's
Speaker 1: great reporting. Find the story on the terminal hospitals ration,
Speaker 1: cat scans awaiting die from Shanghai g E plant just
Speaker 1: like ge needed more trouble right now, and also one
Speaker 1: more supply chain issue in the medical system that everyone says, look,
Speaker 1: we can't have this, we can't have too much dependence
Speaker 1: on one supplier of essential medical goods. And yet it
Speaker 1: happened again. It's unbelievable. Carry thank you for bringing this
Speaker 1: to us. It's wonderful to see you and spend some
Speaker 1: time here in the flesh without masks at least for
Speaker 1: an now in Boston. Our panel is with us for
Speaker 1: a couple of more moments here on this topic, at least,
Speaker 1: Jennifer and sour Scott first, and this is like, uh
Speaker 1: my goodness, it's it's just just like watching a rerun here.
Speaker 1: Every story ends up that we're tackling today being being
Speaker 1: a similar one when it comes to supply chains like this. Jennifer,
Speaker 1: what's the political fallout for this White House they get
Speaker 1: blamed for it. Yeah, absolutely, you know, I think that's fair.
Speaker 1: I think so because look that the person in power
Speaker 1: always gets the high if the economy is high, and
Speaker 1: the low if the economy is it doesn't matter. It's
Speaker 1: just that's just the way it is. And so you
Speaker 1: take a victory lap when the economy is doing great
Speaker 1: and everyone is employed and there's no unemployment. However, right now,
Speaker 1: with the record high inflation, everything that we're talking about,
Speaker 1: you hear about, you know, this medical problem. You listen
Speaker 1: to moms who cannot get formula for their babies. If
Speaker 1: you want to change an election, mess with mothers and
Speaker 1: their children. Okay, that is the one way to get
Speaker 1: people off of their rumps and to go and vote
Speaker 1: is to say you're not letting me feed my baby.
Speaker 1: And and I don't want to hear anything other than
Speaker 1: how do I feed my child? Because that is something
Speaker 1: today that is an issue. And so unless the White
Speaker 1: House could fix that today's issues, I think they're going
Speaker 1: to get walloped in. At the risk of invoking this
Speaker 1: story after what you just said, Scott, that's what a
Speaker 1: lot of Democrats and a lot of progressives are saying
Speaker 1: about reproductive rights. Right now, mess with mothers. We're gonna
Speaker 1: have a march on Washington. And what Elizabeth Warren says
Speaker 1: will be a reckoning at the ballot box in the
Speaker 1: how do you manage it on the campaign level? Well,
Speaker 1: I think those are two different issues. I think they are. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think one is, you know, how does the White
Speaker 1: House respond to you know, it's very destabilizing with the
Speaker 1: pandemic has been destabilizing, the fact that you kind of
Speaker 1: get baby formula is just destabilizing. This is America, you know,
Speaker 1: we're not used to be. Isn't having to travel for
Speaker 1: an abortion destabilizing? Well, but I think it's I think
Speaker 1: that in terms of that's a direct assault. That's not
Speaker 1: how the how the administration might respond supply chain issue, well,
Speaker 1: you know, that's that's sort of the you know, So
Speaker 1: I would look at those two things differently. I think
Speaker 1: they're but we're talking about a mix where I'm going
Speaker 1: to be in the ballot, ballot box and all of
Speaker 1: these things are gonna be in my mind. And question
Speaker 1: is how they how they Why our heads are spinning?
Speaker 1: Spinning is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg. So long with Joe
Speaker 1: Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. You know, it's not often we
Speaker 1: share a room with a thousand people here on sound
Speaker 1: on it's usually three. But that's exactly what we have
Speaker 1: today here, as you can hear behind us at what
Speaker 1: is the biggest meeting of business and politics in the
Speaker 1: great city of Boston, the annual meeting of the Boston
Speaker 1: Chamber under way here and we're all set up at
Speaker 1: the Boston Chamber of Commerce here at the Convention Center,
Speaker 1: with special honors tonight going to Governor Charlie Baker, who
Speaker 1: incidentally will not be here after falling ill. His office
Speaker 1: says he tested negative for COVID today. And we do
Speaker 1: the Governor well, because we were planning and hoping to
Speaker 1: speak with him. But let's reassemble the panel to get
Speaker 1: into some of the topics and races that we're looking
Speaker 1: at on this busy primary day. We've talked about the
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania primary with Jennifer Nassour, a former chair of the
Speaker 1: Massachusetts GOP, and with Scott Pherson of Liberty Square Group
Speaker 1: here in Boston, political consultant and strategist, and so we'll
Speaker 1: carry on with I know you've been looking forward, Jennifer
Speaker 1: to talking about Madison Cawthorne. I have to bring it
Speaker 1: up because it's so impossible to escape. And he's the
Speaker 1: youngest member of Congress, got a lot of attention when
Speaker 1: he came into office, endorsed early by President Trump, and wow,
Speaker 1: the last couple of weeks have been something. He says
Speaker 1: that it's a media made up, you know, hit job
Speaker 1: on him. But it's videos you couldn't show a child.
Speaker 1: It's walking through airport security with a gun in your bag,
Speaker 1: it's being pulled over with a revoked license. This is
Speaker 1: the eleventh District North Carolina, seven primary opponents. What happens tonight? Well,
Speaker 1: I think, and I hope that that's not because I'm
Speaker 1: just being it's wishful thinking, but I think that he
Speaker 1: is going to finally go down. I think a lot
Speaker 1: of his Republican colleagues are hoping he goes down. I
Speaker 1: think the majority of the Republican Party hopes that he
Speaker 1: goes down. These scandals won't ever go away, and they
Speaker 1: taint other candidates um and it's unfortunate because it takes
Speaker 1: away from the larger picture of the issues that are
Speaker 1: important right now to voters. What does that say about
Speaker 1: the Trump brands again here Scott, when we're looking at
Speaker 1: someone that even the Republican leadership would prefer to see
Speaker 1: lose tonight. Well, I think I think the a couple
Speaker 1: of things. One is, you know, Trump has has sort
Speaker 1: of hedged his bets on this one. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: so he'll take he'll take credit for it if he
Speaker 1: gets and avoids a runoff. Um, but I do. This
Speaker 1: is old adage about Congress that when you first get
Speaker 1: elected to Congress, you look around you think how did
Speaker 1: I get here? And then after a month you look
Speaker 1: around you so do you think how did they get here?
Speaker 1: You know? So I think that this is a long
Speaker 1: history where where where Congress, particularly the House of a Resentative,
Speaker 1: is large enough that you've got all kinds of characters.
Speaker 1: And I think it's it's it's a it's a problem
Speaker 1: when you know the powers that be say that that
Speaker 1: this is an embarrassment, we need to have him removed,
Speaker 1: and then you've got seven candidates running against him, and
Speaker 1: then you're just you're just diffusing your odds in in
Speaker 1: in a way so he might survive would be interesting
Speaker 1: thing to see, in which case, if he does, it
Speaker 1: seems like he will, they'll still be returned to Congress,
Speaker 1: be no major committee assignments anytime. No. I think their
Speaker 1: plan is to get rid of him. I mean to
Speaker 1: to suppress him as much as possible. And I'm hoping
Speaker 1: that when you know, when you're looking at UM, and
Speaker 1: I'm a fan of ranked choice voting, and I think
Speaker 1: one of the things that you look at is it
Speaker 1: becomes harder to get to your percentages if you aren't
Speaker 1: a good candidate, if you aren't someone's you know, first
Speaker 1: or second or maybe top third choice. And in this
Speaker 1: in this case, I'm hoping that the other candidates really
Speaker 1: just dilute his numbers down, Um, and it goes away
Speaker 1: that way, because I think it's a really big mess
Speaker 1: for leadership to have to deal with him otherwise. I
Speaker 1: want to ask you about the governor's race here. I
Speaker 1: mentioned Charlie Baker. He's not going to be with us.
Speaker 1: He's uh, he's not running for reelection, which was a
Speaker 1: pretty big deal, Scott. Maybe you saw that coming, Um,
Speaker 1: but it looks like he's going to be spending more
Speaker 1: time talking about his book than you know, national politics
Speaker 1: as we move forward here, not that he was ever
Speaker 1: really talking about national politics. I mean he's like the
Speaker 1: unicorn Republican here, was never in the Trump zone, was
Speaker 1: not a fan when when this first came about, and
Speaker 1: doesn't even seem to agree on a lot of things
Speaker 1: with his own state party. What kind of a legacy
Speaker 1: does he leave before I ask you about replacing him? Yeah, um,
Speaker 1: I think a strong legacy. I mean, you know, the
Speaker 1: as a Democrat, I might say, well, he's frustrating on
Speaker 1: a number of fronts. He should be this, he should
Speaker 1: be that. But when you look at the reality of
Speaker 1: what people in Massachusetts think about the governor, he could
Speaker 1: easily we're just talking about this, he could be reelected
Speaker 1: as a Democrat if you write to that was clear.
Speaker 1: So you know, as we would say, he's doing something right,
Speaker 1: you know, the that to have those kinds of numbers
Speaker 1: and he leaves the state in a in a strong position. Um,
Speaker 1: I am gonna go out on a limb here and
Speaker 1: put my little Republican hat on and pretend to be
Speaker 1: a Republican strategist and say he should he should run
Speaker 1: for president because his path to the nomination he doesn't
Speaker 1: have to go through Donald Trump in the way that
Speaker 1: others do. Outside candidate. Now, there's much much smaller pool
Speaker 1: to the Reublican primary to come from. But his path
Speaker 1: is I think a lot clearer than take cruizes or
Speaker 1: Josh Holly's or other How how do you clear that field? Though?
Speaker 1: In a in a contestant, I can't wait to hear
Speaker 1: your views on this general. Larry Hogan in Maryland is
Speaker 1: kicking the tires at it. That's right. They have a
Speaker 1: lot in common. But Jennifer, this has become a different party.
Speaker 1: And they would call Charlie Baker a Democrat, I don't drunk,
Speaker 1: call him a rhino. Yeah, no, absolutely, And Scott, I'm
Speaker 1: sure if first Lady Lauren Baker is listening right now,
Speaker 1: she has a voodoo doll right now off the Christmas
Speaker 1: cards your that's it? Um, So you know, I think
Speaker 1: number one. I'm one of the governor's biggest fans. I
Speaker 1: would throw myself in front of a bus for him.
Speaker 1: I think he's amazing, he's brilliant. He's done a great
Speaker 1: job in Massachusetts. It has not been about sticking with
Speaker 1: the political the politics of the day. It's not political.
Speaker 1: It is about management, which is why Massachusetts the largest
Speaker 1: surplus in any state budget. Why is you know where
Speaker 1: if if it wasn't for COVID, we would be the
Speaker 1: most prosperous of every of every stage. Why at odds
Speaker 1: with the National Party because he doesn't he doesn't want
Speaker 1: to get involved in the politics. He's not falling into
Speaker 1: the Trump Oh we've got to hate everyone and and
Speaker 1: you know, say nasty comments. Instead, he is very focused
Speaker 1: on Massachusetts and that's why I don't know if he
Speaker 1: would even want to run for president. And you know,
Speaker 1: if he did, he would be a choice for others.
Speaker 1: He would be like the Chris Christie, like the you know,
Speaker 1: like others who out there and are not in the
Speaker 1: Trump mold, which I think is great. However, Um, I'm
Speaker 1: sad to see the governor go. I really was hoping
Speaker 1: he was going to run for a third term. He
Speaker 1: has been amazing. It's the end of of a dynasty here, um,
Speaker 1: and it will be interesting to see what the next
Speaker 1: four or eight years bring. Um. After this election, and
Speaker 1: on the Republican side, we have two candidates running. On
Speaker 1: the Democratic side, they have two candidates running. I think
Speaker 1: both Scott and I would agree that you know, there
Speaker 1: are maybe two people in this race on either side,
Speaker 1: that he should move on and allow the voters to
Speaker 1: hear the real issues that are going on. Well, let's
Speaker 1: get into that a little bit. By the way, Scott,
Speaker 1: you don't think Charlie Baker has national ambitions, do you?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't. I'm not privy to what
Speaker 1: is thinking. But you haven't assumed that he was going
Speaker 1: to make a dash for Washington. Uh. He just doesn't
Speaker 1: seem that kind of guy. Lo and behold, Marty Walsh
Speaker 1: is the one in Washington. But that's another question. Um,
Speaker 1: as far as this goes more, he Lee is the
Speaker 1: clear front runner on the Democratic side. Is that done?
Speaker 1: She's going to get this nomination. I think we should,
Speaker 1: frankly to swear in right now. The mainstream Canada underside
Speaker 1: at no, no, he was Donald Trump's campaign so called
Speaker 1: state what chairman in sixty and the only I remember
Speaker 1: going there from a Boston news outfit at the time,
Speaker 1: went to the Trump convention and he was the only
Speaker 1: person from mass there, not another member of the party.
Speaker 1: Show now right right, exactly, That's who Jeff Deal is.
Speaker 1: So Jeff Deal, it's all about politics, right, It's about
Speaker 1: throwing the Trump name around. You don't see him winning
Speaker 1: the trust. A news flash, we live in Massachusetts, So
Speaker 1: I mean that the Trump thing isn't isn't flying here.
Speaker 1: That's number one. Number two, we have a very interesting
Speaker 1: primary system, so we have fifty roughly fifty six percent
Speaker 1: of our electorate are actually unenrolled voters, so on primary
Speaker 1: day they can pay which primary they want to run
Speaker 1: that they want to vote in. And so here for us,
Speaker 1: I think that having someone who's so extreme can work
Speaker 1: the other way because for years and years I've always
Speaker 1: heard people who have said, I'm going to vote for
Speaker 1: the other person, not because I care about Republican politics
Speaker 1: or Democratic politics, but I don't want that person to
Speaker 1: show up on the ballot. And I think that that
Speaker 1: could be the case here. Chris Dowdy, who is the
Speaker 1: other candidate running, is much more in the Mitt Romney,
Speaker 1: paulse Lucci, Jane Swift, Bill Weld, and Charlie Baker competition.
Speaker 1: He can because I think he has a good grasp
Speaker 1: on business. He's a business owner, he has built his
Speaker 1: business from the ground up. He's a father, he's a grandfather,
Speaker 1: and so he's very in touch with what is going
Speaker 1: on in Massachusetts on the ground, and so he would
Speaker 1: be the one who would have a really good debate
Speaker 1: with her, a solid debate where they're both very smart
Speaker 1: people who could have a good date that it's not
Speaker 1: throwing around national politics and bring it into Massachusetts. There's
Speaker 1: no place for that. Whaley's got the cash though, Scott
Speaker 1: uh certainly name recognition and quite a story to tell
Speaker 1: with you know this David and Goliath attorney general from
Speaker 1: mass who sued all these massive corporations, including the opioid
Speaker 1: lawsuit that a lot of people can relate with. Could
Speaker 1: could there be a real Republican challenge You're ready to
Speaker 1: swear her in and where you swear in, but I
Speaker 1: think that would be nice if there's a Republican challenge.
Speaker 1: I certainly think with with Doudy, that's a much better
Speaker 1: better race you actually have. You could actually get into
Speaker 1: a policy discussion, which I think would be good and
Speaker 1: make whoever wins went make moraw when she wins the
Speaker 1: stronger governor. UM. But I do think you know, she
Speaker 1: both is extremely well liked, has done a great job
Speaker 1: as Attorney general Uh, and would be groundbreaking. James Swift
Speaker 1: was governor, but to elect the governor of Massachusetts l
Speaker 1: g pt Q is would be groundbreaking and I think
Speaker 1: we are very attractive. All right, we have less than
Speaker 1: a minute left. I'm gonna throw this at both of you.
Speaker 1: You'll just love me for it. I understand that the
Speaker 1: deadline to file as an independent is August. Marty Walsh, anyone,
Speaker 1: no st you know. I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: would have really liked that. Again, are unenrolled. I don't
Speaker 1: know if he leaves a solid job in d C
Speaker 1: for a prospect. And right he is everywhere in DC
Speaker 1: every time that he's real. I can't show up anywhere
Speaker 1: without saying Mr mayor, I mean secretary. Thank you so
Speaker 1: much to both of you, Scott, Jennifer, wonderful conversation. I
Speaker 1: told you we'd have some smart minds here. Thanks to
Speaker 1: Carry Goldberg as well, and leaves to Weiland from Massport.
Speaker 1: A special edition of Sound On This is Bloomberg