What is it about the Healey administration and big-bucks state contracts? First it was the MassPike service plaza debacle. Now it’s the ugly Springfield courthouse development/lease mess involving none other than Conan Harris, the ex-convict-turned-consultant hubby of U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and John Barros, the interim executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and former economic development czar for the city of Boston. Their joint partnership, CoJo Partners, has somehow — surprise, surprise! — latched onto Liberty Junction’s winning bid for the nearly $2 billion regional justice center contract, as the BBJ reports. … I don’t know which is more depressing. The Harris/Barros political connections or the fact Gov. Maura Healey is dismissing the controversy, as the Herald reports.

Update — 7.21.26 – From the Herald’s Joe Battenfeld: “Ayanna Pressley’s constituents deserve answers about her wealth.”

Update II –– 7.24.26 — The Globe’s editorial board questions the procurement process and thinks Barros’s involvement is more concerning than the Harris angle. They’re probably right, but how did Harris get involved in this project? It wasn’t because of his major construction project expertise, that’s for sure.