Perhaps the strongest evidence yet that a gubernatorial run isn’t in Michelle Wu’s future? Her latest call, as reported by the Globe, to repeal Proposition 2½ so local towns and cities can raise taxes without limits. Though it passed 35 years ago, Prop 2½ remains popular and calling for its repeal is considered political dynamite for anyone eyeing a statewide race. Wu must know this. … And that leads me to Gintautas Dumcius’s observation at MassterList last week that Wu, amid all the wild speculation about her future following her big election victory over Josh Kraft last month, might well be content with just being “mayor for life,” a point Hub Blog previously alluded to before hemming and hawing about her future. … Back to Wu’s repeal-Prop 2½ message: She’s talking like a mayor in search of ever more bucks, not a gubernatorial aspirant in search of statewide votes. She’s also talking like a true-believer ideologue, but we won’t get into that now.

— Active in 17 states, the left-wing Working Families Party is beefing up its presence here: “A new political party has come to Mass. Here’s their plan to make a mark” (MassLive)

— What’s their Plan B?: “Boston.com, the Globe’s free site since its launch 30 years ago, is adding a metered paywall.” (Media Nation)

— Weaponizing NIMBY-ism to resist Trump. Brilliant! “To Fight ICE, Portland’s Leaders Turn to What They Know Best: Zoning” (NYT)

— Peggy Noonan isn’t so sure anymore: “A Republic, but Can We Keep It?” (WSJ)

— This is absolutely ridiculous: “The Average Cost of a Family Health Insurance Plan Is Now $27,000” (WSJ)

— Meanwhile, they’re screwing up one of the few areas of health-care that’s actually been working: “The Medicare Advantage ecosystem is changing, and patients are caught in the middle” (Globe)

— Are they at all familiar with Aesop’s The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg? “Cambridge is raising its commercial property tax rate by 22 percent. (That’s not a typo.)” (Globe)

— The word ‘brazen’ comes to mind: “Immigrant who was grabbed by the regime, ordered released, then grabbed again is ordered released again” (Universal Hub)

— It’s basically using AI to expand AI’s potential within the sciences: “Why the whole world is watching one fast-growing Cambridge lab AI firm” (BBJ)

— I’m not sure about the effective part: “Resistance Is Cringe—But It’s Also Effective” (Atlantic)

Re this Globe bonbon to Michelle Wu: Let’s not get too carried away with her big preliminary-election triumph over Josh Kraft. Her 72 percent of the vote was indeed impressive, as mentioned by yours truly a few weeks ago. But putting it into perspective, the results follow a recent pattern of big mayoral re-election victories in Boston. 

There’s Ray Flynn’s 67 and 74 percent re-election vote outcomes in ’87 and ’91, respectively. Of course there’s Tom Menino, who racked up re-election vote returns of 71, 76, 67 and 57 percent in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009, respectively. And most recently Marty Walsh posted none-too-shabby re-election victories of 62 percent (in the preliminary election) and 65 percent (in the general election) in 2021.

All four mayors – Flynn, Menino, Walsh and Wu – were/are highly popular and re-elected because they delivered. Just pointing it out.

As a moderate, I’d love it if the Dems became the party of ‘angry centrism,’ or a left-of-center populism that rejects the current ideological extremes of both parties. And the NYT obviously thinks so too. … Of course, some party activists don’t like this. They prefer 160-year-old ideas and symbols, convincing themselves they’re so cool, new and original.

Update — Joe Klein doesn’t sound optimistic that Dems can purge themselves of identity politics.

At the NYT, Philip Mangano, the former executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness under President George W. Bush, has one of the best columns I’ve read in a while about how to deal with homelessness – and how the Trump administration is ignoring hard-learned lessons. … It should be noted that both the left and right have been screwing up on the homelessness issue ever since the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric hospitals in the 1970s, as Mangano writes. Ultimately, the solution involves simultaneously providing both housing and social/mental-health services. But I’ll let Mangano explain all that. 

This is what demutualization gets you. Granted, Eastern Bank’s Bob Rivers is downplaying the idea that his institution is for sale amid reports that an activist shareholder, HoldCo Asset Management, is pushing for Eastern to sell itself, preferably ASAP. Maybe Rivers, the bank’s highly respected executive chairman, sincerely doesn’t want to sell now or at any time. But c’mon. The die was cast five years ago when Eastern demutualized and became a publicly traded company. Rivers, who was CEO and chair at the time, knew what that potentially meant – and now that ‘potentially’ appears increasingly ‘likely,’ with or without Rivers, who has headed Eastern since 2017. … When it comes to demutualization of banks or insurance companies, I take the old “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” position. The demutualization of Boston’s John Hancock Insurance – and its controversial sale just three years later to Manulife — taught me that hard lesson. … The BBJ and B&T have more on the Eastern/HoldCo drama.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the Pats’ run this season. But it’s so much better knowing how miserable they are 200 miles away after yesterday’s dual debacles. … Cartoon above via the New Yorker. The Post page below via the obvious.

She was in over her head. And most everyone who follows state government knew it. Monica Tibbits-Nutt resigned yesterday as secretary of the state Department of Transportation, after a number of embarrassing and head-scratching controversies, including Plaza-gate. How bad was she? Ten months ago, Bruce Mohl at the Globe was describing her as a “timid shell of a Cabinet secretary at a time when a strong leader is needed.” And in the Globe’s news section Shannon Larson was reporting on her apparent tendency to curl up in a fetal position during key policy-making moments. … Needless to say, Tibbits-Nutt was increasingly becoming a political liability to Gov. Healey – and had to go.

Update — 10.21.25 – From the Globe: “Departing transportation secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said it was time to leave her ‘dream job’”

I was going to say that the Herald’s Peter Lucas was right about the GOP having three surprisingly solid novice candidates running for governor – even though none of them is likely to beat Maura Healey next year. But then I saw the image above via MassterList and thought, well, maybe they have two solid candidates. … Granted, Brian Shortsleeve’s campaign didn’t run the sorry digital ad portraying Gov. Maura Healey wearing a sombrero, an allegedly hilarious GOP antic borrowed from a certain Washington D.C. resident and other Republicans. But a Super PAC supporting Shortsleeve did run the ad, as MassterList reports.  … From a Charlie Baker devotee to MAGA groveler. It’s not that big of a leap these days.

— Our local version of the The Onion sums it up well: “President Biff Tannen threatens to take World Cup games away from ‘Boston’” (UH)

— And weekend traffic has increased even in eastern Massachusetts: “New Englanders Are Fed Up With Leaf-Peeping Tourists Ruining Their Fall” (WSJ)

— Breaking news: Dan Koh still wants to be a congressman: “With Moulton chasing Markey’s seat, candidates flood 6th District race” (WBUR)

— Economic historians will look back at this era and wonder: ‘What were they thinking’? “PayPal’s crypto partner mints a whopping $300 trillion worth of stablecoins in ‘technical error’” (CNBC)

— True, but there’s still comparatively great deals out west: “The Home-Price Crisis Came for Western Mass., and It Isn’t Leaving” (B&T)

— Another stereotype of Illinois proves all too true: “Illinois Gov. Pritzker reports $1.4 million in Las Vegas gambling winnings” (Washington Post)

— Not even Nixon went this far: “Trump Team Plans IRS Overhaul to Enable Pursuit of Left-Leaning Groups” (WSJ)

— Answer: yes: “Is it too early to discuss the P-word for the Patriots?” (MassLive)

— Maybe it’s the location?: “Thai place to replace Thai place that replaced Thai place in West Roxbury” (UH)