Thread by @MikeConnollyMA

Congresswoman @AyannaPressley, the Editorial Board of the @BostonGlobe, @MAPCMetroBoston, and 200,000 Massachusetts households at risk of eviction in the middle of a pandemic all agree: @MassGovernor should extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium. baystatebanner.com/2020/10/15/act…

The official announcement of Gov. Baker’s so-called “Eviction Diversion Initiative” says there will be direct financial support for "up to 18,000 households." Meanwhile, a recent analysis by @MAPCMetroBoston says an estimated "60,000 renter households fear imminent eviction."

This week the @BostonGlobe reported the Chief Justice of the Trial Court thinks there could be as many as 200,000 evictions. Last week @MassBudget cited a National Low Income Housing Coalition estimate that says up to 300,000 households in Massachusetts are at risk of eviction.

This week, the @bostonherald reported that Gov. Baker is “firing up the eviction machine” by hiring 15 retired judges, “to address the critical backlog of eviction cases throughout the Commonwealth ...until the Trial Court is up to date on eviction cases.” bostonherald.com/2020/10/13/cha…

Other key elements of Governor Baker’s plan — such as new legal support and community mediation programs — are still “several weeks” away from being fully operational. But the Notices To Quit and new and continued eviction cases will resume in a couple of days.

The Governor’s plan also relies on a @CDCgov order that offers a very thin layer of protection to a subset of at risk tenants through December 31. But @realDonaldTrump’s DOJ is actively working to undermine this order... inthesetimes.com/article/donald…

Under the Trump/CDC order, “Land­lords are still free to take ten­ants to court and secure evic­tion judgements,” and there’s no obligation for landlords to mention the order when sending a Notice To Quit. This week @inthesetimesmag said the order has created “mass confusion.”

Now #Somerville Mayor @JoeCurtatone is joining me in calling on @MassGovernor to extend the moratorium... commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/as-2d-…

And this afternoon @MassAGO @maura_healey joined us in calling on @MassGovernor to extend the Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium. wbur.org/news/2020/10/1…

At this hour @MassDPH is reporting the #COVID19 individual positive test rate has jumped to 5.8% — the highest that figure has been in months. Tomorrow, @MassGovernor will let the eviction moratorium expire — he says doing so will spare tenants from the risk of accumulating debt.