The annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast returned to an in-person event in South Boston Sunday, breaking a pandemic pause with jokes, music and awkwardness from some of Massachusetts' most prominent political figures.
Returning to normal was a recurring theme for speakers at the breakfast, organized by state Sen. Nick Collins, holder of "the Southie seat" that typically hosts the event.
"It's great to be back in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center here in South Boston, live and in-person without masks, and some of us, self respect," the senator quipped before launching into a rendition of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," with lyrics inspired by Gov. Charlie Baker's pandemic response. (“We don’t need no vaccination cards / Whatever happened to local control?”)
In his final head table appearance as governor, Baker, who is not seeking re-election, poked fun at the idea of nepotism in state government.
"There will be a new governor and lieutenant governor here in Massachusetts, and I'm sure one of the things they'll do when they take office is start flipping through the payroll," Baker said, pointing to the 40,000 employees in the executive branch. "You're probably going to find a lot of 'Collinses' in there. They're all qualified, they came by it honestly, there's nothing going on there, so just leave those ones alone," the governor said to laughter.
The outgoing executive also said he was proud of the people of Massachusetts for their compassionate, community-driven response to the pandemic.
"Despite the brutality and the trauma and the disruption and the isolation and all the other stuff that came with this very challenging — and at times, tragic — time, folks were good to each other," Baker said.
Senate President Karen Spilka landed laughs by presenting Baker with an inflatable duck in honor of his "lame duck" status and laying out a mock schedule for the man seeking to be his successor, Republican Geoff Diehl.
"9 a.m., anti-science rally. 11 a.m. Capitol insurrection," she said to laughter. "2 p.m. — and don't worry Geoff, you'll make this — you'll make it to your book burning at 2 p.m," Spilka said.
In her first turn at the head table, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu landed a few laughs by making light of the consistent protests in front of her Roslindale home over the COVID-19 vaccine measures implemented when she became mayor.
"I am proud to be the first mom elected to this office in Boston. It comes with the good and the bad," Wu said to applause. "This morning, I woke up, once again to the sound of children throwing a tantrum. Thankfully, [my sons] Blaise and Cass usually sleep right through it, but those protesters do get loud."
Perhaps the riskiest joke of the afternoon came from At-Large Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who attempted a wisecrack about Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley's absence from the event.
"Someone told me she's on a vacation with her dear friend Monica Cannon-Grant," Flaherty said, referencing the prominent local nonprofit leader recently indicted for fraud. "They're the Boston version of Thelma and Louise," he said to a collective groan.
Norfolk County Treasurer Michael Bellotti scored the most laughs of the afternoon with a range of jokes, including a bit with intercepted mock letters.
"Dear Mayor Wu, thank you so much for courageously adhering to the strictest COVID restrictions possible for the city of Boston and putting public health before all other selfish interests. Please don't cave in. Signed by Mayor Tom Koch and the Quincy restaurant association," Bellotti said.
"Dear Boston Globe, I told you I was a better choice for Bostonian of the Year. Signed by everybody in Boston," Bellotti said, referring back to Cannon-Grant and her recent indictment.
State senator and gubernatorial candidate Sonia Chang-Díaz played on work-from-home habits in the pandemic, putting a laundry basket and children's toys around the event podium. "Now we can begin," she said.
Chang-Díaz also joked about her opponent's large war chest. Attorney General Maura Healey, who's currently leading in polls, is sitting on $4.2 million, according to the latest state political finance figures. Chang-Díaz has about 8% of Healey's total.
"You could use that money to endear yourself to our esteemed elected leaders, you could spring for some sound-proofing for Michelle's house, you could take on an even bigger challenge and buy Nick Collins some singing lessons...you could do President Spilka and Speaker [Ron] Mariano a favor and fund that training to finally teach members of the state Legislature how to use the mute button on Zoom," she said.
Notable absences included U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Congressmen Stephen Lynch, who is leading a bipartisan, seven-member delegation to Poland that has called for more military aid to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian invasion.
