Massachusetts AG Coakley Proposes Council to Study Safety Threats

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley says if elected governor she’ll tap two former Democratic rivals to head a new council to study emergency preparedness in Massachusetts.

Coakley announced Wednesday that she has asked Don Berwick and Juliette Kayyem to lead a Preparedness Council to evaluate the state’s readiness to handle public safety and health threats, including the possibility of Ebola.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, meanwhile, released on Wednesday a list of urban initiatives, which included a call to lift a state cap on charter schools and tax credits for small businesses.

Berwick, a physician and former federal health administrator, finished behind Coakley and state Treasurer Steven Grossman in the September primary. Kayyem is a former state and federal homeland security official who did not receive enough support at the party convention to advance to the primary.