Coakley Proposes Council To Study Safety Threats

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.

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 also ran for governor but did not receive enough support at the party convention to advance to the primary.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Charlie Baker, meanwhile, planned to make an urban policy announcement during a campaign stop in Boston on Wednesday.