Welcome to Monday.

• We're catching you up on the Massachusetts race that has come under a spotlight, and, in lighter news, a top-tier crème brûlée Vietnamese coffee in Chinatown.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 58 and a low of 45.

Congrats to Friday's news quiz winners who the first to get 5/5 right: Gary Dodge, Alan Zarek, Vic Terawskyj, George Graw and Frances Sharples.

Today's newsletter is 1,071 words — a 4-minute read.

Shawn Oliver, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, suspended his campaign Sunday after being charged with drunk driving in New Bedford.

Catch up quick: Police say Oliver's vehicle hit five parked cars on Dartmouth Street around 11:40pm Saturday and overturned.

• Oliver, 42, a New Bedford city councilor, was treated at St. Luke's Hospital, according to the State House News Service.
• He faces OUI, negligent operation, marked lanes violation and speeding charges.

State of play: Running mate Mike Minogue urged Oliver to step aside Sunday and said he would seek his resignation if the pair win.

Reality check: Oliver's name will stay on the ballot. Early voting is underway, and hundreds of thousands of ballots have been submitted.

What's next: Oliver is due in court Monday for arraignment.

Read on

Deehan here with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics.

Before Oliver suspended his campaign Sunday, the most interesting thing in this year's LG race was the single debate held last week.

Why it matters: The debate captured the ins and outs of the governor's race better than the top-of-ticket matchup.

• This race is about voters' satisfaction — or lack of — with the job Gov. Maura Healey has done for the last four years.
• It'll also measure if there's any appetite in the electorate these days for a more conservative approach to running the state, or for a Republican who has supported President Trump.
• The LG debate gave insight on all of that, and the issues people are unsatisfied about, in a neat 30-minute package.

The latest: Oliver suspended his campaign hours after being charged with drunken driving following a Saturday night crash in New Bedford.

Catch up quick: Massachusetts lieutenant governors don't have much power on paper, but they have a habit of moving up, or at least trying to.

• Paul Cellucci took over in 1997 when William Weld resigned.
• Jane Swift was left as governor in 2001 when Cellucci became ambassador to Canada.
• LGs can also wield as much soft power within an administration as their boss will allow them.

State of play: Democratic Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll met Oliver on GBH News Boston Public Radio on Tuesday for their single debate.

The big picture: Driscoll ran the same playbook Healey used against Minogue in their debates this month.

• She repeatedly framed the race as a defense of Massachusetts against Trump administration policies and defended the state's PROTECT Act, which limits immigration enforcement in places like schools and hospitals.
• Oliver argued that coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement would prevent disorderly neighborhood arrests and some of the violence seen around other ICE actions.

Reality check: The Healey-Driscoll pitch rests on housing, economic development and standing up to Washington. Results have been mixed, but polling suggests voters are very willing to give the pair another term to figure it out.

Yes, but: Housing and energy costs remain a burden for many residents, and critics like Oliver and Minogue point to residents leaving the state over affordability.

The bottom line: Before the crash, Oliver and Minogue pitched a fiscal rethink, with some visible daylight between them.

• Voters weighing the tops of the ticket got a preview of the same argument from their No. 2s.
• With Oliver out of the race, the more conservative Minogue is left carrying his campaign alone.

Go deeper

🏈 The Patriots won yesterday's game against the New York Jets, 26-19, but lost three players to injuries in the process. (NBC Boston)

• A.J. Brown returned to the field after an ankle injury only to have dropped three passes during the game.

🚇 The MBTA removed the slow zones between Assembly Row and North Station after finishing signal upgrades. (WCVB)

• The improvements enable conductors to drive northbound trains up to 55 mph.

🥊 Amateur boxer Gilbert "Tonka" Kabamba, who lives and trains in Dorchester, is representing Team USA in the super heavyweight division in the PanAmerican Championships in Mexico this week. (Dorchester Reporter)

ICYMI: Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin's office reported a suspicious envelope arriving at the office Friday morning, the latest of several states to report concerning mailings. (WBUR)

Monday, 10/19

Brand New at Roadrunner brings their 20th anniversary tour of "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me" to the massive Brighton Music Hall, 7pm.

Tuesday, 10/20

The Thorn at the Boch Center - Wang Theatre opens a two-night run of a visually spectacular theatrical production that blends circus arts, drama and contemporary dance, 7pm.

Thursday, 10/22

Affordable Art Fair: First Look at SoWa Power Station in the South End kicks off a big four-day contemporary art market with pieces from 58 global galleries, 5-9pm.

• Check out the Art After Dark on Friday evening for an exclusive social event.

Hawthorne Heights at Citizens House of Blues Boston brings a wave of mid-2000s emo nostalgia to Lansdowne Street, celebrating the 20th anniversary of "If Only You Were Lonely," 6pm.

Friday, 10/23

Jim Gaffigan at the Boch Center - Wang Theatre kicks off the weekend with his "Everything is Wonderful!" tour, 7:30pm.

• What's next: He has additional shows on Saturday and Sunday.

Where: Chinatown, Boston

The order: The crème brûlée Vietnamese coffee.

• Why it matters to Deehan: In my ongoing quest to find Boston's best Vietnamese coffee, Cafe Darq comes in as a top-tier contender in the downtown category.
• The crème brûlée variety brings a torched, caramelized richness that balances well with the bold, traditional brew.

The big picture: It's great to see modern coffee iterations alongside the traditional eateries in Chinatown.

• Plus, it's a cute little cafe inside.

The people, places and traditions around you make this community home. Our reporting helps you stay connected to them and understand what's changing.

📍 Become a member today and help sustain local journalism for everyone in your community.

Thank you for making us part of your day.

Last week, we asked you to guess Townie's whereabouts.

• She was at District Hall, wondering when, or if, it would finally reopen.

Kudos to reader Dean C., who guessed it first.

Deehan is deeply invested in curating what's on the shelf behind him in his home office backdrop.

Steph needs to declutter their apartment.

This newsletter was edited by Mike Szvetitz.