2023 means a major shakeup in Massachusetts state government and politics. Two-term Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey is preparing to replace outgoing two-term Republican Governor Charlie Baker. Healey has been naming cabinet officials and working with incoming Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll to staff up the administration. Massachusetts also has a new attorney general and state auditor on the way, and Democrats held overwhelming majorities on Beacon Hill after November’s midterms.
For analysis, WAMC's Ian Pickus spoke with Matt Murphy of State House News.
So, I know we talked about Governor Baker months ago, but now that his exit is finally here, how are you summing up his two terms in an office?
Yeah, well, you know, I mean, it's hard to look at the governor leaving with the popularity that he is, and think that he hasn't done at least something right. I think a lot of that stems from the fact that he has been able to keep government moving forward, limit the bad headlines, limit the unforced errors. And he projects as someone who really cares about this job, and I think he does, and I think that's why people like him. With that said, he's certainly accomplished a great deal. But there are also some things left undone, notably the MBTA, transportation problems that persist, and some of these issues are going to trickle over into the new administration.
What did you make of the announcement that Baker will now head the NCAA?
Yeah, I mean, I think like a lot of people, I was surprised. It caught me off guard. Not because I don't think it's a fit, because I think if you take a step back and look at it, on some levels, it does make a lot of sense and we heard from the search committee, the president of Baylor University and others to what they were looking for with someone with connections in politics, someone with experience running a big organization, and also someone with experience bringing together disparate voices. And that's certainly something you have to do in government, when you're working with a legislature, when you're working with 351 cities and towns and communities. So, on that level, it makes a lot of sense. Also, given his deep connections and family roots in college athletics, him having played basketball at Harvard, his wife, being a college athlete, his two sons, being college athletes, but I think where the surprise came in was, after he decided to step away from the governor's office and not seek a third term, he's been talking like someone who perhaps needed a break. He was talking about his grandchild is due in February, I think a lot of us thought that he was going to take a bit of time off, before he dived into something and this is a big pool to dive into. A big national profile here running an organization that, frankly, has a lot of issues and a lot of challenges confronting it right now.
So, Baker and Healey had warm things to say about each other, just after the election. How is the transition going as we get closer to Healey taking the reins?
Yeah, as far as I think we know, as far as I know, I think the transition is going smoothly. I know that the Healey team has been meeting with Baker cabinet secretaries and others, getting up to speed and working on that transition. I think some of it has been a little slowed by the fact that Healey has been slow herself to build out her cabinet, which is not giving some of these top-level senior officials in the incoming administration, a lot of time to sit down with the people who have the jobs now, and get those questions answered. But it's not like these people are going anywhere. I think that the information, the institutional knowledge will be there, should the new Healey administration have questions when they come in.
What do we know about the personnel that Healey is looking at in hiring so far? It seems to me a lot of the people are coming over from her attorney general's office. Is that right?
Yeah, I think that has stood out to me as well. I think from her senior staff that she's hired; she's bringing over Kate Cook as her Chief of Staff, Gabe Viator as her Senior Advisor and some of the cabinet picks you're seeing people that she has worked with either directly from the Attorney General's Office moving across the street to the statehouse now to lead agencies like the Executive Office of Energy Environmental Affairs, or she's grabbing people who she's worked with in the past. Her new Climate Advisor coming back to Massachusetts from the EPA to join the Healey administration after working in the Attorney General's Office. So yeah, she's building a team of people that she is comfortable with and familiar with. People she has worked with, and trust and we'll see if that serves her well.
What kind of portfolio will the new Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll have in this administration?
I think that's going to be interesting to watch. I mean, we got accustomed to seeing Lieutenant Governor Polito be the sort of eyes and ears for Governor Baker out on the road in a liaison to cities and towns across Massachusetts. We've heard Lieutenant Governor elect Kim Driscoll say she wants to play a similar role and of course, that would make a lot of sense, given her background coming from as the mayor of Salem currently to this job. I think you'll probably see her continue to fill that role to some degree. But I think we may see her take on some other issues in her portfolio. I think Healey has alluded to that. I think we just don't know yet how big of a force she will be in the new administration, but I think what we've seen so far from the two of them is that they are trying to approach this together. This is not Healy going off on her own doing events. They've been to a lot of places together and I think we're going to see a lieutenant governor elect Driscoll quite involved in the new administration.
What do we know about what Healey's top priorities will be? I mean, what are her plans for the early weeks and months of her administration?
Yeah, she’s got a couple of things right off the bat to deal with. She's talked about restructuring her administration and she will have to file something right away to accomplish that. The legislature will have to approve. What I'm thinking of is she wants to create a new Secretary of Housing, and split that off from the Executive Office of Economic Development. So that will be one thing. She's also talks about affordability, of course, being her top priority. What that will mean in the short term, I think, is she will get to work on putting together her budget, and we may or may not hear her talk about tax relief. This is something she said she's wants to pursue. She liked a lot of the proposals the governor put on the table last session, proposals that the legislature even adopted. Things like reforms to the estate tax, higher deductions for renters, and seniors, senior property owners and homeowners. But these are things that didn't get done because of the confusion at the end of the session over the 3 billion in tax rebates that went out and how much the state could afford. So, I think a lot of people are looking to hear from her on tax relief and this could become part of her first budget, which incoming Secretary of Administration and Finance Matt Gorzkowicz is already getting to work on and this is due March 1. So, I think that is the first big thing that we will look for from Healey and her team.
Let's talk about the legislature now. What is the dynamic heading into the new term among lawmakers on Beacon Hill and how are they likely to interact with the new governor?
Yeah, this is another area where you have to go back eight years to remember when the legislature had a Democratic governor in office but that dynamic is not always what you might think. As we start this session, of course, now, Speaker Mariano and Senate President Spilka have had some time working together. There’s a little more familiarity there as they start this next session. So that relationship is sort of formed. But the dynamic with a Democratic governor can be different. With a Republican governor, you know, the legislature feels like they can kind of run the show. They certainly worked with Governor Baker over the years and there are some levers that a governor can pull to exert his influence, but that's different with a Democratic governor. I think everyone expects them all to get along and be on the same page and pursue one common agenda, but I don't think that's going to be the case. The question will be how easily and smoothly can Healey talk with these leaders, work with them and get them to come along to some of the things she wants to do, versus fighting with them. I think, you know, we saw former Governor Deval Patrick, at times would clash with the Democratic leaders in charge at the time. It may have taken a little bit before it got to that point, but you know, the honeymoon could be short.
So, just one more thing. Obviously, you've been watching Maura Healey in a different role for the last two terms as attorney general. It's a different position, obviously, with different demands on it, but has anything that she's done as attorney general give us hints as to how she will govern?
That’s a great question. I mean, it's certainly a different role. I think, in some respects, it's a little more public facing. At the Attorney General's office, she was able to pick her spot and highlight the things that she was passionate about, like her work against taking on Purdue Pharma or Exxon or the Trump administration. I think when you're governor, you're kind of forced to be out there with an opinion on every issue. I think she's been somewhat careful and perhaps she has been careful in the Attorney General's office as well. She has built these cases and she's been successful, but I think she knows when she has the case and when she doesn't. I think as she's transitioning into this governor's role, she's been careful in what she said, she has not tried to get out too far over skis and kind of signal where she's going on a number of issues to the frustration of some people who want to know exactly what policies she's going to put forward and she's kind of keeping it close to the vest. So, I think some of the public relations of the governor's office is going to be a learning curve for her but on the policy front, I think, you know, if she surrounds herself with a good team, we've seen governors in the past, as long as they have the people there that they can lean on the transition can go pretty smoothly.
