Governor Maura Healey spent one of her last days on the campaign trail in western Massachusetts this week, as the Democrat tries to head off a challenge by Republican candidate Mike Minogue.
Her bid for re-election has included emphasis on affordability and housing. It's also featured lightning rods, like the Springfield Regional Justice Center project.
Healey has repeatedly defended the project and its process, which involves the state offering a potential 40-year and 2 billion-dollar contract to a developer.
While in Holyoke Thursday, WAMC Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos asked the governor if she was prepared for the project to become a campaign sticking point, as well as how Western Massachusetts figures into her own administration and the state of her reelection bid.
Healey: You know, I'm feeling great. The lieutenant governor and I, we've been all over the state - we spent a lot of time in the 413, in Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire [counties].
And certainly, we're speaking to the things that I think most people are feeling right now - affordability's gone up in this country and our policies and what we're trying to do every day is working to lower costs and make life easier for folks at a time when it's really hard.
There are certain things happening at the federal level that are beyond our control, but, as governor, my job is to stand up for people in the state, stand up for our residents, stand up for our economy and try to move forward.
Paleologopoulos: I recall early on in the campaign, a lot of talk about affordability, a lot of talk about housing plans. At this juncture, what has the message morphed into?
Healey: I don't think my message has changed. In fact, I don't think my message has changed from four years ago, when I got in.
Look, I'm the first governor in 20 years to cut taxes. I doubled the circuit breaker for seniors. Now, families with kids are getting $440 back per child in a household. I did tax credits for farmers and for housing developers so we could build more affordable homes and market-rate homes.
My message on affordability hasn't changed, and with what's going on with Donald Trump - the tariffs, the war - it's driving up the cost of everything, which is why our continued focus on affordability is still the #1 thing.
Of course, the last two years of Donald Trump - with his terrible slashing of health care funding, cuts to education, to infrastructure and so much - obviously, him putting ICE into communities and scaring kids from going to school and people from going to the doctors… this is also a moment - not only do you have to fight for people and work to lower costs every day, build more homes so we can lower housing prices - you also have to stand up to Donald Trump because he's doing real harm to our residents and to our economy.
Paleologopoulos: So, we're, of course, speaking in Holyoke. You've been going up and down the lower Pioneer Valley today. In your administration, what kind of real estate does Western Mass. take up in it?
Now the reason I ask this is because I was at the MassMutual Center for that convention on tourism [last year]. [There are] a lot of reasons to come out here of western Mass. for a trip - and yet we also have some pretty unique issues.
We've got school funding formulas hitting rural schools. We've got how the Quabbin [Reservoir’s] water is divvied up. When it comes to your administration, how do you tackle western Mass.?
Healey: Well, first of all, I love western Mass. I started my campaign for Attorney General in western Mass. and as governor, my commitment to western Mass. has remained strong.
You raise really good points - there are unique challenges for western Mass. I want to change the funding formula so that our towns, in particular our rural areas, do better, and that definitely affects western Mass. – that’s something that we need to do. I'm talking about our funding formula for our schools.
I have tried to do things like give more money to childcare providers in western Mass. For years, they were getting paid less than our childcare providers in eastern Mass., and that just doesn't work.
I've increased the funding for childcare centers in western Mass, increased funding for transportation - I'm about equity and making sure that western Mass., which I think there's a feeling it's been left behind and not considered on Beacon Hill, but that has not been the case under my administration.
I think the issues you raise - around water, that's really important. I put together a commission on the Quabbin because we've got to take care of our Quabbin communities.
I think about things like battery storage and data centers - my teams are out there and the operating principle is: look, if a community says “no,” a data center is not going to be built.
Giving western Mass. communities a voice in our policy making, in our funding, is always going to remain top of mind to me.
Paleologopoulos: The idea of a west-east divide [in Massachusetts] - the word “equity” is kind of in vogue right now, people use it a whole awful lot - but it carries a lot of meaning. In your mind, is there an east-west divide? And if so, how do you address it? If not, why do people think that?
Healey: I can just speak for my administration and in what I've done today - I'm out in Holyoke – we just built the Veterans’ Home in Holyoke. I'm so proud of that work and that investment to honor our veterans, including those who were so tragically lost during COVID.
I think about the $93 million dollar investment we're making in the convention center in Springfield.
We’ve worked with [Congressman] Richie Neal in securing… and also our own state funding to support west-east rail, east-west rail, as well as Compass Rail and the Northern Tier project. These are important investments. Look at the Berkshire Flyer - we've increased service there. These are all really important.
We're also investing in businesses and business growth. I spent a lot of time talking to businesses about what a wonderful place [it is] to expand … in western Mass., where we've got a skilled workforce, great quality of life and the capacity as well. And I see what's happening – there’s great opportunity.
I'll tell you one thing we've done that's really helped: I think making community college free - we see people returning to community college programming, and they are setting themselves up for success in their career and in workforce.
I've talked to so many employers who are benefiting already from that and a pipeline of workers. So these are just some of the investments that I've made in western Mass., and I'm going to continue to make. To me, Massachusetts is Massachusetts - each region is different, but each region needs its own care and attention and focus and investment.
Paleologopoulos: Were you surprised to see the Springfield courthouse become the campaign issue that it's become?
Healey: Yeah, it did surprise me. You know, that was a pretty standard procurement process - it's handled independently, it's evaluated objectively and the scoring was what it was.
There were a lot of people who put in bids - I understand there were losing bidders who didn't like that they lost and a couple of them took to filing suits, which the court threw out. I don't know what's going to happen going forward, but look, I wasn't involved with the selection nor the process, but it was a standard procurement process.
[The Liberty Junction bid] was the one that was going to save taxpayers the most money - $300 million. It's a great location, right next to transportation, and it's going to be a great economic driver, too.
I mean, already, they have been talking to many of the unions - this will be a union project: great family-sustaining jobs that we're creating and also, it's going to bring vibrancy and activity to that area. That's going to be great for Springfield and their tax base.
Paleologopoulos: Your opponent has certainly brought up the courthouse. In terms of this race, how do you size up Mike Minogue?
Healey: You know, I think he's just grasping at straws. I mean, he's using the dispute over the courthouse as a political effort, on his part.
As you know, he's a self-funding candidate who spent $20 million in this race. He gave a million bucks to Trump to get him re-elected, and he's a lot of things that I'm not. Throughout this whole campaign, he did not put forward a housing policy, an economic development policy, a public safety policy and if you want to be governor, you’ve got to lead and you got to be ready to lead from day one.
Not everybody's going to agree with what I do and sometimes, I get it wrong. But you know what? I'm going to stand for the people of Massachusetts and keep working hard for folks every day and, hopefully, people will see fit to return me come Tuesday.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey spoke with WAMC Thursday, Oct. 29, ahead of a rally in Holyoke.
A recent University of Massachusetts Lowell poll found Healey maintains a 28-point lead over Minogue, 57%-29%. Most polling since mid-September has shown Healey leading Minogue by at least 20 percentage points.
