Mike Kennealy, a Republican candidate for governor and former housing and financial improvement secretary, blasted the Healey administration for focusing on cities and cities that don’t abide by a controversial transit-oriented zoning legislation with authorized motion.
In an interview with the Herald, Kennealy stated he wouldn’t advocate for the repeal of a contentious shelter legislation however fairly push for additional reforms. He additionally described a 2017 immigration-related state court docket ruling as a “real problem,” and vowed to work with President Donald Trump if elected governor.
Kennealy, who served as secretary below former Gov. Charlie Baker, stated he didn’t “foresee a scenario where we’d be suing cities and towns” over the MBTA Communities Act, which requires some municipalities to zone no less than one district close to a transit hub for multi-family housing.
“I never would have thought in a million years the dialog would be what it is now on that one — mandates, threats, lawsuits,” he stated. “That’s not how we get things done in Massachusetts. You have to work with cities and towns.”
The legislation has develop into a flashpoint in Massachusetts, with a collection of cities and cities voting to not adjust to its provisions. In a single high-profile case, Legal professional Basic Andrea Campbell took the City of Milton to court docket over the municipality’s determination to buck the statute.
The Healey administration has additionally withheld grant {dollars} from cities and cities who’re out of compliance, a transfer that’s allowed below the legislation however has riled native leaders who say the held-up money is important for native tasks or initiatives.
A spokesperson for Campbell didn’t reply to an inquiry, and a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey referred the Herald to the Massachusetts Democratic Celebration.
Massachusetts Democratic Celebration Chair Steve Kerrigan stated Kennealy “has no credibility on this issue.”
“His job was to lower the cost of housing, and instead housing prices skyrocketed and he botched his own guidelines under the MBTA Communities Act — another mess that he left that had to be cleaned up by the Healey-Driscoll administration,” Kerrigan stated in an announcement.
Kennealy was concerned within the early implementation of the MBTA Communities Act
Kennealy has been concerned with the zoning legislation because it was signed by Baker in 2021. However the former secretary stated he didn’t draft the measure nor initially advocate for its passage.
The MBTA Communities Act stems from a profitable modification to the Senate’s model of a 2020 financial improvement invoice. The zoning language survived closed-door negotiations between lawmakers and finally landed earlier than Baker, who authorised it.
However regardless that Kennealy and the Baker administration didn’t suggest the MBTA Communities Act, they had been liable for implementing it.
The Baker administration started producing rules shortly after it was signed into legislation, and the Healey administration issued remaining pointers in August 2023.
The state’s highest court docket later struck down the rules in early January 2025, ruling officers ran afoul of state legislation that requires state businesses to comply with sure steps to advertise public enter and understanding when producing pointers.
“We never proposed it, didn’t ask for it, didn’t advocate to get it done,” Kennealy stated. “But it landed with us, and Gov. Baker’s charge to me and my team was make the compliance framework as flexible as possible. And so we view this as a tool in the toolbox for cities and towns to deliver the housing they wanted.”
Kennealy says he wouldn’t attempt to repeal right-to-shelter
The 57-year-old Republican from Lexington stated he wouldn’t advocate for repealing the state’s right-to-shelter legislation. The decades-old statute is the idea for emergency help shelters housing households with youngsters, pregnant ladies, and migrants.
Kennealy stated he would as an alternative argue for extra restrictions to be positioned on the system and to return this system to its “original intent.” He stated reforms applied by the Healey administration and Legislature over the previous yr have moved the state “in the right direction.”
“I think it’s just got to be clear. Let’s go back to the original intent (of right-to-shelter), which is a noble one by the way … protect Massachusetts families,” he stated. “Whatever the specific language or statute is. Let’s get back to that. That’s what we want to do.”
Healey has lengthy argued that she “inherited” a poorly managed, unsustainable shelter system from the Baker administration that was slammed by a surge of newly arrived migrants to Massachusetts.
However Kennealy, who as housing secretary below Baker oversaw the system till he left in early January 2023, stated he tried to warn Beacon Hill lawmakers that money for shelters was operating low and the variety of households within the system was rising.
“Governors always inherit crises,” he stated in response to Healey. “Was some of the stuff happening before we left office? For sure. But again, that’s why we warned the Legislature about this.”
The variety of households within the state-run emergency shelter system began to escalate throughout the remaining yr of Kennealy’s time as housing and financial improvement secretary. Caseload dramatically elevated within the second half of 2024 however has since began to say no this yr.
Courtroom ruling on civil immigration detainers wants reform, Kennealy says
Like different Republicans on Beacon Hill this legislative session, Kennealy stated he needs to set his sights on a 2017 Supreme Judicial Courtroom ruling that bars legislation enforcement in Massachusetts from detaining folks primarily based solely on suspected civil immigration violations.
Critics of the choice have argued it gives “sanctuary” protections to undocumented immigrants dwelling within the state. However supporters say it doesn’t impede the work of federal immigration officers and as an alternative units clear boundaries for his or her interactions with native authorities.
Kennealy stated the ruling, often known as the Lunn determination, is a “real problem,” although he wouldn’t specify what he believes needs to be carried out aside from he usually helps laws that reworks what the state’s highest court docket determined.
“That has to change in our view. There’s got to be more cooperation,” he stated. “I haven’t got too deep into it yet. I just feel like it’s just crying out for cooperation and a different framework.”
Kennealy says he may have a unique ‘approach’ to Trump than Healey
Kennealy, who as a Republican operating in Massachusetts must stroll a political tightrope in the case of Trump, stated his method to working with the president “will be different than Maura Healey’s approach.”
“I think her approach is to oppose the president,” he stated. “My approach will be to want to work with the president, because I think a governor has to work with the president to get things done for their state. So there will be a difference of approach in that regard.”
A day after Kennealy launched his marketing campaign for governor, the Massachusetts Democratic Celebration labeled him “MAGA Mike” and stated the previous Baker administration official would function a conduit for Trump’s insurance policies to circulation into Massachusetts.
Kennealy stated there’s a want to “label me and put me on a political spectrum associated with one politician versus the other.”
“It’s my campaign and it’s how I see the issues,” he stated.
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