The Massachusetts Democratic Get together is slamming the three Republican gubernatorial candidates for what they name “hypocrisy” relating to criticism of Gov. Maura Healey and her altering place on if she stopped two pure gasoline pipelines as legal professional basic.
In a scathing assertion despatched solely to the Boston Herald, MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan highlighted a 2016 letter to cease the pipeline tasks — signed by a number of Republican state lawmakers, in addition to a handful of endorsers of all three GOP gubernatorial campaigns.
“The Republican candidates for Governor love to twist Governor Healey’s record of advocating for an all-of-the-above approach to increase energy supply and lower costs,” Kerrigan stated. “So Mike Minogue, Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Kennealy have to reply to the details. Do they agree with their Republican endorsers who took the very same place as Maura Healey standing up for ratepayers towards company pipeline builders?
“Do they agree with their Republican colleagues that corporate developers should have to foot the bill to build the pipelines they profit from, not ratepayers?” the MassDems chair added.
MassDems stated the 2016 letter was signed by one endorser every of the Kennealy and Minogue campaigns, together with endorsers of the Shortsleeve marketing campaign.
For the Kennealy marketing campaign, MassDems named endorser and Republican state Rep. Kim Ferguson as one of many signers of the 2016 letter.
Geoff Diehl, a lately introduced endorser of the Minogue marketing campaign and former GOP candidate for Senate and governor, additionally signed the letter.
Shortsleeve endorsers — together with Republican state Rep. Marc Lombardo, former GOP state Rep. and present Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell, and former Republican state Rep. Kate Campanale and her husband, Republican state Sen. Peter Durant — all signed the letter as properly.
Kerrigan went on to defend then-AG Healey’s resolution, utilizing the identical rationalization supplied by the governor’s workplace that she stopped a “lousy deal” for ratepayers.
“The truth is that, as Attorney General, Maura Healey stood up for the ratepayers by preventing corporate developers from passing down the costs of building new pipelines onto them. This position was echoed by a bipartisan group of legislators, including many of the Republican candidates’ strongest supporters,” Kerrigan stated.
The April 2016 letter — despatched to then-Home Speaker Robert DeLeo — was led by Republican state Rep. Bradley Jones, now the Home Minority Chief, and Democratic state Rep. Stephen Kulik.
“The proposals to pay for the $5-8 billion cost for new pipelines by assessing a surcharge, tariff or tax on electricity customers are unprecedented. Ordinarily, the natural gas producers would be expected to pay for this infrastructure expansion, if the expected revenue from natural gas sales would justify the cost,” the letter stated.
“We look forward to working with you to support legislation that will create a diversified energy portfolio for our state, and reduce our over-reliance on natural gas. Substantial new pipeline infrastructure is inconsistent with our shared goals,” the letter added.
The three campaigns are firing again at Kerrigan, saying that Healey and MassDems are “gaslighting” voters.
“Maura Healey is gaslighting voters, but her record on energy costs is clear — she killed two pipelines that would have saved billions of dollars, she outlawed gas hookups to force homeowners to pay for more expensive energy sources, and she added billions to utility bills through state-mandated fees to support her radical climate agenda,” stated Shortsleeve marketing campaign strategist Holly Robichaud. “Brian Shortsleeve will put affordability first and reverse course on Healey’s punishing energy policy.”
Minogue marketing campaign spokesperson Erin Maguire tells the Herald that the revelation of the 2016 letter by MassDems is an try by Healey’s workplace to “cover up for their failures that penalized Massachusetts,” including that Minogue had no political involvement again when the letter was signed.
“Mike Minogue isn’t a politician. When Maura Healey was blocking energy infrastructure, Mike Minogue was running a business, creating jobs, and saving lives in Massachusetts. He entered this race because the same failed political class Healey represents has made life more expensive and left Massachusetts families struggling with some of the highest energy costs in the country,” Maguire stated.
“This is an attempt by Healey’s team to cover up for their failures that penalized Massachusetts and not a serious conversation about helping families pay their bills. Voters want solutions and accountability, not excuses or political games from the politicians who created the problem in the first place,” she stated.
As for the Kennealy marketing campaign, communications director Logan Trupiano warned voters to not let themselves be distracted from Healey’s altering stance on the pipeline situation, additionally taking a shot at MassDems for stating the 2016 letter to start with.
“Don’t be distracted from one simple fact: Maura Healey lied to the press and to the public just weeks ago when she claimed she didn’t block two energy pipelines. She has offered three different explanations for what she did. MassDems would be better off, asking her to clarify her position, then asking us,” Trupiano stated. “Maura Healey has a climate agenda. Mike Kennealy has a plan to make energy bills affordable for all residents.”
The assertion from MassDems comes after Healey once more modified her stance on accepting accountability for stopping the pipelines. In a one-on-one interview with NBC Boston over the weekend, the governor acknowledged that she stopped the pipeline tasks, saying she did so as a result of it was a “lousy deal” for ratepayers.
“They were a lousy deal for ratepayers and I’ve got to stand up for people in Massachusetts. I thought it was wrong for ratepayers, people, residents, taxpayers in Massachusetts to foot the bill for those pipelines, instead of the pipeline companies,” Healey advised the community.
Final month, when requested if her stoppage of the pipelines has contributed to hovering power costs within the Bay State, Healey deflected blame, saying, “Well, first of all, I didn’t do that,” earlier than happening to put the blame on President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian items.
