Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA government and enterprise capitalist who’s contemplating working for governor, stated if elected, he would push state lawmakers to repeal a transit-oriented multi-family housing legislation that has generated controversy in cities and cities throughout the state.
The 52-year-old Barnstable Republican didn’t supply a timeline for when he plans to decide about working for governor — “stay tuned” — however as a substitute outlined his ideas on challenges officers throughout Massachusetts are going through, together with the MBTA Communities Act.
Shortsleeve stated the MBTA housing legislation, which requires some municipalities to zone at the very least one district close to a transit hub for multi-family housing, is “a classic example of administrative overreach.”
“It’s a one-size-fits-all law. It doesn’t respect local differences in terms of infrastructure and everything else,” he stated in an interview this previous week. “We should be creating incentives for communities to build in areas we want to build. It should be the carrot. It should not be the stick.”
The statute turned a flashpoint in Massachusetts after some cities and cities voted to not adjust to its provisions. In a single notable case, Legal professional Common Andrea Campbell took the City of Milton to court docket over its choice to buck the legislation.
Gov. Maura Healey, who plans to run for reelection subsequent 12 months, has additionally withheld grant {dollars} from municipalities which might be out of compliance, a transfer that’s allowed below the legislation however has riled native leaders who argue the held-up money is crucial for initiatives or initiatives.
Shortsleeve stated it’s “critical” that Massachusetts construct housing inventory, however the MBTA Communities Act is “not the way to do it.”
“I would send it right back to the drawing board and start over,” he stated. “Let’s get focused on using incentives to drive housing development. Let’s get focused on state land that’s vacant. Let’s get focused on transit-oriented development.”
Massachusetts Democratic Celebration Chair Steve Kerrigan slammed Shortsleeve.
“Brian Shortsleeve’s disastrous record as manager of the MBTA and chair of Trump loyalist Ron DeSantis’ campaign will be disqualifying to voters. He was a failure then, and he’d be a failure as governor,” Kerrigan stated in a press release to the Herald.
Massachusetts has a ‘spending problem’
Shortsleeve, who’s certainly one of a number of Republicans within the combine forward of the 2026 elections, stated he believes Massachusetts is coping with three main points — an inflow of migrants costing the state billions, unaffordability, and outmigration of residents.
He stated the throughline between these issues is overspending by Democrats on Beacon Hill.
“We’ve got to get state spending under control. We’ve got to reduce taxes. We’ve got to reduce fees. We’ve got to get the private sector growing again. That’s going to take a new governor to do that,” he stated.
The state’s annual price range has grown by practically 30% since fiscal 12 months 2022, when Massachusetts lawmakers accredited a $47.9 billion spending doc. Healey rolled out a $62 billion fiscal 12 months 2026 price range in January that boosted spending by 7.4% over the earlier fiscal 12 months.
The Home adopted swimsuit with a $61.4 billion spending plan for fiscal 12 months 2026 that will increase spending by 6.6%, and the Senate launched a $61.3 billion price range that bumps spending by 6.3%.
Democratic lawmakers have stated well being and human service packages like MassHealth are a significant driver of elevated spending within the state price range.
Shortsleeve knocked Healey’s price range proposal for together with a sequence of tax will increase, like making use of the gross sales tax to sweet.
“She’s chomping at the bit to raise taxes,” he stated. “When I look at our state, I don’t think we have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.”
Shortsleeve voted for President Donald Trump
Shortlseeve has an extended historical past of donating to Republican causes on the nationwide and native stage. He has additionally shuttled cash to Democrats in Massachusetts, like Campbell and U.S. Reps. Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton.
He held a fundraiser in 2023 for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid that helped elevate greater than $500,000. He was additionally appointed to DeSantis’ nationwide finance committee for his presidential marketing campaign.
Shortsleeve didn’t straight say why he bought concerned with DeSantis’ unsuccessful presidential run when pressed by the Herald. He as a substitute pointed to his time at Harvard College within the Nineties, when he stated he and DeSantis advocated for the college to maintain its ROTC program.
“I’m very proud to have been a member of the Advocates for Harvard ROTC, which is a group today that still advocates on behalf of ROTC. Gov. DeSantis is a member of that group, and it’s been a great effort,” Shortsleeve stated.
Shortsleeve additionally praised DeSantis’ dealing with of Florida’s financial system.
“If you look at the growth of that state, I think the economy has been terrific. The growth has been terrific,” he stated. “But this election is not about Florida. It’s not about national issues. It’s about Massachusetts. It’s about how Massachusetts is going to start growing again.”
Requested if he voted for President Donald Trump, Shortsleeve stated he backed the Republican ticket.
“I vote number one as a Marine, number two as a businessman. That means what I vote for is I vote to secure the border. I vote to reduce taxes. I vote to deregulate the economy so small businesses can grow, and I vote to eliminate waste and abuse in government. So I voted the ticket,” he stated. “I supported the ticket.”
MBTA was a ‘target-rich environment’ for saving cash
Shortsleeve served as chief administrator of the MBTA from July 2015 to July 2017 and was a member of the previous Fiscal Administration and Management Board from July 2017 to July 2020.
Shortsleeve stated Baker referred to as him after the MBTA collapsed in 2015 below relentless snowstorms to assist handle the company’s monetary well being.
The MBTA, in response to Shortlseeve, had a $335 million forecasted deficit when he walked into the transit company.
“We had a warehouse operation that took six days to move a bus … from Everett to Lynn. Amazon.com can do that in a day. That was driving some of the highest bus maintenance costs in the country. We had individuals claiming more overtime than there are literally waking hours in the day,” he stated.
Shortsleeve additionally took credit score for advancing the Inexperienced Line Extension mission after the “feds had killed it” and officers had run over price range. He additionally pointed to his work increasing a contract with a Chinese language-owned firm to ship new Orange and Crimson Line automobiles.
“We stopped that project. We rebid it, and two and a half years later, it was completed on time and under budget. The Green Line Extension today moves people from Downtown Crossing up to Tufts,” he stated.
The $2.3 billion mission has confronted myriad points, together with slim and faulty tracks that MBTA officers knew about way back to April 2021. The take care of Chinese language producer CRRC for brand new prepare automobiles has confronted a number of delays and is now value greater than $1 billion.
However Shortsleeve stated he’s “very proud of what we accomplished” on the MBTA.
“We brought unparalleled transparency to the organization. We got costs under control. We balanced the budget. We tripled capital spending,” he stated. “I think today the T’s gotta refocus on getting spending under control. There is no amount of revenue that will ever fill the hole if you’re growing your operating expenses at $200 million a year.”
