NOTE TO MAGA CANDIDATES: YOU WERE IN OFFICE WHEN THE WHITE TOOTHED GOVERNER CREATED THE DISASTERS ON THE MBTA...WHERE WERE YOU?
CHARLIE BAKER HIRED OVER PAID OUT-OF-STATE HACKS WHO NEVER TRAVELED TO THE COMMONWEALTH TO OVERSEE CONSTRUCTION & MUCH ELSE!
CHARLIE BAKER WAS FULLY AWARE THAT NEWLY INSTALLED RAILS WERE DEFECTIVE YET NEVER ADDRESSED IT LEAVING IT TO NEWLY ELECTED GOV. HEALEY...
AND THEN THERE'S THE MISSPENT BILLIONS CHARLIE BAKER LEFT THAT WILL BE PAID BACK....WHERE WERE THESE WEALTHY MAGA CANDIDATES WHO WERE IN OFFICE WHEN THIS HAPPENED?
Massachusetts owes the federal government $2.1 billion. Here's why.
BOSTON - Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday that the state has agreed to repay the federal government $2.1 billion because of a mistake made years ago with pandemic-era unemployment benefits.
An audit revealed "an improper overdraw of federal pandemic unemployment benefits," a statement from the governor's office said. Healey said that former Gov. Charlie Baker's administration "misspent billions of dollars in federal relief funds" on unemployment payouts that were supposed to be covered by the state.
Massachusetts to pay back money over 10 years
Healey said her administration has negotiated with the U.S. Labor Department for the past year and a half to reduce the state's tab that could've been more than $3 billion with penalties and interest. Starting in December, Massachusetts will pay the money back over a 10-year period. Anyone who received jobless benefits during that time will not be impacted, Healey's office said.
"It is incredibly frustrating that the prior administration allowed this to happen, but we are going to use this as a moment to come together with the business and labor community to make meaningful reforms to the Unemployment Insurance system," the governor said in a statement.
The agreement was finalized with former President Joe Biden's administration, just before President Donald Trump took office.
"Monumental error"
The National Federation of Independent Business said that small businesses in the state are already being "crushed" by unemployment insurance taxes.
"It is incomprehensible that the state made a monumental error, and it's Massachusetts small employers that are required to today foot the $2.1 billion bill," Christopher Carlozzi, the group's Massachusetts state director, said in a statement.
Healey said businesses won't see a hike on unemployment insurance rates through at least 2026. Whether they go up in the future depends on what the state does to reform the unemployment insurance system, she said.
The system is expected to be giving out more money than it takes in by 2028.
"We know Massachusetts' unemployment insurance requires reform, especially as we focus on the long-term solvency of the UI trust fund," Labor and workforce development Sec. Lauren Jones said in a statement. "Our administration is committed to working with all partners to propose and implement policy and system improvements that support employers and impacted workers."
‘Chaos and chainsaws’: Mass. Democrats link GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy to Donald Trump
Venture capitalist Brian Shortsleeve says he is ‘taking a close look at the race’
The Massachusetts Democratic Party slammed Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy Monday and immediately linked him to President Donald Trump just as another potential conservative candidate made clear he was taking a close look at running for governor.
The early messaging against Kennealy, released the same day he announced plans to challenge Gov. Maura Healey, gives clear insight into Democrats’ playbook for the 2026 gubernatorial election — tie any conservative opponent to Trump and the “Make America Great Again” movement.
In a video released to social media, a narrator alleged that Kennealy “helped bankroll Mitch McConnell and national Republican super PACs that stabbed the courts and took away reproductive freedoms.”
“Kennealy will bring Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s agenda to Massachusetts, an agenda of chaos and chainsaws,” the narrator said while dramatic music played in the background and footage of Musk and Trump rolled alongside pictures of Kennealy.
A campaign advisor for Kennealy’s campaign did not respond to a Herald inquiry, and Healey’s campaign referred questions to a statement from the Massachusetts Democratic Party where its leader, Steve Kerrigan, described Kennealy as the “biggest threat to Massachusetts.”
Federal campaign finance records show Kennealy has donated tens of thousands since at least 2012 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate and is currently chaired by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Kennealy, a former Baker administration official, may soon find himself in competition for the Republican gubernatorial nomination with another person from former Gov. Charlie Baker’s political orbit.
VULTURE CAPITALIST WHO DID WHAT ON THE MBTA?
Venture capitalist and former MBTA Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve said he is “taking a close look at the race.”
“To defeat Maura Healey, Republicans need to nominate someone with a Marine’s determination, a business person’s experience, and an outsider’s perspective,” the retired U.S. Marine Corps captain said. “So, I am taking a close look at the race because we cannot withstand another six years of disastrous policies and skyrocketing energy bills that made Massachusetts totally unaffordable for working people.”
Sen. Peter Durant of Spencer and local GOP donor Michael Minogue are also weighing runs for governor.
But for the moment, the Massachusetts Democratic Party has it sights set on Kennealy.
In an email to supporters Monday, the Massachusetts Democratic Party also took a shot at Kennealy’s eight years working in former Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration as an assistant secretary and then housing and economic development secretary.
“He failed to prevent skyrocketing housing costs and failed to cut taxes for hardworking Bay Staters — while Gov. Healey passed tax cuts in her first year in office,” the email said, referring to a package of tax cuts that were first drafted by the Baker administration. “Mike Kennealy is unqualified to address the biggest issues facing Massachusetts. In fact, when he announced his candidacy, he never mentioned the single greatest threat to our state — Donald Trump.”
Kennealy did not discuss Trump in his several-minute-long campaign launch video or in a press release sent Monday morning. But at a February event hosted by the Sandwich Republican Town Committee, he was asked whether he would support Trump.
“I will work with Donald Trump as governor to advance our interests here in Massachusetts. I am not being anti the president, he is the president,” he said before adding that he blanked the top of the presidential ticket, a response that drew groans from attendees.
During the 2020 presidential election, Baker said he blanked the top of the ticket when Trump was running against Joe Biden. The former governor also left the ballot blank when Trump ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Healey, the first woman and openly gay candidate elected to the Governor’s Office, said earlier this year that she plans to run for a second term.
In a radio interview, she said she is “really proud” of her record so far.
“I plan to run for reelection because there’s a lot more to do. I love my job. I feel incredibly privileged to be in this position, and I’d love to have the opportunity to continue to work for the great people of this state,” she said.
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