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NEEDHAM — Gov. Maura Healey and Republican challenger Mike Minogue clashed over rising energy costs, abortion rights and accountability for misconduct in state government Thursday night, as the candidates met for their second and final gubernatorial debate before Election Day.
Minogue pressed Healey over her administration’s handling of former aide LaMar Cook, who faces new federal fraud charges after being arrested on state cocaine trafficking allegations. The candidates also debated a State Police barracks scandal involving the alleged rape of a woman by a civilian who had stayed there.
Key election dates
- The Massachusetts general election is Nov. 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- The voter registration deadline is Oct. 24.
- The vote by mail application deadline is Oct. 27 at 5 p.m.
- The early voting period is Oct. 17 to 30.
A portion of Healey’s response to the barracks incident — “Do things happen? Sometimes things happen,” she said — prompted a sustained back-and-forth over whether the governor had adequately addressed misconduct in her administration.
The candidates also offered competing explanations for Massachusetts’ high energy bills. Minogue blamed Healey’s opposition to earlier natural gas pipeline proposals, while Healey argued that the state needs more energy from multiple sources. On abortion, Healey accused Minogue of opposing protections for women. Minogue defended his commitment to following the law, but did not directly answer whether he supported an effort to repeal expanded abortion protections.
The debate, hosted by WCVB-TV, repeatedly returned to the central questions of the campaign: whether Healey’s record in office outweighs voters’ concerns about affordability, or whether Minogue’s promises to cut costs and change the state’s direction offer a more compelling alternative.
Both candidates have proposed suspending the state gas tax, but they differ on the duration and approach. Asked what additional steps they would take to lower costs, Healey pointed to tax cuts enacted during her first year in office, along with investments in housing, healthcare and energy.
Minogue called for suspending the gas tax immediately and cutting a third of utility fees. He supports allowing families to benefit from a federal scholarship tax credit. He called on Healey to opt into the tax credit several times. She has said she is still reviewing it.
He also brought up a specific remark Healey made during their first debate last week several times: ”’Massachusetts is a great place, if you can afford it,’ is what she said. She knows people can’t afford it,” Minogue said. Healey argued that the state remained an attractive place to live and work, citing economic growth, housing initiatives and job creation. She said governors should be “a cheerleader for our state” while acknowledging the challenges residents face.
The candidates debated whether Healey’s administration has done enough to increase construction. Healey said she had cut permitting times from a year to 30 days, expanded opportunities for accessory dwelling units and offered tax credits to developers.
“I did something that has never been done before as governor,” Healey said of her housing plan. “Mike, you got an idea to cut permitting times. I already did that.”
Minogue countered that Massachusetts continued to lag other states in permitting and argued that restrictive building requirements and local bureaucracy were preventing more housing from being built. He said the administration was celebrating projects set in motion under former Gov. Charlie Baker.
Healey said 100,000 homes had been built, permitted or brought under development during her time in office and said she wanted to double that figure in a second term. She also pointed to companies expanding in Massachusetts and the creation of 15,000 jobs in the past year.
“Sure, people leave and come and go all the time,” Healey said. “But I’m telling you, we are seeing companies expand here.”
The candidates then turned to education and racial disparities in homeownership. Healey touted a first-time homebuyer program offering $25,000 toward a purchase and her administration’s investments in public schools and career training.
Minogue repeatedly pressed Healey to opt into the federal scholarship tax credit, arguing that it would give families more educational choices and help address achievement gaps.
“The federal tax voucher thing is a tax policy. It is not an education policy,” Healey said.
Minogue rejected that distinction. He argued that additional school spending had not produced better outcomes and that families in struggling communities needed more options.
“You did put more money in, but the outcomes are worse. Sixty percent are not proficient in grammar school and high school at reading and writing. That’s down from where it was in 2019. So we’re doing something wrong,” Minogue said.
State police incident and Cook case
One of the debate’s most contentious stretches began with a question about misconduct at the Massachusetts State Police. Healey was asked about a reported rape involving a civilian who was allegedly invited by a trooper to stay overnight at a State Police barracks on Martha’s Vineyard.
Minogue criticized what he described as leniency toward people accused of wrongdoing in Healey’s administration.
Healey defended her selection of Col. Geoffrey Noble to lead the state police.
“Colonel Noble has come in and, with his management team, done a wonderful job, in my view. Do things happen? Sometimes things happen, but I can tell you, he and I make sure that swift action is taken,” she said.
Minogue seized on the remark.
“I think the governor just said, ’Sometimes things happen.’ That is unacceptable. A woman was raped. Sometimes things happen is not acceptable,” he said.
The dispute widened to include Cook, Healey’s former aide, who was arrested on cocaine trafficking allegations and later faced federal charges involving SNAP and wire fraud. Minogue said Cook had not been adequately held accountable and criticized the administration’s handling of the case, including the payment of $22,000 in unused vacation time.
Healey said she fired Cook the day he was arrested and worked with law enforcement to pursue the case.
Minogue questioned whether the administration had adequately investigated how alleged drug trafficking could have occurred.
Healey said Minogue had made inaccurate claims, and emphasized her record as attorney general prosecuting fraud and abuse.
In a post-debate scrum with reporters, Healey said, “I wish I never hired LaMar Cook.”
Energy debate
On energy, Minogue blamed Healey for high utility bills, arguing that her earlier opposition to natural gas pipeline proposals had constrained supply and increased costs. He called for more natural gas, nuclear power and innovation, and proposed eliminating utility charges he said were unrelated to household consumption.
Healey defended an “all of the above” approach that includes natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. She said she was seeking federal approval to expand existing pipelines and argued that additional energy supplies were necessary to bring down prices.
She also called for an audit of utility companies to examine profits and rate increases.
WBUR’s Tiziana Dearing asked Healey whether Massachusetts should roll back its climate goals. Healey said she was focused on bringing more energy online, including through natural gas, but the state “shouldn’t abandon” efforts to address climate change.
Pressed to give a specific yes or no, Healey said, “We shouldn’t roll back climate goals, but goals are goals.” The state’s climate goals are legal mandates established through statute, and would need to be legally modified to weaken them.
Minogue said the state’s energy strategy was too reliant on wind and solar power and that the administration had failed to prioritize reliable, affordable supplies.
The candidates closed with competing appeals on the state’s future. Minogue described the election as a “tipping point” and positioned himself as a political outsider who would focus on lowering energy costs, expanding manufacturing and improving public safety.
Healey defended her record on taxes, housing, education and transportation while acknowledging that affordability remained a challenge. She pledged to build more housing, expand primary care and mental health services, and protect workers as artificial intelligence reshapes the economy.
