In the event you dread the following 4 years beneath Gov. Maura Healey, how do you are feeling about Healey dragging sidekick Kim Driscoll alongside along with her?
Democrat Driscoll, within the final do-nothing job in the entire state hackerama, already has a litany of doubtful accomplishments she’s amassed over the previous 4 years.
Whether or not it was dressing up in a Dunkin’ Donuts jumpsuit, lecturing all of us to open up our spare “suites” to unlawful migrants, promoting out her former municipal colleagues by jamming the MBTA Communities Act down their throats, posing for photographs with lobbyists, enjoying a task within the Applegreen contract debacle or sneaking Healey migrant motels into communities with none warning, the left wing lieutenant governor has fairly the report to run on.
Not fairly a co-governor that Paul Cellucci was beneath Invoice Weld, Driscoll is extra of a merry minion to Healey whose solely actual duties are to preside over the dysfunctional Governor’s Council and provides again door entry to politically-connected consultants.
Not shocking from the lady whose major job as mayor of Salem for 17 years was to arrange Halloween festivities each fall.
Now she’s being groomed to be the following governor when Healey leaves or will get voted out.
There have been lots of expectations for Driscoll from mayors and city managers throughout the state when she took over in 2023, as a result of she was as soon as one in every of them as Salem mayor. Lieutenant governors have historically been liaisons to cities and cities as a part of their duties, preserving them within the loop on what’s occurring in state authorities.
“I’m so grateful for the time I spent in native authorities,” Driscoll gushed to municipal leaders only a few days after taking workplace. “I’ll all the time have a hat on as a neighborhood official. As soon as a mayor, you’re all the time a mayor…I hope you utilize me as a useful resource.”
Driscoll promised the administration would associate with native governments in housing growth, financial funding and schooling.
However as an alternative of being a associate, Driscoll’s administration has ignored cities and cities’ considerations and compelled them beneath menace of penalty to simply accept the MBTA Communities Act, which mandates reasonably priced multi-family housing zoning districts close to T stops.
The heavy handed techniques and threats of withholding state funding didn’t sit effectively with native officers.
“They’ve a singular mission on the Government Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities to destroy small city America,” state Rep. Jeff Turco stated.
Reasonably than hearken to the considerations, Driscoll joked concerning the battle at a Boston Basis occasion final November.
“The MBTA Communities legislation, we actually spend lots of time speaking about that,” Driscoll stated. “It has been a supply of inspiration and, at instances, a supply of frustration. However we all know that is requiring communities to suppose extra concretely about the kind of housing they’ve.”
Driscoll stated she was prepared to sit down in visitors for 5 extra minutes a day due to clogged roads created by extra housing.
“That’s a tradeoff I’m prepared to dwell with,” stated Driscoll, who herself will get a state police chauffeur to drive round in.
Driscoll alongside along with her boss was answerable for the notorious “Healey motels,” which they crammed migrants into over the primary two years of their time period beneath the duvet of darkness, then instructed cities and cities to place up with it.
Then Driscoll had the gall to condescendingly inform Massachusetts residents to open up their properties to the hundreds of households from overseas lands flocking to the state at no cost room and board and education and well being care.
“When you’ve got an additional room or suite in your house, please contemplate internet hosting a household,” Driscoll stated.
Healey additionally put Driscoll entrance and middle of the migrant disaster by getting her to talk with annoyed lawmakers at a secret State Home assembly. A lot for transparency.
Among the many complaints had been undocumented kids simply exhibiting up at native colleges with none warning from the state.
“The communication has been lower than fascinating from all facets all the way down to the municipal stage,” State Rep. Michael Moran stated. “That’s the frustration that lots of our colleagues expressed, quite a few them expressed, and the administration took some possession of that.”
Driscoll together with Healey was additionally a part of a sham awarding of an almost $1 billion contract to the Irish agency Applegreen to refurbish the state freeway service areas.
As a substitute of investigating the botched contract, Driscoll and Healey had been ducking and defending the questionable bidding course of.
Driscoll must be requested instantly whether or not she had any position in awarding the profitable contract to Applegreen, which has since been pulled. Did she have any contact with members of the contract choice committee to affect the vote?
Early in her time period, Driscoll humiliated herself by dressing up together with Healey in an orange Dunkin’ Donuts jumpsuit as a part of a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast skit. It was embarrassing.
“Critically, how nice is it to be a DunQueen,” Healey requested Driscoll as the 2 tossed Munchkins to the gang. “We get to run all the pieces.”
“I imply, yeah, just like the MBTA,” Driscoll responded.
As a substitute of the DunQueen, Driscoll is the Queen of Mandates – forcing cities and cities to do the state’s bidding.
