# Ray Mariano: Two polar opposites vie for state governor

**By:** Raymond V. Mariano, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette  
**Published:** 2026-10-02T09:02:15.209595721Z  
**Source:** [The Worcester Telegram & Gazette](https://www.telegram.com/story/opinion/columns/2026/10/02/ray-mariano-on-mike-minogue-and-maura-healey-for-massachusetts-governor/92008857007)

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When it comes to gubernatorial elections, Massachusetts is lucky. For the most part, the Democrat and Republican who face off every four years are solid nominees. This year is no exception. In Maura Healey and Mike Minogue the voters get to choose between two highly qualified but very different candidates.  
The two candidates differ on a wide range of issues. The most glaring is that Healey thinks that Donald Trump is a demonic force and Minogue thinks so highly of Trump that he contributed more than $1 million to his campaign.
Healey's promises, accomplishments
As a candidate, Healey promised to cut red tape to increase housing production. She claims that her administration has reduced permitting times from over a year to 30 days.  Healey signed a sweeping $5.2 billion housing package investing in public housing including in Worcester (Lakeside and Curtis Apartments), gave homeowners the right to build accessory dwelling units and expanded tax credits for developers. To date 100,000 new homes have been created.
Healey also promised to cut taxes. During her tenure, short-term capital gains taxes were reduced. Additionally, a $2,400 tax credit was provided for low-middle income seniors who rent or own a home. She also supported increased child and dependent tax credits. I should point out that she tried to raise taxes in other areas, including subjecting candy to the state sales tax.
In the critical area of education, Healey points out that Massachusetts schools are ranked the best in the nation. Along with making record investments in K-12 schools, Healey worked with the Legislature to make community college free, resulting in 20,000 new students attending.
In an area where she has strong disagreement with her opponent, Healey signed the PROTECT Act prohibiting ICE warrantless searches and restricting state and local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement.
Healey also filed the original HERO Act that provides record benefits for veterans and helped more than 1,000 veterans secure housing in the largest targeted investment to address veteran homelessness in state’s history.
Minogue accuses Healey
Recently, Minogue has hit Healey hard, saying that her actions benefit only political insiders and not average citizens. He cited benefits fraud, a no-bid contract for a caterer and a plan to “raid” a pension fund. He also mentions her support for a $2 billion courthouse deal that benefited a politician’s family and donors, and a Mass Pike rest stop deal that the inspector general said had “too many flaws.”
Relative to the benefits fraud, Minogue’s blueprint called for an outside audit to reduce that type of fraud. But the fraud he references was actually found by an outside audit performed by the state auditor.
The $305 million economic development package that Minogue references relative to employee pensions was clearly a Healey mistake. Fortunately, the Legislature took it out but left the other provisions of the legislation intact when it passed. The Mass Pike rest stop fiasco was also a mess that Healey needs to take responsibility for.
When I asked the Healey campaign to respond to Minogue’s charges they dodged a direct answer, instead saying Minogue was “making up a lot of things to try to distract from” his support for Trump and Trump’s policies.
Minogue promises
In terms of what he would do first as our governor, Minogue’s campaign said that he would audit state government and the state Legislature using an outside auditor. But it’s unclear if the governor has the statutory authority to audit the Legislature, and Minogue seems to sidestep the efforts of the current state auditor.
Minogue would lower resident energy bills by one-third by canceling the NetZero mandate.  Part of the state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan, elimination of the mandate would absolutely lower costs significantly. It would also completely ignore the growing climate crisis.
Minogue said that he would opt in to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. The Healey administration is still reviewing the policy and awaiting final guidance from the federal government before making a decision.
Minogue is also pushing a state gas tax holiday any time gas is above $4 a gallon. That would save people 0.24 cents per gallon. Assuming prices remain high for the next year, that would require more than $700 million in cuts to the state’s effort to fix crumbling roads and bridges. Except for generalized references to cutting waste and fraud, it’s unclear how or if Minogue could make up that amount. Healey has proposed a temporary two-month gas tax cut replacing the lost revenue with money from the millionaire’s tax.
If you read “Mike’s Blueprint for a Better Future,” it’s reasonably clear that he’s not a Charlie Baker Republican and more along the line of current Republicans serving in Washington.
Trump on the ballot
Donald Trump has been barnstorming the country for Republican candidates, asking his supporters to imagine that his name is on the ballot. Nothing would make Healey happier.
Look, I don’t think it’s fair to hold a candidate running for governor responsible for Trump’s policies on Iran, Russia, his personal corruption or his ridiculous vanity projects. But I do think it’s fair to ask them about federal policies that directly impact the state that they want to lead.
When I asked Minogue’s campaign if he supported the actions taken by ICE in Massachusetts, they didn’t respond. They also refused to respond to questions about whether Minogue supported the Save America Act that Trump has put forward regarding unproven massive voter fraud or the Trump administration’s efforts not to recommend certain vaccines.
When a candidate refuses to answer questions that relate directly to policy decisions that impact the people of their state, voters need to look very skeptically at everything else they have to say.
Minogue says that “someone” needs to step up to tackle the tough jobs. I would suggest that if he doesn’t have the courage to answer some of the written questions sent days in advance, Mike Minogue isn’t that “someone” and he isn’t the right choice to sit in the corner office.