Guess who’s Mass. gov today?
Guess who's back? Back again?
Secretary of State William Galvin will serve as Massachusetts's acting governor until Friday afternoon, his office has said.
The Thursday announcement from the Boston Democrat, who steps in when either Gov. Maura Healey or Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll is unavailable, was the first public indication of a power shift at the top of state government.
Galvin last served as acting governor in February, when Healey was in Washington, D.C., for a conclave with her fellow governors, and Driscoll was similarly out of town .
An email from Healey's press office on Wednesday evening indicated that neither she nor Driscoll had any public events on their respective schedules for Thursday.
It did not contain any hint that neither Healey nor Driscoll would be unavailable to serve.
Citing security concerns, Healey's office has not revealed her travel until after she returns.
An administration spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. But the public relations machine did keep rolling.
On Thursday, Healey's office released a statement condemning a possible federal takeover of South Station in Boston.
"What the Trump administration is doing in DC and now threatening to do at South Station is outrageous, wrong and has nothing to do with transportation or public safety," the Democratic governor said in a statement released after Galvin announced he'd taken the tiller. "It's more political theater, more political power grabs from Donald Trump. We don't need or want his interference here. We're not going to let the guy who went bankrupt six times take over our train stations."
Eleven minutes later, Healey's office followed it up with a statement criticizing this week's leadership upheaval at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
In a statement, the right-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance criticized Healey for apparently leaving the state without disclosing her travel plans.
"This is a new practice in state government and it completely undermines the trust the public has in its elected officials. Taxpayers deserve better than a governor who disappears without notice," the group's spokesperson, Paul D. Craney, said.
"It's unacceptable that the state's chief executive refuses to meet even the most basic standard of disclosure. When both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor leave the Commonwealth, voters have a right to know in advance that it's going to happen and who is going to be in charge," Craney said.
So what can Galvin do while Healey and Driscoll are out of pocket? Quite a bit.
The state's top elections official also will be responsible for emergency response, and will serve as the state's liaison on federal matters.
Under the state's constitution, the acting governor also can file and sign bills.
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