In these tense times, Gov. Healey’s out-of-office policy deserves a rethink. Here’s why
The only notice that Bay Staters got last week that Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll wouldn't be at the wheel for a day or so came courtesy of a terse statement from a designated survivor.
"I am writing to inform you that Secretary Galvin has been informed that he is now serving as Acting Governor. He expects to serve in that role until tomorrow afternoon," Debra O'Malley, a spokesperson for Secretary of State William Galvin, wrote in an Aug. 28 email.
Where was Healey? Where was Driscoll?
Good question — and they weren't saying.
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As is the Democratic governor's custom, her office stuck with a policy, announced in November 2023 , of not providing advance notice of any out-of-state travel, citing security concerns.
Want to know? You can find out after she gets back. Healey's office has said the governor's travel will be listed on monthly calendars made available through public records requests, WBUR reported .
Healey's office did not respond to MassLive's Aug. 28 request for comment on her or Driscoll's whereabouts, leaving the rest of us to hope that Galvin wasn't having some Alexander Haig moment .
In the end, it was All's Well That Ends Well, and Healey was back on the ground for a Labor Day event at the State House on Monday.
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Still, there are a couple of huge problems with this policy.
For starters, Massachusetts voters are owed better than finding out second-hand that the two most powerful elected officials in the state are out of office.
That's not a diss on Galvin, a dedicated public servant who's been in state politics for decades now.
The Boston Democrat, who's third in line in the order of succession, has stepped in before, and the wheels of the commonwealth have continued to turn without incident .
Second, that radio silence on Healey and Driscoll's whereabouts didn't keep the Democratic governor's press shop from blasting out a pair of press releases, one condemning a possible federal takeover of Boston's South Station and another criticizing the leadership upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Their silence, it seemed, was merely situational.
Still, it's understandable that Healey's concerned about security.
These are dangerous times, as the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the firebombing attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro remind us.
"Attacks against women are up. Attacks against elected officials are up. Attacks against the LGBTQ community are up," Democratic analyst Mary Anne Marsh told WCVB-TV's "On the Record Program" in 2024 during a controversy over Healey's undisclosed jaunt to Puerto Rico with her partner, Joanna Lydgate.
"Maura Healey, the first gay woman elected governor in Massachusetts, checks all three boxes," Marsh continued. "So, you know, security's a very important thing."
But Healey's and Driscoll's so-far-undisclosed walkabout also came the same week as reports about a likely immigration enforcement surge in Boston, and amid ongoing speculation about National Guard deployments to states governed by Democratic majorities.
Given that, a simple heads up, without revealing specific details about destinations or itineraries, does not seem like a great hardship.
As you might expect, with 50 state governors, each with their own personalities and policies, revelations on travel and schedules do tend to vary from state to state.
Some governors, such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker , both Democrats, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin , both Republicans, post their public schedules online.
One hard and fast rule? Governors will tell people about the events they want the public to attend or when they want the press to be there to chronicle it.
Healey, meanwhile, has been adamant about preserving a zone of privacy around herself and her family during their rare time together. She's also tried to keep the public informed — which is not the easiest balancing act.
It's also not as if Healey is traveling alone. The Democratic governor has a taxpayer-funded Massachusetts State Police security detail that is never more than a few feet away during her public appearances.
"She ... does have a security team — not every elected official does," Republican analyst Lizzy Guyton, a former communications director for GOP Gov. Charlie Baker, said during that same WCVB-TV interview in 2024. "I think there is certainly something to be said about having some amount of privacy, but public life is very public. I think that there is a commitment that's been made, and it's also just important that she's honoring the commitments that she's making to residents."
You also can argue, and you'd be correct, that the wonders of modern technology mean that leaders are always fully connected and reachable at all times. And thus they're able to spring into action as the situation dictates.
Given all that, an extra level of specificity that balances those twin demands of privacy and transparency seems achievable.
And just as you'd let your friends know ahead of time that you're headed out of town, it's a little gesture that can go a long way.
Read more analysis from John L. Micek
Read the original article on MassLive .
