When you dread the subsequent 4 years below Gov. Maura Healey, how do you’re 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 collected 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 pictures with lobbyists, taking part in a job within the Applegreen contract debacle or sneaking Healey migrant inns into communities with none warning, the left wing lieutenant governor has fairly the document to run on.
Not fairly a co-governor that Paul Cellucci was below 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 stunning from the girl whose main job as mayor of Salem for 17 years was to arrange Halloween festivities each fall.
Now she’s being groomed to be the subsequent governor when Healey leaves or will get voted out.
There have been quite a lot 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 among them as Salem mayor. Lieutenant governors have historically been liaisons to cities and cities as a part of their duties, conserving 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 an area official. As soon as a mayor, you’re all the time a mayor…I hope you employ me as a useful resource.”
Driscoll promised the administration would companion with native governments in housing growth, financial funding and schooling.
However as a substitute of being a companion, Driscoll’s administration has ignored cities and cities’ considerations and compelled them below risk of penalty to just 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 properly 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 mentioned.
Fairly than hearken to the considerations, Driscoll joked in regards to the battle at a Boston Basis occasion final November.
“The MBTA Communities regulation, we definitely spend quite a lot of time speaking about that,” Driscoll mentioned. “It has been a supply of inspiration and, at instances, a supply of frustration. However we all know that is requiring communities to assume extra concretely about the kind of housing they’ve.”
Driscoll mentioned 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,” mentioned 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 inns,” which they crammed migrants into over the primary two years of their time period below the duvet of darkness, then informed cities and cities to place up with it.
Then Driscoll had the gall to condescendingly inform Massachusetts residents to open up their houses to the 1000’s of households from international lands flocking to the state without spending a dime 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 mentioned.
Healey additionally put Driscoll entrance and middle of the migrant disaster by getting her to talk with pissed off lawmakers at a secret State Home assembly. A lot for transparency.
Among the many complaints had been undocumented youngsters simply exhibiting up at native colleges with none warning from the state.
“The communication has been lower than fascinating from all points all the way down to the municipal degree,” State Rep. Michael Moran mentioned. “That’s the frustration that quite a lot 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 a virtually $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 needs to be requested immediately 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.
“Severely, how nice is it to be a DunQueen,” Healey requested Driscoll as the 2 tossed Munchkins to the group. “We get to run the whole lot.”
“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.
