Healey sketches out plans, priorities for new administration

Maura Healey spent eight years as Massachusetts attorney general. Now she has just a few more weeks to prepare to take office as governor.

She said one of the first orders of business is finding strong people to run major parts of state government. On Friday, she named former Lynn schools superintendent Patrick Tutwiler as secretary of education. But there are many other picks left. And Healey said she has had a schedule packed with meetings, getting suggestions and advice.

“It's a very busy time,” Healey told WBUR's Anthony Brooks in her first published interview with local media since the election last month. “We've been so busy in a good way meeting with the administration, cabinet secretaries, talking to stakeholders, talking to those who worked on our policy committees.”

Healey, 51, said she’s also been busy helping incoming attorney general Andrea Campbell.

“This is an office of hundreds of people,” she said, “and we want to make sure that Andrea Campbell is well set up.”

She’s also been working with current Gov. Charlie Baker on the transition. Despite the fact that he’s a Republican and she’s a Democrat, she said they've long had a good relationship.

“Gov. Baker was a great governor,” she said. “I appreciate his leadership. I appreciated the partnership that we had over the last eight years. We have a really seamless transition.”

She said she’s had a number of conversations with Baker since the election, some of which she wants to keep private. But she said Baker has provided one key piece of advice she appreciates.

“And that is getting outside of the office, making sure that you are in touch on the ground with people across this state,” Healey said. “You are a governor for the entire state. And that is something that I take very seriously.

She also ticked off a long list of priorities to tackle after she's sworn in, including helping to support companies, including those working on the life sciences and environment; trying to make housing more affordable; making changes to the tax system; and investing in education and transportation.

“Most immediately, though, we've got to focus on affordability,” she said. “And that means driving down the cost of housing by increasing housing production.”

Healey also said the state has to recognize disparities exist across the state.

“As attorney general, I've had an equity lens on everything we do out of this office that will continue as governor,” she said.

She said one of the biggest issues is that too few Black and Latino families have been able to buy homes, making it harder to build wealth.

“It's one of the many reasons I want to drive home ownership around the state, supporting programs for first time buyers, supporting programs to help people with down payments in addition to providing rental assistance,” she said. “But we're only going to get there by recognizing that disparities persist across all realms.”

She also vowed to meet with people from all walks of life across the state. She said listening with empathy is a big part of governing.

“I'm an extrovert. I like talking to people,” she said. “And I think, that's one thing that I've really enjoyed as attorney general is the opportunity to use the convening power of this office, bring people together and work on solutions.”

She acknowledged there will be challenges, but said she remains focused on the opportunities.

“I'm somebody who is positive and optimistic,” she said. “I wouldn't have run for this if I didn't believe in this great state and the opportunity that we have.”

One of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Healey is the MBTA, which has been dogged by derailments, slowdowns and other problems.

“I recognize that these problems were years in the making,” she said. “And what I can promise you is that we will do everything we can to make sure that we are supporting with the investments, with the leadership, with the teamwork that we need to get this done and to get it done quickly.”

Healey said one of her first duties is to hire a new general manager for the agency. She said it is too soon, however, to say how long it will take to fix the problems.

“I don't know,” she said. “I will be in there soon and we'll have a better assessment of things. It needs to be addressed for the sake of our residents, for the sake of Massachusetts competitiveness, and that's why we're keenly focused on it.”

Healey also said it is too soon to say whether the Green Line should be extended even further to Route 16.

“Haven’t gotten there yet,” she said. “I'm focused, as I say, on some of the operational, the immediate operational needs and fixes that we need.”

She also talked about her excitement in making history as the first woman and first openly gay person elected governor of the state.

“Representation matters,” she said. “With diversity of leadership, we're going to have better laws and policies, because more voices — more lived experiences — will be at the table.”

She said she also hopes to give hope to young women and people in the LGBTQ community that “you can be whoever you want to be.”

Healey is scheduled to be sworn in as governor and to give her inauguration speech on Jan. 5.

As governor, she said she hopes Massachusetts can continue to be a leader in key areas, including health care, life sciences and environmental technologies.

“I want us to be out there to be leading,” she said. “And there are so many things that we can innovate on.”

But for now, she said, she is busy building a new leadership team to help her as governor.