It's Nightside with Dan Ray on w BZY, Boston's news radio.
Well, welcome back everyone. There is a governor's race that is actually I think underway at this point, a little early, but never too early for politics. Here on Nightside, my name is Dan Ray, and I'm delighted to welcome one of the major candidates for governor here in Massachusetts, Mike Kanneely. Mike Kanneely, Welcome to Nightside.
How are you, sir, Hey, Dan, I'm great, Thanks so much and great to be with you tonight.
Well, thanks very much for joining us. We had another Republican on Tuesday night, Brian Shortsleeve, who is I think going to be a significant candidate for governor as you will be on the Republican side. And my sense is that the Republican Party might be a little stronger in this state in twenty twenty six than they have been in recent years. Do you get a sense the Republican Party is growing a little bit at this point?
Well, I do, Dan.
I'm proud of the fact that over the last couple of years, I've done a lot of work to support the party and make our party stronger and more competitive.
So coming out of the Baker administration. In early twenty twenty three, I signed on its finance share for the party and spent two years raising money for the party to support the party and its candidates, investing significant amount of my own money in those races as well, and really getting the message out that we are a party that wants to compete, that needs to compete, and in a state where we're a strong majority independent state, I
don't think those voters want one party rule. And so we are a state that's sixty five percent independent, but yet one party controls everything. So yes, I think the party is a lot stronger, a lot more motivated. And look, this is the governor. We just absolutely have to win. And I hear this every day around the state that governor heally is failing us in so many dimensions. So the party is stronger, the message is stronger, and this is a must win race for us. Will say, you know,
I made this point before. I want to be governor of all the people, but I will be the Republican governor of all the people. I look forward to working with everyone to continue to make our parties strong at all levels. And the governor's off, Yeah, the governor's I was currently important. All races will be important as well.
Yeah. Absolutely. One of the themes of this program is that any state needs two competitive parties. I mean, if I was working in Utah, I would be advocating to strengthen the Democratic Party. We see in other states around New England. Event in New Hampshire, Christanunu, who, with all due respect to your former boss, Charlie Baker, I feel
Christan Una was the best governor in the state. You have a different type of governor over in a little bit of a different flavored governor over in Virginia, Phil Scott. If you're elected to become governor, who would people identify you with? Would you be a more of a Christian Nunu or Phil Scott, Charlie Baker or I guess you could say of Mike Kanneely.
Well, you know what, Dan, from the start, we've said we're not we're going to resist labels over the course of the campaign, and we're not going to articulate my campaign in the context of that of other politicians. I'm going to be out with my ideas, my vision for the state, informed by what the people of Massachusetts tell me every day, so that we view the race and how we view the issues in the campaign.
Okay, so in terms of I hate the phrase thirty second elevated pitch, but give us some. If you meet someone in the street and they say, hey, I heard you on Night's Out of the Other Night, tell them our audience a little bit about yourself, your background, so we can just kind of frame who Mike Kannely is and then we can get to some issues.
I'm happy to do it, Dan soo. Dan, I'm a son of Massachusetts, raised in Medford and Ready. My mom took care of kids. My dad was a member of the local steel workers union, put himself through nine years of night school, went on to become the CEO of Roach Brothers Supermarket. So I'm to grubbing. I watched my dad go from the factory for to the CEO suite. I learned hard work and determination and faith and family.
And that's why I was raised. And I had a long career in business, in the private equity business for nineteen years, traveling the country to forty states, met with a thousand CEOs. Our firm invested in one hundred companies. We built businesses, we created jobs. But I decided a dozen years ago. What I really wanted to do was serve the people of Massachusetts, and so that's what I've done the last twelve years, full time public service to
the commonwealth. I spent two years in Lawrence, Walking working on the turnaround of the public school district. Over the course of twenty thirteen and fourteen, we cut the size of the bureaucracy by forty percent. We put those dollars in the classroom. We brought parents and teachers and community members together, and we increased the high school graduation rate
from fifty two percent to seventy two percent. And then spent eight years in state government, four years as the Cabinet Secretary, learned how to the same approach and that role, streamlining programs be more efficient with the taxpayer dollars, and working with business and government and community leaders all across the state to get things done. We built infrastructure, we introduced new workforce skills programs, made sure we stayed number
one in the innovation economy. We reopened to our economy and supported our small businesses. In the last couple of years, in addition to my work for the Republican Party, which we touched on, I spent two years of Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and in that work, it was helping me in Roxbury, Dorchester, Manipan, Chelsea, and South Boston basically to do better at school and do better in life. So we introduced academic support programs for those workforce readiness programs.
And so what ould argument It should be that I'm the only person in this race with this kind of a launch track record both in business and public service. And that's what we're going to need as a Republican nominee to defeat Governor Healey and the campaign. We've articulated
three priority Affordability, opportunity, and better government. Happy to touch on any one of all of those, but Governor Heally Governor Heally's list in all those dimensions, and I've got strategies and policies in place to help us reverse the course there. So you know, affordability, I've been thinking about this DAN as a day one agenda. Okay, so take affordability day one. We need real strategies to address a housing crist We're not producing enough housing.
Now.
We have to work with our cities and towns to help them produce the housing they want. Governor Healey's idea is to threaten and mandate and sue our cities and towns. That's not appropriate or helpful. We need real strategies around the cost of energy. I said for a long time now. Governor Heally does not have an energy policy. She has a climate agenda, which is making our energy a lot
more expensive. So all those charges and gimmicks on our energy bills to facilitate a so called green energy transition, you know that stuff has to go away and we need a lot gert supply of energy after we have a governor now that's that's briged about shutting down natural gas pipelines. And taxes are too high, but this governor continues to propose new forms of taxation, whether it's candy, prescription drugs, reducing charitable deductions, taxes at the local level.
So we will have day one strategies around addressing the cost of living around here in meaningful ways.
You mentioned housing real quickly. The MBTA Communities Act that was signed by Charlie Baker, as I'm sure you know, implemented by Governor Healy and threatened by Attorney of Communities being threatened by Attorney General. Yeah, what would happen to the MBTA Communities Act under a you know, Mike Kenney governorship.
Well, what we get back to is the same kind of collaborative leadership we had before. I mentioned before traveling all the ground all around the state as a Cabinet secretary, I went to one hundred and fifty one cities in towns, and it was all about working with them to help them get things done they wanted to get done. It wasn't about mandating things. It certainly wasn't about threats and lawsuits.
And local control is really important around here. We have three to fifty one cities and towns and by law, by culture, by jradition, they get to decide what happens within their city in town and so we viewed MBTA Communities as something that could be a flexible framework or a tool in the toolbox for our cities and towns. And this administration has taken us a long way from that. They've doubled down on mandates and threats and lawsuits and made it something very inflexible. So we would get back
to the same kind of collaborative leadership we had. You know, it was our view that we're in a housing crisis and we need more housing. But for us, it was all about easing the path at the local level. We had a Zoni reform called Housing Choice, which lowered that local approval threshold from two thirds supermajority down to a simple majority, and that was consistent with our view of the problem. Let's create an easier path to work with
cities and towns, not mandate things. And I think what's happened now is Governor Healey and the Attorney General let's weaponize this against our cities and towns. And that's not appropriate or helpful.
We have a lot to cover. We got to take a quick break. My guess he's Mike an Eely, Republican running for governor here in Massachusetts. We're going to talk a little bit about the report, the reform report issued yesterday by the state auditor about the way the Healy administration dealt with the emergency shelter crisis from twenty twenty one through twenty three. I'll also I have a couple of other questions. We have full phone line, so you
can hold off on calling at the moment, folks. As soon as the phone lines start to clear, we'll get to callers as quickly as possible. It's more important for you and a chance to talk to Mike Knely than it is for me to talk to him. And we'll take phone calls after just really one question on the state auditor's issue, not only to audit the state legislature where she's running into a brick wall, but also your
reaction to her to her report. She's a Democrat. Yeah, she's probably, in fact, the most progressive in the best sense of the word democrat in Massachusetts. We'll take a quick break. We'll be back with Mike Kanneely, Republican Canady for governor, right after this.
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm w Z Boston's News Radio.
My guest is Mike Kaneely. He's a Republican running for governor. Mike, the efforts by the state auditor to audit the legislature, it seems to me seventy two percent of the public, lots of Republicans, lots of Democrats, and lots of independence want that audit to occur. The Democratic leadership in the
House and Senate is basically stonewalling the state auditor. Your reaction to her efforts there and also your reaction to the report the seventy four page report yesterday that I thought was a scathing rebuke of how the Healey administration had handled the housing crisis when the immigration situation seemed to overwhelm them here in Massachusetts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it sure was. Dan. Let me just say I mentioned one of the three elements of our platform is the government you can believe in, and you cannot believe in a government that's not accountable and they
can't manage a crisis and so on. The auditor, as you mentioned, seventy two percent of the voters said they wanted that audit, and all of Beacon Hill, including Governor Healey and the Attorney General, were basically saying they don't care about what the people said, and they're pushing back on it. And I was proud not only to vote for that, I'm on the seventy two percent. I think I'm personally a top five donor to that ballot question. I donated ten thousand dollars to it. And this just
has to happen. This is not appropriate. But one of the great lessons in public life is listened to the people. And on the second part of your question, what came out this week highlights the importance of audits because she did a very thorough job auditing the shelter system and Governor Heal's response the migrant crisis. And look where she uncovered. I mean, three billion dollars we think of spending and housing, transportation, no bid contracts to donors. There's another reports about just
horrific criminal incidents that happened in the shelter system. So I would say, in response to both parts of your question, it is in my view shameful that Beacon Hill is pushing back on what the people have said they want. And so it came out this week with the audit, shows the importance of audits, and so good for the auditor for pursuing both those and I mentioned, you know day one things in response to both parts of your question. Day one, I will support the auditor to get that
audit done if it hasn't been done already. In day one, I'll declare that we're not a sanctuary state and will have local state and county law enforcement working with the Feds to get the criminals out of our shelters, off our streets, and out of our state. That has to happen, But this is a crisis that has been badly mismanaged by the Heally administration. It's an example, a perfect example of very poor bismal crisis leadership and management. Good for the auditor for bringing that to the four.
One of the things that was extraordinary the audit was that no big taxicab contract was given to a really centrally located cab company out at the far end of Cape cod Truro. They charged one hundred and forty dollars. If I've read that report correctly, and I think I have. For everyone who looked for a cab when the cab rolled up to pick someone up, whether it was one hundred yards away from Truro or or wherever, that was one hundred and forty dollars just to get the meter started.
I know.
Look, I've been part of I've been part of managing businesses and managing a cabinet secretariat and this is not how to manage anything. And in response to some some really bad stuff that happened in the shelters and Governor Healer's response was things will happen, and I think that's three where create sums up a lot of ratitude. Things will happen, some very bad things happen both fiscally and criminally. Frankly, and again, good for the auditor for shining to light
and all this stuff. This is why you need audits, and this is day one stuff for me.
Yeah. Then we're going to go to phone calls because we have full, full lines and I want to talk. I love to give people an opportunity to chat with my guests. We're going to start it off with Claire in Concord, Massachusetts. Claire, appreciate your calling in. You are on with Mike Kinneely, Republican candidate for governor. To go ahead, Claire. Well that's a slow start, so we'll put Claire on hold. Let's go to Elizabeth in Dorchester. Elizabeth, you've been waiting
almost as long as Claire. Go right, Go right ahead, Elizabeth.
Yes, good evening. Then my question for mister Kanneely is, communities like Roxbury and Dorchester have been ignored for years. I know people who've experienced homelessness there, and did you get the help they needed yet? The Ballina cast Reccent was turned into a migrant shelter. How would you uplift communities like these?
Well, it's a great question. I appreciate it. First of all, I've worked in those communities. I mentioned my work at Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and Compass, Roxbury, Georchester, Mattapan, Chelsea, and South Boston. I've seen some of this up close. And your example about the rec Center becoming a migrant shelter, and they can use the word shameful once already that is shameful, and it does highlight the fact that these
communities have been ignored. One of the things I'm most passionate about in my public service is equality of opportunity. We've got to make sure all communities, all people of their chance at success. And so I look at opportunity
gaps in a couple of respects. One is academically now, only about forty percent of all of our students at all Gray levels can read and write at Gray level forty percent, But that is twenty percent for our black and Latino students in Massachusetts, and they're being outpaced on that same national test by the piers in Mississippi, Georgia,
and Florida. That is not appropriate. We have to get back to closing some of these opportunity gaps and making sure we're addressing academic achievement across all the great levels across all people. I also point to gaps around life expectancy. You know, the life expectancy of a back Bay resident is ninety two years. Of a Roxbury resident it's sixty nine years.
Now.
It doesn't take one law to get from Roxbury to the back Bay, but that is a twenty three year life expectancy difference. And so we need better education, better professional opportunities for our kids in those communities, better healthcare. And the good news is I spent time in those communities to understand the needs and the opportunities frankly, way better than Governor heally does. And so I appreciate the question, but that'll be a huge priority for me as Governor Elizabeth.
Thank you very much for your question, Thank you for your patience. I want to ask you a question that comes to mind recently. In Hyde Park, which is part of Boston, obviously, there was a five year old boy who got off a school bus and within a matter of seconds he was run over by that school bus. Now,
I'm sure you've heard the story. The bus allegedly, the bus driver allegedly had been in an accident a little earlier in the afternoon side swiping a couple of cars, I believe in Mattapan it has now been over three weeks and we know very little. We have not heard much from the mayor. And now again, I know you're not running against the mayor, but this is a democratically controlled city, a democratic district attorney, a police commission appointed
by a democratic mayor. My theory, Mike, and I'd love to know if you buy into this theory, is that if there was tragically a child at the age of five run over by a bus in Wellesley, Weston Whaland or Winchester, I think we'd know a lot more about the cause of the accident, the status of the bus driver,
the circumstances that led up to the accident. Then yeah, we've heard about this little boy in Boston, and to me, that just reeks of a city of Boston that does not care about not only if they don't care about the youngest in their community, how did they care about anyone in their community.
Well, again, I agree with that, and these communities have been north and I think it does speak to the fact that there's a leadership opportunity for a publican governor to speak out against these things, and yet we're talking about the city of Boston, not the Commonwealth. But we've got one party rule across city and state right now, and there's simply not enough accountability. Now'll give you another example.
The state was in a law negotiation with Boston about Boston Public Schools and put them into a They didn't put him in receivership, but they put him in kind of a plan where performance is monitored, and that terminated without any real increase in performance, and the healthy administration
just let Boston Public Schools off the hook. That is not acceptable, and so we need to have strong Republican leadership in the Corner office in the State House to point things like this out and to speak up against this one party rule.
My guest is Mike Knneely. He's a Republican candidate running for governor. We'll continue our conversation with him and with callers. And by the way, I think what might have happened with that first caller. Folks, listen to the program through your telephone. There is a ten second delay. So if you were sitting across the room and you're listening on a speakerphone, we will call for you and you won't be there, So please hold on to that telephone and listen.
Listen to us through the phone, not on your speakerphone, particularly if it's halfway across the road. Back on Nights Out with Mike Kenealy right after this.
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WA Austin's News Radio.
All right, let's keep rolling here. My guest is Mike Kanely, Republican running for governor of Massachusetts. There will be a primary. He is facing a candidate that we had with us on Tuesday night, Brian short Sleeve, And I think the Republican Party has two very qualified, experienced candidates, one of whom is likely to end up facing the incumbent mar Heally. Mike.
One question I asked Brian shortly the other night is are you committed to support the winner of the primary, whether it is you or someone else?
Oh?
Sure, absolutely.
Okay, that's a pretty straight in. So let's keep rover here. Going to go to Henry and Quincy. Henry, you're next on Night Side with Mike Kaneely. Go right ahead, Henry.
Hey, Dan, longtime listener, first time caller.
Hey, we gotta give you, We're got to give you a ride of the clause is a first time call here, if you go right ahead.
I appreciate that.
Dan.
Well, Hey, Mike, I'm wondering what's something that you're most proud of of the Baker administration and something do you feel like the administration may have fallen short? Well, I think in terms of the economy and our management of the budget. You look at those two things together. During the Bigger administration, they were two hundred thirty thousand new jobs created in Massachusetts, and we have budget surpluses. We actually returned three billion dollars to the tax period during
that period of time. Contrast that in the Heally administration, we are fiftieth among the fifty states in job growth over the last couple of years. I think I read recently we've lost about twenty five thousand private sector jobs but added ten thousand government jobs. That's not where we need to go in terms of our economy. And the budget is similarly understrained. You know, the budget this year is going to cost sixty one billion dollars. A dozen
years ago it was thirty billion dollars. And so the Heally administration has us not a track where the budget's growing taxes are growing. Our economy is slowing down, and that's going to create enormous problems for us going forward as a state. So this theme of great opportunity everybody and means having leaner, more effective government, more fiscal discipline,
and much more robust job growth. We're not seeing that, I think in terms of the Baker administration generally, look, I think you have to say the m bt A. I think there's been a month a number of instances that happened during the eight years of the Baker administration. It seems to me that GM now is doing a
pretty good job getting that system turned around. So those are the two things I point to the combination of fiscal management and the strong economy to let the strong job growth and budget surpluses on the one hand, and in terms of a deficiency, if you will, I think the manage public transit.
Henry, appreciate you.
You get my full support.
Thanks, Ny, appreciate you go.
Thanks so much.
Connor in Rubert Connor, you were next time I said with Mike Connelly Kennely.
Hey, thanks for taking my call down. My grandmother listening to your show every night for a long time. So I think should be pretty happy to hear me calling tonight.
Well, I hope it. I hope it continues in the family here, Connor go right.
I'm carrying on the legacy. Thank you, Mike. My question for you is, you know it's no secret More Hilly have tarblele relationship with President Trump. I'm curious, how do you think that impacts Massachusetts and how you would work with the president.
That's a great question. Look, Governor Heally built her career by suing President Trump during her time as Attorney General, and when things happen to Washington that she doesn't like, she goes on TV and protest about it. And so we don't have the kind of relationship with President Trump that we ought to have as a state. And so what I would do is look to work with the president,
work with anybody to help move our state forward. And I said before, when bad things happen, more Heally says, get me on TV, I would say, get me on a plane.
I'd want to.
Go down to Washington and meet with the President and his team and make the case for Massachusetts and have a collaborative relationship. But again, we have a governor now that made her career serving as the opposition to the President, and that's not going to set us up for a productive dialogue going forward.
Color appreciate you call.
Thank you much, Thanks, thank you, have a great night.
Let me go to John in Boston. John, You're next on Nightside with Mike Kneely, Republican candidate running for governor.
Hi Dan Hi. Mike, have a question about the MBTA Communities Act. I live in the City of Boston, but my parents they live out in the Metro West and they bought their home thirty five years ago, and now they're being designated as an MBTA community, and they're concerned about the hundreds of new housing developments that are going to come into the their town, and you know the impact that that's going to have on their taxes, the
need for new schools, the new infrastructure. So I'm just wondering, you know, this bill was signed, and while you are the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, can you produce one document or one public statement from while you are a cabinet secretary thing that you were opposed to the MPT Communities Act.
What I complaint to is the fact that when it passed and got handed to us legislature, we looked at it and said, how can we make this legislative mandate into a flexible tool in the toolbox for our cities and towns. And we worked relentlessly with a prodate range of stakeholders for months to create that framework, and by the time we left office, it didn't seem to make anybody have much of a problem with it. What's happened ince then, as I mentioned, is Governor Healy and the
Attorney General have weaponized that against our communities. And so the concerns that you mentioned happening in that town. You know, it's the job of the governor to get out there and listen to those concerns. She's doubled down on mandates and threats and lawsuits, and it's been way too much lecturing and not enough listening. And so that's going to be my approach, and it's the approach I took a secretary. I traveled the state endlessly for four years to get
stuff done, to listen and collaborate. And I don't think this governor really understands local control and how things get done around here. You don't get things done by ordering cities and towns to do things. You get things done by working with them. And so that is the approach I would take for the cities in towns. Hear their concerns and help them do what they want to do, versus tell them something that may not want.
John appreciate your call. Nope, if he didn't want to say, go by, Let's go to Anthony in Boston. Anthony and Boston, you were next on Nightside. Go right ahead.
Hi, Dan, I've been the longtime listener of your show, so I appreciate you for letting me on.
You're very welcome first time calling.
Yes it is.
Well, we've got to give you a round of applause and my digital studio audience. Go right ahead. You're on with Mike and Eely. You get one of the Republican candidates for governor. Go ahead, Anthony.
All right, Hi Mike. I'm a young college student living in Massachusetts, specifically in Boston, and honestly, I don't see a future living here. I was wondering what you would do to make the state more affordable for people like me, whether they're in college or they're just you know, a young adult who want to stay and raise the family.
Oh don't go. Help is on the way. We got real solutions here. Look cost of living for us as a few different component. I mentioned housing, and I think it's unfortunate by the way I talked about a collaborative approach to help the cities and towns develop more housing. I think you mentioned to live in Boston. Boston has
taken the opposite approach on this. I mean they have virtually shut down housing production of the city of Boston by mandating more affordability housing and so called inclusionary zoning programs, by trying to reenforce a much stricter green building code. This again is where the climate agenda gets in the way of the economic agenda, and so they've shut down production. And over the last I think decade or so, Boston has produced probably thirty percent of all the housing produced statewide.
And so when Boston's housing production shuts down, it as an incredibly detrimental effect in the overalls on the whole state. So we need real solutions for producing more housing. Supplying demands a real thing, and so housing prices are high because it's not enough supply. But we need real, practical collaborative solutions on that one. You know, the energy costs they mentioned it is again the green agenda driving upper
energy cost is not helpful. We've got to get away from that and be serious about the cost of energy. I've made this point now publicly a few times that I don't believe that anybody in Governor Healer's administration who views it as their job to look after the cost of energy. I think there's plenty of people focus on the so called climate crisis, but not enough people focus on the nuts and bolts of government in trying to bring down the cost of energy. You mentioned also your
future and the state. I mean, data is a function of having great schools and great economic opportunities, and so I'm very concerned about our academic performance as a state. I think I mentioned that don't think Governor Heals has an academic strategy. I think they're kind of I think we're just kind of drifting along and resting on our laurels as being the long standing number one in education while our scores declined, and she's managing our decline in education,
not leading us forward. And I mentioned the economy as well. Our job growth is slowed. So my vision for state is one where we've got responsible, accountable government, lower spending, lower taxes, real strategies to manage our cost of living, great schools and great jobs and a state government that wants to work with everybody to make that happen and that it will create a much better future for us.
So I hope you stick around, wait till January twenty twenty seven, and things are going to get better.
Anthony. What school are you going to?
I go to Stuffolk University.
Good. Good for you. And are you from Boston originally or are you from you know, either out of New England or just simply outside of.
Boston, originally from New Hampshire, originally.
From New Hampshire. Okay, well, welcome to Boston, and thanks for listening to Night's Side. And I hope that you can the program more often because I really enjoy listening to young people with their ideas. So feel free to call any night. Thank you so much.
Yeah, I appreciate it. Dan, thank you, Mike, look forward to voting for you.
All right, thanks you, thank you.
Take a very quick break here, one more round. We got Al, Brad and James, we'll get all of you, and we have a couple of vote well, we only have one open line left and that's six one coming back on Nightside.
Night Side Dan Ray, I'm bas Boston's News Radio.
All right, let's keep rolling here. We're going to get as many folks in as we can. We have full lines. Let's go to Alan weston al next on Nightside.
Go right ahead, Hi, how you doing today?
Thanks for having me.
You're welcome. Goright ahead, you're with Mike Kanely all.
Right with with Governor Healy wanted to raise taxes on prescription drugs. And I don't want to be redundant with the costs of Massachusetts. But will you cut taxes to make the state more affordable?
I will absolutely, And I think what happened with Governor Heally is obviously she's not set a tone within her administration about now new taxes and the need to cut taxes. Otherwise, these ideas with the surface. And I spent eight years
inside state government. I know it operates. And the fact that she's come up with proposals on candy taxes, prescription drugs, letting municipal leaders raise taxes at the local level, reducing charitable deductions means that means she has empowered her team to go seek out new sources and revenue, and that's
just not appropriate. And so it has to happen is we've got to recognize state government's doubled over the last decade or so and they keep wanting to raise taxes, and it really is up to the executive, the leader, to say, no, that's not going to happen. We're going to hold the line up spending. We're going to cut spending, and we're going to hold the line on taxes and try to cut taxes. And I have to believe when the budget goes from thirty to sixty one billion dollars,
their efficiency is to be found. And I've done this before. I mentioned to Lawrence cut the size of the bureaucracy about forty percent. You know, we realized it actually wasn't that hard. If you're focused on it that way, you
can get it done. Let's take the same approach. I take the same approach within my Secretary and Housing in Economic Development, streamlining programs, getting things done so that these are proven reforms that have lasted, and you need that approach, streamline reform state government, bring the spending down, that lets you bring taxes down and tell your team, under no circumstances, she did come to me with a proposal to raise taxes that's simply is not going to happen.
You didn't mention her secretary of Transportation, is that Marcia Tippet's nuts, I believe is her name, who wanted to put in toll roads anywhere she could find an empty spot in Massachusetts, following along with the philosophy that there's only two things in the common wealth that are taxed as I'm sure you know, Mike, anything that moves and anything that doesn't move. So thank you very much.
Al, you definitely have my support.
Thank you, thanks so much. And the example bringing up is an example of administration that lacks discipline. There's no way in my administration the cabinet secretary speaks in public or anywhere about I.
Don't know how Monica Tibbet's not kept her job.
I don't know. I don't know either. I can't talk to Let's keep going.
I want to get everybody in here. If I can't, let me go to Brad and andover. Brad, we've another community heard from. Go ahead, Brad, You're next with Mike Keneally. Go right ahead, Brad.
Thanks Dan, I really appreciate it, And Mike, thanks for taking the question. I really like where you're at so far on the affordability crisis and the migrant crisis. But I'm wondering, do you support the Second Amendment referendum to repeal Chapter one five?
Yes?
I do, so, just to be clear, I support the referendum to repeal it, so I would like one thirty five repeal. Yes, I do.
Pretty good question, Pretty good answer. Thank you, Thank you, Brad, appreciate it. Let me keep rolling. You're going to go to James and Milton James an extra nightside. Go ahead, go right ahead, Thanks.
For having me.
So I just wanted to ask, by not voting the last three presidential elections, you basically wanted Hilly Quinn and Joe Biden and Kamal Harris to be president, So you have to give your responsibility as a voter. I got to ask, why would we ever trust you to be governor?
If I wanted them as president, I would have voted for them, and you should trust me as governor based on my ideas and my track records. Okay, We've got very clear ideas around affordability, opportunity, and better government. I've got a clear track record of delivering both in business and public service. So that's why you should trust me. Delivered for nineteen years in private equity, for twelve years full time in public service. I think we have the
right ideas, the right policies, the right experience. That's why you should trust.
Me, right, James, the right question? Good good? I'm sorry. Good. Now.
We desperately need to change the leadership and all the dimensions I mentioned. Governor Heally is feeling us and I am the Republican that can defeat her Umber twenty twenty six and get the state back on a better path.
All right, James, direct question, direct answer, Thank you much. Let me go next to Max in Boston. Max, next on Nissager, Right ahead.
Mike, you already have one support. But I think it's also a lot about more than just the governor's race. How would you use your platform to help elect other Republicans across Massachusetts?
That is a great question. I said at the outset. I want to be the governor of all the people, but be the Republican governor. And I've spent the last couple of years working hard at the state Party to support our candidates up and down the ballot, and so in addition to being the finance chair for the party, I was chaired something we call their Legislative Support Fund.
We supported our state legislative candidates, So I think it's very important we have strong candidates for the state wide offices and federal offices for that matter, strong candidates for the legislative seats. And the party has a growing effort now to support candidates at the local level. So I think every level of government's important, a local state legislative,
the constitutional offices in federal government. And I would do that as the core part of my job as the Republican governor, to do what I could do to grow the party, make the party stronger. So I will, like I said, my work with you guys to and FOCSRO Republicans listening to make our party strong will never stop. I think that's going to be a core part of my focus going forward.
Maks, great question, Thank you for your call. Let me go next to TJ in Lawrence. TJ. You're on with Mike Kenneally. Go right ahead, TJ.
Hi Dan, thanks for having me tonight. My question for you, Mike is what's your plan for dealing with the criminal legal immigrants in the state currently? Will you deport them or do you have a better plan for that.
Well, government to deport people, But go ahead, mine.
Well, I think what has to happen. By the way, I love getting a call from Lawrence. They spent two great years working up there on the public school turnaround. It's a great community with great people. Look, it has to be coordination with local, county and state law enforcement with the Feds, okay, to get criminals of our shelter, off our streets and out of our state. And that
isn't happening now. You know, there was a Supreme Court decision here in Massachusetts called the One Decision, and it basically said that there was not any capacity now for local and state law enforcement to work with the feds to do who you suggested. And Republican legislators have reformed legislation like that and it's gone nowhere. So we have to have a focus on that and just a different leadership tone. And again the tone of governor Hellly is
to oppose the federal government. My tone would be to work with them and try to accomplish important things like getting criminals out of our states. So that needs to happen. Declaring day one, in uncertain terms, we're not a sanctuary state. And working with the Feds to get the criminals out of our That simply has to happen.
TJ. Thank you very much for you call. Appreciate it. There. Of course, there's a federal court decision in two thousand and eleven, the Arizona decision, in which the US Supreme Court concluded that the federal government prehemps immigration policy in this country and that they should set immigration policy in this country. I still don't understand why that has not been argued and the Lend decision was not more respectful
of that case. But we'll leave that for another night. Mikennely, how can folks who are interested in your campaign get in touch with you and or your campaign?
Well, go to the website Mike Keney dot com and it tells a lot more about me and my background. On my Trekker corrector, it's got an issues page. We talk about the ideas and policies I want to pursue, and so encourage folks take a look at that, get involved with the campaign. You can volunteer, you can donate and learn more about it. But this is a very very important race. Our state is not on a good
path right now. Governor heally is failing us, and I'm the Republican that can make a change in leadership and become the next governor of the state. So I encourage folks to take a look and love to have you on board.
Mike Kennely, appreciate your time tonight. I thought it was a good hour. Both you and Ryan Shortsleeve, I think are two very formidable candidates. It'll be interesting to see which one of you is the nominee, but both of you have pledged that you will support whoever is the nominee. And I think the Republican Party has a long way to go, but I think there's a path that they can follow in twenty twenty six. Mike, thanks so much for your time tonight. We'll have you back.
Thanks gat to be ready. Thank you, You're very welcome.
All Right, we get back. We're going to talk about that had tragic, horrific event last night in Washington that took the lives of two young people who worked on the Israeli staff at the Israeli embassy in Washington, and we'll be talking with the Consul general here in New England. Consul General, the Israeli Consul General Benny Sharoni right after the ten o'clock news