Gov. Maura Healey on Monday vowed to maintain privacy for her and her family after the government reportedly refused to reveal where she went when she left the state for four days last month. I put a lot of effort into it.
The Boston Globe reported last week that Mr. Healey's office would not reveal, when asked, where the governor went during a four-day out-of-state trip last month. The governor's office announced last fall that it would no longer provide advance information to the press or the public about Healy's travel outside of Massachusetts, but officials planned to share her monthly calendar after the fact.
“I will continue to provide details about all work-related travel. I also said that my personal life is private and I will work to ensure that my family's privacy is maintained,” Healy said. said. Reporters on Monday.
Until November, Mr. Healey's office routinely provided information to the press before the governor or lieutenant governor left Massachusetts. Last fall, a spokesperson announced that the governor would no longer announce his travel plans in advance, a departure from the typical practice of the last few gubernatorial administrations.
“Due to safety concerns, we do not advise the governor on travel in advance,” spokeswoman Carissa Hand said at the time. “The governor is always on the job and in constant communication with his team no matter where he is.”
Other governors also highlighted the purpose and destination of their out-of-state travel, emphasizing staying connected while out of state.
Healey's office did not elaborate on the security concerns. But prior to the policy change, Governor Healey, the first woman and first openly gay man in Massachusetts, was attacked by local neo-Nazis outside the Arlington mansion he shares with his partner and his partner's children. There was a demonstration.
When the governor leaves Massachusetts, executive power is transferred to the lieutenant governor. If the lieutenant governor is also absent (or if the lieutenant governor position is vacant), authority passes to the secretary of state.
When Mr. Healy left on a four-day trip in mid-February, reporters were informed by Secretary of State William Galvin, not the governor's office. A spokesperson for Galvin said at the time that Galvin would serve as acting governor from February 9 to February 11, as Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll were out of state. Driscoll later said he had been with his father's family during that time after he died. Mr. Healey's February calendar lists the governor as being out of state (“OOS”) from February 8th to 11th, but provides no other information regarding her travel. do not have.
Healey traveled to North Carolina in October for a meeting of the Democratic Governors Association, but did not make the trip public, and questions about the undisclosed trip led to new policy announcements from her office. When the governor's office released Healy's monthly calendar for October, it included her flight times, arrival and departure airports and airlines.
According to Rolling Stone, while Mr. Healey was away in mid-February, demonstrators from NSC-131, a group that calls itself an organization seeking to create an all-white ethnic state in New England, took to Arlington to protest against the governor. He said he returned to his home. It was widely reported that Healy was out of state.
“I'm always working,” Ms. Healy said Monday when asked if it was important for people to know where she's been given her responsibilities to the state.
“Again, we will continue to provide you with a calendar as promised and will continue to provide you with information about all my work-related travel and events,” she said.
Mr. Healey's campaign's claims for greater transparency in access to public records have been tempered by his administration's insistence on some exemptions when reporters request certain documents.
