Gonzalez outlines thrust of gubernatorial run
Gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez, who served as secretary of administration and finance under former Gov. Deval Patrick, joined Boston Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” program yesterday to discuss his upcoming run for governor and Gov. Charlie Baker’s record.
Q: The race for governor has gotten another entrant. Bob Massie is in the race. Wanted to get your reaction to that.
A: Yes. Bob Massie has officially entered the race. I welcome him to the race. I’ve met him at a few events recently. He’s a nice guy ... It doesn’t change my approach to this campaign ... I’m running because I think we need to make Massachusetts a leader again. I think we’ve got a lot of challenges we’re facing that are holding people back and we need to be taking them on ambitiously and trying to make real progress for people in a way that they’re going to feel. When it comes to making college affordable, making it affordable for people to get child care or fixing our transportation system, we’ve got a lot of big challenges. We need to take them on and I think I’ve got unique leadership experience — both in the public sector and the private sector — to deliver on that ambitious agenda.
Q: How Washington, D.C.-focused do you think that the governor should be? If you were governor how much time would you be spending on D.C.? A: The governor’s primary responsibility is managing state government and leading here in Massachusetts. Having said that, we’re very dependent on the federal government for a lot of resources and to the extent that the federal government is moving in a direction that it seems to be moving, which is really threatening our values, pulling back on major commitments to the environment and funding health care ... These issues matter to people here, and people here as I’m going around the state are very concerned about what’s happening at the federal level.
Q: I’ve been seeing this push in Massachusetts from voters who want to hear their politicians yell about opposing Trump ... At what point is this just more political pandering and how much is actually going to change anything?
A: I’m not about grandstanding for grandstanding’s sake. I’ve worked in government and I know that you’ve got to work collaboratively. As governor, I would have to work collaboratively with the Legislature, with other stakeholders and with the federal government, with the Trump administration and with Congress ... Having said that, there are certain issues ... that are inconsistent with what we need here in Massachusetts and what we believe here in Massachusetts then we should stand up and say so.