Healey pressed on fossil fuel donations
Chang-Diaz pledges to reject donations, challenges Healey twice to do the same
State Sen. Sonia ChangDiaz pressed Attorney General Maura Healey to reject fossil fuel donations during a Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate forum on environmental issues Wednesday evening.
Chang-Diaz made that commitment as the two Democratic candidates discussed tackling the climate crisis, but the frontrunner for governor wouldn’t make the same pledge.
The Boston state senator during the WBUR forum promised that she will turn down all campaign donations from oil, gas and coal executives, lobbyists and PACs.
“I want to invite you as well, attorney general, to join me in that pledge and return the $50,000 of fossil fuel donations that you have received since your last election,” Chang-Diaz said to Healey. “So that the voters in Massachusetts can know where our North Star is, and where our loyalties lie, and where our focus is going to be as we tackle these immense challenges.”
Healey initially didn’t respond to her opponent, and a couple of minutes later was pressed by the WBUR host about the campaign donations.
“I don’t think the fossil fuel industry likes me too much,” Healey responded. “Exxon Mobil took me to court no less than three times in three different states to try to shut down my investigation. I am not on their holiday card list… I also, by the way, remember, I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this state.”
Chang-Diaz again brought up the $50,000 of fossil fuel donations since Healey’s last election, and challenged her a second time to make the pledge to reject such campaign donations.
Healey responded, “To be honest, I have to look at donations. I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to, or who you’re referring to.”
Republican candidates Geoff Diehl and Chris Doughty were invited to participate in the forum hosted by WBUR and the Environmental League of Massachusetts. They both declined, and Healey took a shot at them for that.
“We’re both really committed to this, and that is a difference between the two gentleman who were invited who did not show up,” Healey said.
Both Healey and ChangDiaz were asked what key actions they’d take as governor to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The attorney general said it’s all about “big time revving up renewables.”
“We have got to really rev up renewables, as we move away from fossil fuels,” Healey said, adding, “My plan is about doubling our wind targets, quadrupling our storage targets… and then doing all that we can with solar.”
Chang-Diaz said the next governor needs to bring “an enduring and unflinching sense of urgency to this work.”
“We need to make massive changes to the way that people move around in this state, and that’s not necessarily going to be easy to do,” Chang-Diaz said, later adding about mass transit, “It includes going fare free on our MBTA and our regional transit authorities, so that we are getting more people out of their cars and into mass transit.”