Trahan endorses Healey for governor
LOWELL » U. S. Rep. Lori Trahan endorsed Attorney General Maura Healey in her run for governor during a group tour in Lowell on Monday.
While stopped at Four Sisters Owl Diner — where Trahan waitressed through high school — Trahan said she has worked alongside Healey on a number of issues, including their support for the Roe Act and clean water initiatives, as well as their joint efforts in “holding (former President Donald) Trump’s White House accountable” when it comes to environmental policies.
Trahan said this next gubernatorial administration is pivotal to the future of Lowell and the surrounding community, and she said she thinks Healey understands the economic opportunity in the city and how to make it flourish.
“No matter the fight, she rolls up her sleeves, she gets to work and she knows how to deliver,” Trahan said. “We’re both athletes, and I think it’s important to know how to win not just at the ballot box, but also on policy issues, and I think that’s what hardworking families in this region especially rely on, is someone to have their back.”
Healey has served as the state’s attorney general since 2015 and has focused on addressing drug abuse, the rising costs of health care and the criminal justice system. She is also a civil rights attorney who supports marriage equality, paid parental leave and a more equitable and inclusive workplace, according to the state government website.
For Healey, funding infrastructure projects, such as those at Umass Lowell, through state and federal investments is one major way she hopes to make an impact on the city and support its interests.
“I’m running because I want to bring economic prosperity across the state. I want to support our gateway cities who are just poised to take off. I want to see Lowell take off as it’s poised to do,” Healey said. “There’s so much opportunity here for economic development, business development, and I want to be a governor who drives that.”
Healey acknowledged the similarities between her and Trahan’s paths to politics, both starting as waitresses and college athletes before turning to public service.
“I look to ( Trahan) as somebody who would be a terrific teammate and partner, and I admire what she’s done for the city of Lowell and for the 3rd Congressional District,” Healey said. “She’s done a tremendous job in her role, and I’m excited to be here today touring Lowell with her and receiving her support.”
Outside the Hamilton Canal Innovation District, Trahan officially announced her support for Healey, citing Healey’s work ethic, commitment to women’s and LGBTQ rights and to gun reform and work in mitigating PFAS and other water contaminants.
Following the announcement, Healey and Trahan visited the Umass Lowell
Innovation Hub, where they joined City Manager Tom Golden, incoming Umass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen, outgoing Chancellor Jacquie Moloney and other Umass officials to explore projects at the university.
The group learned about technological development and special projects at the college’s New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation Center. Holly Yanco, director of the Nerve Center and a professor of computer science, introduced officials to Spot, a robot that moves like a dog to pick up objects.
Trahan and Healey inspected military instruments, including drones, that the center is working on, and walked through the Fabric Discovery Center, where experts demonstrated a Jacquard loom that allows researchers to make a variety of hightech fabrics. They also met a number of businesses working out of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center, who showcased their research and gratitude for the college.
Later in the day, the politicians and their teams embarked on a Cambodian business walk, visiting K Pharmacy, Mony Var Insurance and other stores in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau, who became the first Cambodian American mayor in the U. S. when he was elected in January, said he appreciates Trahan’s and Healey’s focus on small businesses run by Asian Americans in Lowell.
Chau said he’d like to see the next governor support affordable homeownership in Lowell and have a true, authentic sense of the important issues facing the city.
“She’s very energetic, has a fresh perspective, she has a good team and I think she’s going to do an excellent job for the whole state,” Chau said. “I’m very excited to support her and eventually endorse her.”
Healey will face state Sen. Sonia Chang- Diaz, D-boston, and newcomers Josh Caldwell, of Revere, and Orlando Silva, of Shrewsbury, in the Democratic primary on Sept. 6.
Healey said she learned a great deal through touring the college and its facilities, and looks forward to prioritizing Lowell and its development if she is elected.
“We’re in the city that houses so many wonderful mills and engines of economic development through history, and it’s a community rich in its diversity, an immigrant city that represents the very best in what this country is supposed to be about in terms of opportunity,” Healey said to Trahan during the press conference. “You’re somebody I know who believes in harnessing all of that … and that’s what I want to do as governor.”