Politics & Government

MA Gov. Maura Healey Takes Office: Top Issues In First Term

Here's what Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she'd like to tackle in the coming months.

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Maura Healey, center right, is sworn in as Massachusetts governor by state Senate President Karen Spilka, left, as Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, right, looks on during inauguration ceremonies Thursday at the Statehouse, in Boston.
Maura Healey, center right, is sworn in as Massachusetts governor by state Senate President Karen Spilka, left, as Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, right, looks on during inauguration ceremonies Thursday at the Statehouse, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON, MA — Gov. Maura Healey made history Thursday as she became the first openly gay woman to lead Massachusetts in state history. But Healey's inauguration speech focused more on items she wants to fix in the future as she begins a four-year term as the state's 73rd governor.

At the top of Healey's agenda: economic problems facing many residents in Massachusetts, which is one of the most prosperous states in the nation, and one that ended the 2022 fiscal year with a nearly $2 billion surplus.

"Record public revenue does little good when families can’t pay the rent, or buy a house, or heat their homes, or hire child care. Our health system is the envy of the world. Yet our hospitals are desperate for staff," she said.

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RELATED: Salem's Kim Driscoll Sworn In As MA Lieutenant Governor

"This is the greatest state in the union. It is. But people are leaving, at rates we don’t like, giving up on the Massachusetts story," she continued.

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What does Healey plan to do within her first 100 days and her first term overall about issues like housing, jobs and transportation? Here are a few items she highlighted in her inauguration speech Thursday at the Statehouse:

  • Within 100 days, hire a secretary of housing to meet production goals amid a statewide housing shortage
  • A proposed free community college program — also backed by state Sen. President Karen Spilka — to make community college free for people over 25 who don't hold a degree
  • Increase the state's tax deduction for renters, and the child tax credit
  • Conduct equity audits of each state agency
  • Identify state-owned land that could be used to build rental housing
  • Fund 1,000 new MBTA workers and hire a safety chief in 60 days
  • Initiatives aimed at climate change, like fostering a "climate corridor" for green jobs, electrifying the state vehicle fleet and increase state solar and wind procurement

Healey, 51, defeated Republican Geoff Diehl in the November election, and faced no challenger in the September Democratic primary.

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