Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said she is “proud” of the scandal-plagued Massachusetts State Police and continued to deflect blame for her disgraced former aide, LaMar Cook, in her second and final debate Thursday night against GOP challenger Mike Minogue.
Healey’s support of the State Police comes as the law enforcement agency is embroiled in countless scandals from fatal drunk driving incidents, cover-ups of misconduct, sexual harassment and assault, rape and more; while her deflection of blame for Cook comes just one day after his arrest on federal SNAP and wire fraud charges.
“I have a lot of respect for the men and women in law enforcement. As a prosecutor, as an attorney general, I’ve worked alongside them for many years, and I’m proud of the Massachusetts State Police,” Healey said when asked about the misconduct issues within the state police. “Do things happen? Sometimes things happen, but I can tell you he and I make sure that swift action is taken. I am proud to have the support of local and state law enforcement in this race. And that’s because they know I have their back.”
Minogue was quick to jump on the State Police misconduct issues as well as LaMar Cook and his state drug and gun charges along with his new federal charges, among other issues that support the appearance of corruption in the Healey administration.
“I think the governor just said, ‘sometimes things happen.’ That is unacceptable. A woman was raped. ‘Sometimes things happen’ is not acceptable and when you have people that break the law or do things wrong, you are judged on your accountability. What do you do when things go wrong? How are you going to act? How are we going to make sure it never happens again? That’s what leaders do,” Minogue responded.
WCVB anchor and On The Record co-host Ed Harding served as moderator while panelists included the station’s political reporter and On The Record co-host Sharman Sacchetti, Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker, and WBUR Morning Edition host Tiziana Dearing.
Minogue also called out Healey for the hiring of LaMar Cook, as well as his state gun and drug charges, the $31,000 contract buyout “mistakenly” paid out to him by the governor’s office, and his ability to allegedly fraudulently obtain SNAP benefits under the Healey-run Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA).
“I did fire Lamar Cook immediately, and I will fire anyone immediately who commits wrongdoing in my administration. But the point, though, is that there’s work to do in the state. I know that, and I have been about delivering results. So I think that’s what the voters are looking at is the record,” Healey said, going on to mention her record on several other topics, like her free community college initiative.
Healey failed to acknowledge, however, that a Boston Herald public records request revealed in December that her office was informed by the State Police of Cook’s criminal history, including charges that he shot at people sitting on a porch in 2001 in Springfield, yet hired him anyway.
Cook has been the scandal that simply won’t go away for Healey, as his October 2025 arrest on state drug and gun charges, as well as the subsequent unwarranted contract buyout, SNAP benefits and more that he’s received since, has only contributed to the appearance of a corruption problem in the Healey administration.
Healey and Minogue will face off in the general election on Nov. 3.
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