Battenfeld: Kim Driscoll’s dubious record in ultimate do-nothing job

If you dread the next four years under Gov. Maura Healey, how do you feel about Healey dragging sidekick Kim Driscoll along with her?

Democrat Driscoll, in the ultimate do-nothing job in all of the state hackerama, already has a litany of dubious accomplishments she’s accumulated over the past four years.

Whether it was dressing up in a Dunkin’ Donuts jumpsuit, lecturing all of us to open up our spare “suites” to illegal migrants, selling out her former municipal colleagues by jamming the MBTA Communities Act down their throats, posing for photos with lobbyists, playing a role in the Applegreen contract debacle or sneaking Healey migrant hotels into communities without any warning, the left wing lieutenant governor has quite the record to run on.

Not quite a co-governor that Paul Cellucci was under Bill Weld, Driscoll is more of a merry minion to Healey whose only real duties are to preside over the dysfunctional Governor’s Council and give back door access to politically-connected consultants.

Not surprising from the woman whose primary job as mayor of Salem for 17 years was to organize Halloween festivities every fall.

Now she’s being groomed to be the next governor when Healey leaves or gets voted out.

There were a lot of expectations for Driscoll from mayors and town managers across the state when she took over in 2023, because she was once one of them as Salem mayor. Lieutenant governors have traditionally been liaisons to cities and towns as part of their duties, keeping them in the loop on what’s going on in state government.

“I am so grateful for the time I spent in local government,” Driscoll gushed to municipal leaders just a few days after taking office. “I will always have a hat on as a local official. Once a mayor, you’re always a mayor…I hope you use me as a resource.”

Driscoll promised the administration would partner with local governments in housing development, economic investment and education.

But instead of being a partner, Driscoll’s administration has ignored cities and towns’ concerns and forced them under threat of penalty to accept the MBTA Communities Act, which mandates affordable multi-family housing zoning districts near T stops.

The heavy handed tactics and threats of withholding state funding did not sit well with local officials.

“They have a singular mission at the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to destroy small town America,” state Rep. Jeff Turco said.

Rather than listen to the concerns, Driscoll joked about the conflict at a Boston Foundation event last November.

“The MBTA Communities law, we certainly spend a lot of time talking about that,” Driscoll said. “It has been a source of inspiration and, at times, a source of frustration. But we know this is requiring communities to think more concretely about the type of housing they have.”

Driscoll said she was willing to sit in traffic for five more minutes a day because of clogged roads created by more housing.

“That’s a tradeoff I’m willing to live with,” said Driscoll, who herself gets a state police chauffeur to drive around in.

Driscoll along with her boss was responsible for the infamous “Healey hotels,” which they crammed migrants into over the first two years of their term under the cover of darkness, then told cities and towns to put up with it.

Then Driscoll had the gall to condescendingly tell Massachusetts residents to open up their homes to the thousands of families from foreign lands flocking to the state for free room and board and schooling and health care.

“If you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family,” Driscoll said.

Healey also put Driscoll front and center of the migrant crisis by getting her to speak with frustrated lawmakers at a secret State House meeting. So much for transparency.

Among the complaints were undocumented children just showing up at local schools without any warning from the state.

“The communication has been less than desirable from all aspects down to the municipal level,” State Rep. Michael Moran said. “That’s the frustration that a lot of our colleagues expressed, a number of them expressed, and the administration took some ownership of that.”

Driscoll along with Healey was also part of a sham awarding of a nearly $1 billion contract to the Irish firm Applegreen to refurbish the state highway service areas.

Instead of investigating the botched contract, Driscoll and Healey were ducking and defending the questionable bidding process.

Driscoll should be asked directly whether she had any role in awarding the lucrative contract to Applegreen, which has since been pulled. Did she have any contact with members of the contract selection committee to influence the vote?

Early in her term, Driscoll humiliated herself by dressing up along with Healey in an orange Dunkin’ Donuts jumpsuit as part of a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast skit. It was embarrassing.

“Seriously, how great is it to be a DunQueen,” Healey asked Driscoll as the two tossed Munchkins to the crowd. “We get to run everything.”

“I mean, yeah, like the MBTA,” Driscoll responded.

Instead of the DunQueen, Driscoll is the Queen of Mandates – forcing cities and towns to do the state’s bidding.

 

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