Healey’s housing chief becomes eighth cabinet member to leave

Massachusetts has led on clean energy, and we can’t afford to fall behind. Staying on track with planned solar and storage expansion will deliver major customer savings, reduce dependence on expensive gas, and boost grid reliability — with 44% of the benefits coming during winter. See the latest data.

And then there were five.

Ed Augustus on Thursday was the latest member of Gov. Maura Healey’s cabinet to head towards the exits. The former Worcester lawmaker and city manager is in line to be the next CEO of UniBank, trading Beacon Hill for what’s likely to be better pay, and a better commute, at the 22nd-largest bank in the state.

That leaves just budget chief Matt Gorzkowicz, climate chief Melissa Hoffer, energy and environmental chief Rebecca Tepper, technology chief Jason Snyder and labor chief Lauren Jones as the officials who have been there since the beginning in 2023.

Eight have left, including two transportation secretaries. That’s a turnover rate of more than 50%. Mike Kennealy, the economic development secretary under Gov. Charlie Baker who is now among the three Republicans gunning for Healey’s job, called it a sign of “disarray” within the administration. “The constant turnover reflects a deeply mismanaged operation,” he said in a statement.

An alternative, or more likely explanation, is that it’s the typical parachuting that happens as a top official steps up reelection efforts. Healey is said to have told her cabinet chiefs that if they were thinking of leaving to inform her before her state of the state speech, which occurred Jan. 22.

Patrick Tutwiler, Healey’s education secretary, officially stepped down last Friday, but word of his resignation was already filtering through the State House a month before that.

“This is a time when you’re in or out,” one Beacon Hill insider told MASSterList. “Because once election season ramps up, you can’t leave. You’ve got to commit to serving until after the election.”

Gorzkowicz, tasked with keeping a belt and suspenders on the state budget, is among the chiefs staying through the rest of 2026. “I serve at the pleasure of the governor. So unless she has other plans, I don’t have any,” he recently told reporters.

Augustus’s seat at the Friday cabinet meetings will be filled by Juana Matias, a former state rep from Lawrence who has worked for the federal housing agency and ran for Congress in 2018. Phil Eng, the interim transportation secretary and MBTA general manager, presumably was unavailable to take on a third post. Nobody’s perfect.

Inside his secretariat, Augustus had a reputation for being a tough boss. But Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director of the advocacy group Abundant Housing Massachusetts, noted Augustus oversaw several initiatives to address an “existential crisis” for the state created by a shortage of homes driving up prices and driving out people. That included the legalization of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as granny flats, as well as the implementation of the MBTA Communities law.

“They have doubled down on one of the most consequential zoning reforms in our state, and used the power of the executive office to make sure every community impacted by this law is doing its part,” Kanson-Benanav said.

“There will be some big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively,” said Kanson-Benanav, referring to Augustus and his 6’6 frame.

Kudos to everyone who got yesterday’s trivia question about Gov. Mitt Romney and what he kept outside his office. I started in the State House during Romney’s last year in office, and I remember the stanchions and rope as a hallmark of his tenure. Any other memories from that era? Send them along: [email protected].

MASSterList Job Board
President/CEO — NEW!, The Genesis Foundation for Children
Enforcement Counsel — NEW!, Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission
Collections Assistant — NEW!, Town of Easton
Digital Producer, CommonWealth Beacon
Assistant Clerk of the Council, City of Newton
Elections Supervisor, City of Newton
Chief Human Resources Officer, Seven Hills Foundation

Jobs continue below the fold — post a job

HAPPENING TODAY

…Gov. Maura Healey is in Washington, D.C. through Saturday for the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. In a statement, she said she is not attending the Trump White House meeting with governors….

8:00 | Quinsigamond Community College hosts its annual legislative breakfast. U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, who lives right up the street, is scheduled to attend and speak, as is Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. | 670 West Boylston St., Worcester

1:00 | U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern and Jake Auchincloss visit the Boys & Girls Club in Taunton for the sixth stop on McGovern's End Hunger Now tour. | 19 Court St., Taunton

1:30 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will attend the Age Strong Commission’s Mardi Gras celebration. | Veronica Smith Senior Center, 20 Chestnut Hill Avenue, Brighton

6:00 | Republican Lisa Mair hosts her campaign kickoff to represent the 12th Worcester District in the House. The district, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne, includes Clinton, Berlin, Lancaster, Boylston, Sterling and parts of Northborough. | Coffeelands, 50 High St., Clinton

POLITICAL INTEL

GOP candidate governor Michael Minogue’s super PAC recently conducted a poll pushing the former medical device executive as the Republican with the resources and outsider background to take on Gov. Maura Healey. The Massachusetts First super PAC released a memo from Republican firm McLaughlin & Associates, which surveyed 600 likely general election voters between Feb. 3 and Feb. 7. The memo noted that Minogue raised $8.5 million, with $7.5 million of his own funds in there, and called Healey vulnerable, at just under 50% favorable rating. Minogue has a 50% favorable rating, per the memo, which doesn’t mention by name the other two candidates, Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Kennealy, or delves into how they fared. A consultant working for the super PAC declined to make the full topline or crosstabs available. “While our own polling also shows that Maura Healey is beatable, the questionnaire for this poll was a pro-Minogue puff piece designed to pad his delicate ego and convince him to give more money to his consultants,” Kennealy adviser and pollster Brian Wynne said in a statement. Shortsleeve spokesperson Holly Robichaud called the super PAC’s survey a “paid sales pitch” aimed at justifying Minogue’s “lack of progress in the primary despite spending millions of dollars on media”….

…The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on March 5 hosts Phil Eng, the interim transportation secretary and MBTA general manager for a talk with its CEO, Jim Rooney, a former T employee himself. Eng will “share key insights into the current state of the MBTA, the strategic direction guiding the future of public transportation, and the Administration’s approach to improving transportation infrastructure throughout the Commonwealth,” an advisory said….

….Politics in Quincy has gotten spicier, as Mayor Tom Koch has faced pushback from a City Council that saw the election of several critics. Now a new group has emerged, headed by someone supportive of the mayor. Henry Dondero, an 80-year-old retiree, filed paperwork creating the “For Quinzy” Political Action Committee (PAC). The intentional misspelling is a nod to the proper pronunciation of the city’s name. But the group’s goal remains a mystery for now, as Dondero said it’s “premature” for him to start talking about his plans. He said he didn’t start the group at anyone’s behest and will have more to say in the coming months. “There’s so much division in the city right now,” he said, but defended Koch as having done a “phenomenal job”….

….Marblehead immigration attorney Diann Slavit Baylis on Friday announced a run for the Governor’s Council seat for northeastern Massachusetts. Late last year she considered joining a crowded field running for Rep. Seth Moulton’s Congressional seat. The Governor’s Council seat is held by Terrence Kennedy, who took out papers to run again. Typically chaired by the lieutenant governor, the council is a holdover from colonial times with a variety of responsibilities, including approving judicial nominations. “What many people don’t know is that critical decisions impacting the lives of children who enter the country unaccompanied, like the clients that I have represented as immigration counsel, are being made in our state probate courts,” Slavit Baylis said in a statement. “This is a dangerous time for immigrant families. We must ensure that people appointed to judgeships understand immigration law, and that they will stand up for the constitutional rights, safety and best interests of immigrants and immigrant children.”

Join us for Keller @ Large LIVE in conversation with House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka on Wednesday, February 25, at the MCLE. Register!

FROM BEACON HILL

SLOW ROLE: Beacon Hill lawmakers, not known for moving quickly, continue weighing legislation taking aim at federal immigration enforce agents while other states shoved bills onto their governor’s desks. – CommonWealth Beacon

TROOPERS SUSPENDED: Four state troopers are suspended, with pay, after prosecutors charged them with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a recruit. – MassLive

PUBLIC AID CHIEF: Michael Cole, the acting head of the state’s Department of Transitional Assistance, was named to the permanent post Thursday. He first stepped into the job when Jeff McCue retired last year. – State House News Service

NEWS NEXT DOOR

SNOW BUDGET BLOWN: Several South Shore communities have already overspent their snow removal budget due to the January storm. Quincy overspent by $2.75 million, while Braintree and Weymouth face similar circumstances. – Patriot Ledger

ANOTHER STATE POLICE SCANDAL: An attorney says there was a coverup after a 2023 collision in Woburn with an allegedly drunk State Police homicide investigator. The accusations came in legal filings in a separate case involving a Lowell murder defendant who was investigated by the trooper. – Boston Globe

RURAL AID REQUEST: Officials in the town of Dalton are asking Gov. Maura Healey to boost rural aid funding for education to $60 million in fiscal 2027, arguing that the $20 million in her version of the budget would lead to deep cuts. – Berkshire Eagle

MORE HEADLINES

Boston’s White Stadium to cost more than similar projects

Nantucket wastewater data still shows high levels of cocaine in sewage

Healey’s economic development chief swings through western Mass.

Boston’s oldest restaurant turns 200 years old

New Bedford elections commissioner who switched parties resigns

THE SUNDAY SHOWS

@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: NBC 10. The show continues its one-month hiatus due to NBC’s coverage of the Olympics.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The guest is Auditor Diana DiZoglio.

JOB BOARD

Do you have an open job you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter at [email protected].