HAMILTON, Mass. — Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue today proposed banning political contributions from individuals and organizations that receive state contracts or payments. He also called on Gov. Maura Healey to return contributions to her inaugural committees from companies that later received state contracts, tax breaks, and favorable regulatory decisions.
“In Massachusetts, the people writing checks to politicians keep getting the state contracts,” Minogue said. “When a company gives the governor up to $25,000 and then receives a state contract or multimillion-dollar tax incentive, taxpayers have every right to ask who the government is working for. While working families struggle to afford electricity, housing, healthcare, and childcare, political insiders benefit from a system that serves them, not the people. I will end Maura Healey’s culture of corruption.”
Healey’s 2023 inaugural committee raised more than $3 million, the most of any Massachusetts governor’s inaugural committee. Minogue argues the fundraising raises questions about the relationship between political contributions and companies’ access to state contracts and benefits.
The $2 Billion Springfield Courthouse: The Healey administration chose two political insiders to receive a $2 billion deal to replace the Springfield courthouse. Taxpayers will pay $2 billion without guaranteed ownership and remain responsible for major repairs. The selected proposal mirrors a design for a courthouse in Orlando, Florida. By comparison, the existing courthouse in Springfield cost $17 million and took three years to build.
Healey’s administration handed the contract to Liberty Junction, a partnership that includes CoJo Partners, co-owned by Conan Harris, the husband of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and John Barros, the interim executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Court documents show Barros met with her top staffers just hours before the deal was made public. Barros divested his interest only after public backlash and still has not provided specifics.
The construction estimate was the second highest of four finalists, and court employees ranked its bid near the bottom. The state Inspector General cast the lone vote against the lease, warning the project appeared to have been steered.
“The Springfield courthouse is the perfect example of corruption or the perception of corruption,” Minogue said. “Taxpayers will pay $2 billion to rent a building they may never own from a team tied to political insiders. Under my plan, companies that donate to the governor won’t turn around and win contracts from the Commonwealth.”
But a courthouse that cost the same as the Las Vegas Sphere was just the most recent example of corruption, part of a longer trend:
Commonwealth Care Alliance gave the Healey-Driscoll Inaugural Committee $50,000. In 2025, her administration agreed to cap the buyer’s losses for two years as part of a rescue of the insurer. The cost to taxpayers has not been disclosed.
Blue Cross Blue Shield gave the Healey-Driscoll Inaugural Committee $25,000. Healey later appointed a Blue Cross vice president as the state insurance commissioner, the regulator who approves Blue Cross’s rates.
CVS gave $25,000 to the Healey-Driscoll Inaugural Committee two days after then-Attorney General Healey announced its opioid settlement.
Eversource employees have given over a combined $62,000 to Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll’s campaigns since 2016 (nearly $50,000 of which came from executive leadership). CEO Joseph Nolan Jr. hosted a fundraiser for Maura Healey in September 2026.
Steward Health Systems and executives gave Attorney General Healey over $100,000 in donations and sponsored fundraisers, and AG Healey signed off on the oversight of the system. Steward gave the Healey-Driscoll Inaugural Committee $10,000 in 2023, and Governor Healey sat on the sidelines as they pulled services from their hospitals.
The Minogue Plan
On Day One, Governor Mike Minogue will institute the following reforms:
- Ban contributions from state contractors and their senior executives to candidates for state office and to inaugural and transition committees, while they hold a contract and for two years afterward. Connecticut has a similar ban, and a federal appeals court upheld it.
- Bar contributions from state employees and from unions that negotiate contracts with the state.
- Close the inaugural loophole by applying the $1,000 individual limit, the $200 lobbyist limit, and the corporate donation ban to inaugural committees.
- Require full disclosure of donors to transition nonprofits, which are now allowed to keep their donors secret.
- Require disclosure of all donations to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations by anyone receiving government contracts and working with or supporting the Governor’s Office.
“Governor Healey should return every dollar she took from companies that later got state business, or give an equal amount to charity,” Minogue said. “If she believes those donations had nothing to do with it, returning them should be easy.”