The committee also held a series of regional events in the days beforehand, including a toy giveaway in Springfield and a food and coat drive in Worcester on Monday, a school supply giveaway in Taunton and a meal giveaway in Yarmouth on Tuesday, and a “family support drive” Wednesday in Lowell. Attendees could also take home free gear, including foam fingers with the phrase “Team Up, Massachusetts.” Vicinity Energy donated $10,000 while the Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources gave $25,000.Ī former college and professional basketball player, Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll - herself a former college basketball player - held a basketball-themed inauguration night celebration dubbed “Moving the Ball Forward.”Įddie Palladino, the Boston Celtics’ public address announcer, was the emcee, and Bryan Rafanelli, the finance co-chair for Healey’s campaign and an events planner whose company has handled weddings for Chelsea Clinton and Naomi Biden, produced it. Several unions also gave big - with 1199SEIU’s PAC and IBEW Local 103 each giving $25,000 - as did energy companies. Santander, which Healey settled with last year for more than $5.5 million over subprime auto loans, contributed $5,000. ![]() Grubhub, which she sued alleging it charged illegally high fees to Massachusetts restaurants, gave $10,000. CVS Pharmacy, with which Healey last month announced an agreement to resolve allegations that it contributed to the opioid crisis, gave $25,000, as did Comcast, with which Healey reached a settlement in 2018 over allegations the company violated state consumer protection law. Several companies that Healey, as attorney general, either investigated, sued, or reached settlements with also contributed. Dempsey Associates contributed $25,000, while a range of others - Kearney, Donovan & McGee, Rasky Partners, Tremont Strategies Group, and more - contributed $10,000. “Governor Healey has a long track record of holding corporations accountable for wrongdoing and standing up for the people of Massachusetts,” Norton said in a statement.įacing no additional restriction beyond Healey’s overall cap, lobbyists gave often to her committee. Kate Norton, a spokeswoman for the committee, said Healey’s inaugural party was funded entirely by private donations and did not rely on any taxpayer dollars. She referred questions to her inaugural committee “about anything related to last night’s events.” “Today is about the administration of government,” she said after her first Cabinet meeting. “Fundamentally, no one wants to feel like an elected official can be purchased - not the public, not groups like ours, and not elected officials.”Īppearing at the State House on Friday, Healey declined to address a question about how she would guarantee to the public that donors would not hold influence over her decisions going forward. “We hope that that won’t happen,” Foster said. But the state requirement that governors and others must disclose who is footing the bill helps the public and watchdogs track whether donors later receive special treatment, he said. High-dollar donations to an inaugural committee often run the risk of raising red flags, said Geoff Foster, the executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a good-government watchdog. But inaugural committees aren’t bound by such restrictions, nor are they required to disclose expenditures.Īides to Healey have yet to provide a projected cost for the celebration, though a spokeswoman for the committee said Friday that it would report a total cost “when final.” The number of donations also could grow: The report Healey’s committee filed covered only through the end of December. Under state law, individuals can’t give more than $1,000 to a candidate’s campaign each year, lobbyists are limited to $200, and businesses are barred completely from donating to a candidate. ![]() on Thursday, a little more than two hours before the statutory deadline and roughly 90 minutes after the celebration at the TD Garden, which featured a performance by folk-pop singer Brandi Carlile. Healey’s inaugural committee filed the donor list with state campaign finance regulators shortly before 10 p.m.
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