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A pair of prominent housing advocates and a leader in a prolific Boston development firm will lead the effort to get incoming Gov. Maura Healey’s housing policy initiatives up and running.
Healey’s campaign announced that its transition committee focused on “abundant, affordable housing” would be helmed by:
- Alisa Magnotta, president and CEO of Hyannis-based Housing Assistance Corp.
- Keith Fairey, president and CEO of Springfield-based Way Finders
- Stephen Davis, co-president, The Davis Cos.
The Housing Assistance Corp. develops affordable housing, provides services for individuals on Cape Cod experiencing homelessness, offers housing counseling for Cape residents and advocates for better housing policies in the region. Way Finders provides similar services for the Springfield area. HAC was a leading member of a coalition of real estate industry figures, Cape residents and advocates who convinced many Cape towns to liberalize zoning for or outright legalize accessory dwelling units over the last five years.
The Davis Cos. is a prominent commercial real estate developer around the Greater Boston area and beyond, and is an important player in the region’s life science real estate boom.
“The goal of this transition is to support and build a talented team that’s prepared to begin to deliver for people on day one. Governor-elect Healey and I are excited to be building out our transition committees that will guide this process, in addition to other important work we will be doing over the coming weeks,” Lieutenant Governor-elect and Transition Chair Kim Driscoll said in a statement. “Our team is working hard and continuing to engage the public by reviewing the ideas submitted to us and gathering applications from those interested in joining our administration.”
As mayor of Salem, Driscoll was a prominent voice advocating for more housing production and Healey has specifically called out the state’s high cost of housing as a threat to its economy.
The Healey campaign also named the co-chairs for committees overseeing youth and education policy, economic development, health and public safety and transportation.
The economic development co-chairs will be Bunker Hill Community College President Pam Eddinger, Massachusetts Business Roundtable President and CEO JD Chesloff, Berkshire Black Economic Council President and Executive Director A.J. Enchill and Massachusetts AFL-CIO Chief of Staff Chrissy Lynch.
The transportation team will be lead by former MBTA board vice chair and 128 Business Council Executive Director Monica Tibbits-Nutt and former Massport CEO Tom Glynn.
Transition team leaders are charged with ensuring the incoming administration is up to speed with all the initiatives and policy efforts of the outgoing administration. They also have an opportunity to influence the incoming administration’s policy, including by helping select or vet appointees for top posts at the state’s various departments, but unless they go on to be selected for top posts in the administration they don’t always get the opportunity to influence a gubernatorial administration on an ongoing basis.
