Governor-elect Maura Healey is seen on-stage at her Election Night rally at Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on Nov. 8, 2022. State House News Service Photo

In her victory speech from the Fairmont Copley Plaza – the same hotel where Healey capped off a speedy ascension into state politics with her 2014 election as attorney general – Governor-elect Maura Healey on Tuesday night said that she and running mate Kim Driscoll were elected with “a mandate to act.”

“So we’re going to ignore the noise. We’re going to focus every day on making a positive difference in people’s lives. Our job from day one will be to make our state more affordable,” the governor-elect said. “I’ll be a governor for every person struggling with higher costs. We’ll make Massachusetts more competitive and affordable so that people will come here, stay here, and grow their businesses here. We’ll cut taxes, fix road and bridges, invest in education and job training, and we’ll take on the climate crisis and create great clean energy jobs.”

On the campaign trail, Healey said that her gubernatorial administration would cut taxes – “I want to be clear with the voters: As governor, I’m going to cut taxes,” she said on Oct. 12 – put new leadership in charge of the MBTA, set a target of net-zero emissions from state operations by 2030, fully electrify public transportation by 2040, tackle “local zoning barriers” to build more housing, end state and local law enforcement involvement in federal immigration matters, and take a fresh look at the role of standardized testing in K-12 education.

How Far from Baker’s Path?

When it comes to the nuts-and-bolts of getting their new administration up and running by Jan. 5 Healey and Driscoll, who is also Salem’s outgoing mayor, plan to spend part of Wednesday chatting with the Republicans whose jobs they will take over in January.

During the campaign, Healey telegraphed that she won’t veer too far from the the way that Baker has approached the job of governor, and in some cases, said outright that she’d do the same thing that the popular Republican has done.

In her first debate against Diehl, Healey said that “Gov. Baker put forward a tax plan that I support,” that she “was really heartened by the Baker administration” and its response to the unexpected arrival of migrants on Martha’s Vineyard, that she has “supported many of the moves of the Baker administration and of the legislature” around climate policy and “would have signed the same legislation that Gov. Baker signed” in August. Her plan for another major COVID-19 surge, she said, would be “to continue to follow the science and the data, I think that’s what the Baker administration has done and done successfully.”

“I will tell you that Gov. Baker’s done a really good job,” Healey said during a debate lightning round when she refused to give a letter grade to Baker’s performance as governor. “He’s done a really good job.”

But Healey, who has often interacted with the governor during her eight years as attorney general, won’t be working with Baker any longer. Come January, she will be one of the so-called Big Three and will have to become comfortable with the power dynamics inherent in the executive-legislative relationship. She worked closely with some lawmakers as attorney general and was endorsed by both House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka.

While a Healey tete-a-tete with Baker can help aid a smooth transfer of the Executive Branch, it’s her communication with Mariano and Spilka that will help define what she can accomplish during her time in office. The next “Big Three” will belong to a single political party, but shared party membership does not equal guaranteed cooperation in advancing each other’s initiatives.

Key Appointments Soon

Meantime, speculation is already underway about jobs in the Healey administration, and the talk will continue for a long time.

Healey’s next big step is likely to tap a transition director, someone who becomes a significant voice in an incoming governor’s ear while they work on assembling a team, usually starting with the appointment of cabinet secretaries.

And while Baker wraps up his eight years in office, work is underway on turning over the numerous agencies and secretariats to the next administration. Baker’s press secretary told the News Service in October of months of work that agencies have put into what the administration envisions as a “smooth and productive” transfer.

The customary timeline would have Healey picking a transition director fairly soon; cabinet secretaries can quickly follow once that piece of the puzzle is in place.

Healey might look to make a point with her secretary choices. Sometimes the position that gets filled first, or the person placed in a post may convey an issue or governing style the new executive wants to emphasize.

With Democrats about to have a lock on all top posts in state government, will Healey’s first Cabinet-related press conference be to introduce a moderate or a progressive? A health secretary or a budget chief? The governor-elect has emphasized the need for tax cuts and housing production. Who will lead those efforts?

Baker picked his first Cabinet secretary within five days of the election, when he chose a Democrat – Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash – to lead the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

While the appointments can start fast, they can also continue trickling out as the holiday season develops: Baker held off until the day before Christmas Eve to name his transition chief, Peyser, as education secretary.

Secretary of Housing Coming

Incoming governors also think about how they want their management team organized, and can file reorganization plans, which are vetted and voted on by the legislature, to shake up the executive branch and better highlight new priorities.

As Patrick got ready to enter office in 2006, for example, he was preparing to file reorganization legislation to “bring together disjointed departments and have them work in a way that makes sense,” a spokeswoman said at the time. He announced on Dec. 15 a secretary of “housing and economic development,” which prefaced his consolidation of the business and housing executive offices into a so-called super-secretariat.

Healey has pledged to establish a secretary of housing position “to lead the growth of housing in the commonwealth” and her campaign says that move “will prioritize housing as a key driver of economic growth and increase focus and resources on housing production and preservation.”

Healey could also reach into the legislature, or the ranks of recently departed legislators, for help as she forms her team. If she plucks sitting lawmakers for jobs, that will trigger special elections.

Baker in 2014 chose Rep. Carlo Basile as his chief secretary and Rep. Matthew Beaton as chief of energy and environmental affairs. Both House members had been reelected by their constituents less than a month before their new jobs were announced. Their January 2015 resignations at the start of the new term necessitated special elections for the Shrewsbury and East Boston seats.