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Date: 10/11/2022
AMHERST – Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts Kim Driscoll stopped by Amherst on Oct. 1 to kick off her canvassing effort in the area. Driscoll spoke at Fort River Elementary School to a small but dedicated crowd of supporters about her platform, her hopes for the campaign and expectations for the rest of the race.
She began her speech with praise for her running mate, Massachusetts Attorney General and candidate for governor Maura Healey. In regard to legislators’ use of state and federal funding, specifically with funding from the national opioid settlement, Driscoll said that “a lot of things put that money right back into their legislative hands,” but that Healey “wants to see those dollars go directly to communities, where we know the treatment, the recovery, the education, the prevention is happening.”
Driscoll said that she looks forward to seeing Healey as the next governor of Massachusetts but acknowledged that there were still 38 days left in the race, and that their campaign effort was “not taking anything for granted.”
She also pointed out some differences between the Healey-Driscoll campaign and their opponents, the Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Leah Cole Allen.
“It seems to me that we have a group that really want to divide us, want to call out otherism, but aren’t interested in reproductive rights … Geoff Diehl was at a mayor’s meeting and said ‘I think money should follow the students, and home schooling, and private charters,’ things that would destroy public education ... [he is] against the Affordable Care Act … he doesn’t believe the results of the election will actually count, this election, the one that hasn’t even been held yet, already calling it into question,” Driscoll said. “That’s divisive, that’s not the type of leader we want to have in Massachusetts, a place where we don’t settle, we lead.”
Driscoll went on to state firmly that come January 2023, if she and Healey are to be elected, there will be “no honeymoon phase.” They intend to hit the ground running in addressing Massachusetts’ most pressing issues including the childcare gap, transportation, the housing crisis, public education and climate action.
She wrapped up her speech by thanking her supporters for their time and the time that they will put in over the rest of the campaign canvassing in the Amherst region. She also made sure to give Healey her praise again, stating, “I told her recently, ‘We’ve only been together a month and you’re already my favorite teammate!’ We’re really excited about the future and we are optimistic about the work that’s ahead, not just the two of us, but that all of us are going to do. Thank you so much for your time here and the work you’re going to do over the next 38 days.”
The campaign staff handed out additional signs to canvassers as Driscoll took pictures with supporters.
Healey and Driscoll represent the first all-female gubernatorial ticket in Massachusetts history. Driscoll has been mayor of Salem since 2006, and in an August WBUR-hosted primary debate she promised to be a “strategic ally” for towns and cities because of her past in municipal government.
The Massachusetts General Election will take place on Nov. 8. Registration will end on Oct. 29. Requests for mail-in absentee ballots must be received by Nov. 1 Early in-person voting begins on Oct. 22.