Fact-check: Healey, Minogue spar on energy, fired state worker in Massachusetts governor’s race debate

In the final governor’s debate before Election Day, Republican businessman Mike Minogue and Democratic incumbent Gov. Maura Healey argued over whether Massachusetts needs new leadership to improve its affordability challenges or if the state is already on the right path.

PolitiFact’s partner WCVB-TV cohosted the debate with WBUR-FM and The Boston Globe. We also fact-checked the debate in real time. 

As he did in the first debate, Minogue, a former CEO of a medical device company, attacked Healey over the high cost of living in Massachusetts, including electricity, while the governor defended her record on tax cuts and housing policy. 

The candidates argued over Healey’s actions related to a former official in her administration who was fired after an arrest on cocaine trafficking and earlier this week charged with federal fraud in a food benefits program.

Here is a fact-check of their remarks. 

RELATED: Massachusetts governor’s race debate: Live fact-checks of Maura Healey and Mike Minogue

Energy

Minogue: Healey “stopped the natural gas pipelines coming in.”

This accurately describes her actions about a decade ago. Amid today’s high energy costs, Healey has reversed course. On Oct. 1, Healey asked the Trump administration to speed up the expansion of natural gas into Massachusetts.

Healey said during the debate she stopped natural gas pipelines from coming into the state when she was the state attorney general because the pipeline developer wanted “ratepayers and not the developer, not the company, to pay for it. I stood up for ratepayers and I went to court.” 

In 2015, Healey as attorney general authorized a study that found Massachusetts didn’t need new natural gas pipelines to maintain power grid reliability through 2030. Her office followed up in early 2016 by fighting pipeline developers in court to block a plan that could have required ratepayers to subsidize construction costs. A 2016 state Supreme Court ruling barred the funding mechanism, and developers shelved both multi-billion-dollar proposals.

Healey: “To lower energy bills, I filed legislation that would save us about $13 billion.”

That’s supported by an independent analysis commissioned by Healey’s administration, but critics say it’s an inflated estimate.

Healey filed the Energy, Affordability, Independence and Innovation Act in May 2025. 

The analysis Healey’s office released estimated the bill could save electric and gas customers $11.58 billion to $14.35 billion over 10 years. It says the projected savings would come from reducing certain energy bill charges and changing utility oversight.

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative advocacy group, said the estimate was inflated because it did not reflect the bill’s costs for ratepayers, including expenses associated with utility programs and grid improvements. The Boston Globe also reported March 21 that Healey’s legislation would cut funding from Mass Save, the state’s energy efficiency program, and could reduce its long-term benefits. 

Lawmakers are reviewing Healey’s proposal.

Minogue: Massachusetts is “one of the most expensive places for electricity.”

That’s accurate.

Massachusetts ranked fourth for most expensive electricity as of July 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest available data. Massachusetts residential electricity cost 30.49 cents per kilowatt hour, exceeded only by Hawaii (48 cents), California (33.61) and Maine (32.41).

Candidates spar about fired state worker who was arrested for trafficking cocaine, then charged with SNAP fraud

Minogue: “Someone can get 18 pounds of cocaine delivered, and you didn’t fire them. They got arrested, then they got severance, and now they’re on SNAP benefits that you didn’t even check on.”

Healey (following other remarks): “I fired LaMar Cook before he was even arraigned.”

Minogue: “He was arrested.”

Healey: “I fired him before he was even arraigned.”

Minogue: “After he was arrested.”

Minogue (following more remarks from Healey and crosstalk): “If someone is arrested, you didn’t fire them. They got arrested with 18 pounds of cocaine. In the real world, you’re automatically fired. Then you don’t get a severance package, and then you don’t get to get SNAP benefits.”

This needs context.

LaMar Cook, who was deputy director of Healey’s western Massachusetts office, was fired after Healey learned he was arrested Oct. 28, 2025, for trafficking cocaine after authorities seized about 17 pounds of the drug addressed to the state office building where Cook worked. 

He was arraigned Oct. 29, 2025.

Earlier this week, federal law enforcement arrested and charged Cook with one count of wire fraud and one count of SNAP fraud. A judge revoked Cook’s bail after the new federal charges.

Cook applied for SNAP benefits April 6 and falsely claimed he had less than $100 in his bank account and was living in a two-person household of himself and his child. 

Cook’s annual salary before he was fired was about $130,000. Authorities found he had a bank account with more than $8,800 and received thousands of dollars in additional deposits, including payments from his mother who had recently won $1 million in the lottery.

Cook failed to disclose that his fiancée and her mother lived with him at his Springfield residence and his fiancée earned annual income exceeding $80,000, prosecutors said.

Minogue’s description of a “severance package” was likely in reference to a vacation payout. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the state paid Cook $22,374.29 in net pay for accrued vacation leave following his firing. Healey’s administration later realized an error in paying Cook for accrued vacation leave time and attempted to get it back but couldn’t, prosecutors said. 

Affordability and economic growth

Healey: “We have the fourth fastest growth — economic growth, GDP — in the country right now.” 

Healey: “In the last year, we created 15,000 jobs alone.”

Both statements are exaggerated.

The ranking for gross domestic product growth is lower than Healey said.

When measured by the average of the past four quarters of annualized GDP growth, Massachusetts is tied for 17th in the nation.

For jobs, the number is about half what Healey said. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show there were 8,300 more nonfarm jobs in Massachusetts in August 2026 than in August 2025.

Minogue: “In the last debate, Gov. Healey said ‘Massachusetts is a great place to live if you can afford it.’”

Minogue said several times that Healey had made this remark.

This needs context.

In an Oct. 8 debate, Healey was asked whether she supported a ballot measure that would encourage the construction of denser housing. She said yes.

“We need more homes,” Healey said. “Massachusetts is a great place to live if you can afford it, and that’s why I’ve been building homes from the get go.”

Minogue and his allies also posted on social media clipping this phrase, but excising the sentences before and after the quote. 

In tonight’s debate, Healey accused President Donald Trump of pursuing policies including tariffs that have increased the cost of building housing.

PolitiFact Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson, Senior Correspondent Amy Sherman, Staff Writers Samantha Putterman, Loreben Tuquero and Cami Henry-Seymore and PolitiFact New York Reporter Conor Amendola contributed to this report.