Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are both Democrats who broke glass ceilings to get where they are. So wouldn’t the first woman to win election to the governor’s office be quick to endorse the first woman of color to win election to the mayor’s office?
It hasn’t happened yet.
In these political times, loyalty to the sisterhood is not a given. Not when Wu is telling the Trump administration Boston “won’t back down” from its sanctuary policies regarding immigration enforcement, while Healey is trying to get out word that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state. Not when Wu is surrounded by cheering supporters who are thrilled with her calls of resistance to President Trump, while Healey has been forced to deal with the cost and controversies associated with providing shelter to migrants. Not when Wu is 30 points ahead of Josh Kraft, her most serious rival for reelection, while Healey faces two Republicans eager to paint her as soft on crime and immigration as they vie for the right to take her on in next year’s gubernatorial election. And, not when Wu attacks Kraft as the out-of-touch son of a billionaire - when Healey, as attorney general, worked with that billionaire on an anti-violence education program for young people.
Healey has crossed state lines to back fellow female Democrats, hitting the campaign trail for Joyce Craig in her losing bid to become governor of New Hampshire in 2024 and joining Governor Janet Mills of Maine at a fund-raiser last May to support Representative Mikie Sherrill, who went on to win the Democratic nomination for governor of New Jersey. But as first noted last week by Politico’s Kelly Garrity, Healey is — so far — keeping her distance from Wu.
Given their political history, it’s not that surprising. After endorsing Wu and Annissa Essaibi-George for at-large seats on the Boston City Council in 2019, Healey did not endorse a candidate in the 2021 mayoral contest, which pitted Wu against Essaibi-George. In 2022, Wu endorsed Healey for governor — but only after then state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, who was the favorite of progressives, dropped out. That same election year, Wu backed labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan in the Democratic primary for attorney general over Andrea Campbell, a former council colleague of Wu’s who was Healey’s choice for the job, which she ultimately won.
Healey and Wu have also had their share of policy differences. For example, Wu campaigned for mayor with sweeping calls for rent control, while Healey hedged on it. When Wu wanted to do away with fares on the MBTA, Healey was less than enthusiastic.
Today, especially when it comes to immigration-related issues, these two women are in different political places, with different political needs. When it comes to taking on Trump, Wu is on the front lines. As she seeks reelection, Healey — who was on the front lines when she was attorney general — is seeking safer middle ground.
Wu challenged Trump from the start, declaring in her State of the City address, “No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings.”
Then came the threats from Trump border czar Tom Homan about “bringing hell” to Boston, and Wu’s much-acclaimed testimony before a congressional committee stacked with hostile Republicans. More recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi has threatened to withhold federal funding from Boston and other cities if they don’t comply with Trump immigration enforcement policies. In response, Wu held a rally on City Hall Plaza, where she once again pledged allegiance to Boston’s Trust Act, which limits when city police can work with federal immigration officers.
Healey, meanwhile, has been defending herself from charges launched by her two would-be Republican challengers about the cost of providing shelter to migrants, and what they decry as the state’s failure to cooperate fully with federal immigration agents.
During a July interview with Jon Keller, she noted that as a prosecutor and AG, “I put away a lot of bad guys, including people who are here unlawfully…. I continue to work with state, local, and federal law enforcement when it comes to getting bad guys off the street. Always done that, always will.”
But Healey also gave a rosary blessed by Pope Francis to an 18-year-old Brazilian immigrant who was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on his way to volleyball practice, and then ultimately released after the public outcry.
On immigration, Healey has a tough line to walk. She is squeezed between progressives who want no cooperation with Trump and polling that shows while Massachusetts voters are empathetic toward migrants, they are divided on topics like shelter and deportation.
Given all that, would she endorse Wu? Maybe.
Is such an endorsement imminent? No.
Not all Democratic women think or govern alike. And in the end, politics trumps sisterhood.
Joan Vennochi is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at joan.vennochi@globe.com. Follow her @joan_vennochi.