The two Republican candidates for governor are not expected to face off in a debate ahead of their Sept. 1 primary, though not from a lack of trying on one of their parts.
So, in a spirit of civic discourse, we tried to create one — or the closest thing to a debate without having Michael Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve on the same stage.
The Globe interviewed Minogue, a former biotech executive, in Lawrence, and Shortsleeve, a venture capitalist and past MBTA executive, in Plymouth on consecutive days last week. Each was asked the same set of questions, and their answers here have been edited for clarity and length.
Both Minogue and Shortsleeve drew heavily on their business backgrounds in pitching themselves as an alternative to Governor Maura Healey. They also each leaned into their relationships with former governor Charlie Baker, Healey’s moderate Republican predecessor.
And with that, let’s get to the show.
Let’s start with the state’s affordability crisis — a situation so severe that some are weighing whether to leave in search of better fortunes elsewhere. How would you tackle affordability differently from your primary opponent?
MINOGUE: “I really bring a skill set that’s proven from the military to business to the nonprofit world. And the last component of affordability is common sense. You have to stop overspending. You can’t propose taxes on driving into Boston, taxes on driving overall. And the spending that we have is also mixed in with waste, fraud, and corruption. And what I plan to do as governor is to cut the waste, fraud, and expenses — illegal immigrants, sanctuary state, free right to shelter, free health care, cash cards.”
SHORTSLEEVE: “Mike Minogue gives you a lot of happy talk and platitudes, but very little in terms of concrete plans. Here’s what I would do day one. I would suspend the gas tax. I would end the tax on tips, end the tax on overtime. I would eliminate all state-mandated fees from utility bills. Those state-mandated fees, let’s call them what they are: They’re taxes to fund Maura Healey’s climate agenda. Those are real steps a governor can take through executive action day one.”
Healey signed legislation this month that bans warrantless civil immigration arrests in courthouses, public schools, child care centers, and elsewhere. Would you have signed the bill if you were governor?
SHORTSLEEVE: “I would not have signed that bill. I would have vetoed it. This is the governor putting politics ahead of public safety. There is no safer place to transfer a criminal into federal custody than in a courthouse or a jailhouse, and this bill prohibits that. I mean, this bill makes that transfer illegal.”
(Moderator’s note: The law does leave in place an agreement between the state Department of Correction and federal authorities that effectively allows state officials to act as immigration agents.)
SHORTSLEEVE: “Look, I want ICE off the streets. Here’s the way you get ICE off the streets: You cooperate with federal authorities in the courthouses and the jailhouses. You do those transfers in secure environments.”
MINOGUE: “I would not have signed it. I’m going to uphold the law. That’s not upholding the law, and it’s also not really an enforceable thing they signed. It’s party politics going into a campaign. But if one person is harmed because they put party politics and choose to release an arrested criminal that [has] a violent record and ... one person is harmed, that’s too many. They should be held accountable.”
Massachusetts has consistently bucked President Trump under both Democratic and Republican governors. And in his second term, Trump has put Massachusetts in his crosshairs on several fronts. How would each of you stand up for Massachusetts to the standard-bearer of your party?
SHORTSLEEVE: “I’d fight for Massachusetts. But we got a governor, Maura Healey, that will not go down to Washington, D.C., and make the case. I mean Zohran Mamdani, the [Democratic] socialist mayor of New York, has been down to Washington, D.C., twice. ... Gretchen Whitmer, the Democrat governor of Michigan, has been there a few times trying to protect the Air Force base. We have a governor, Maura Healey, that won’t even engage with this president. If I was governor, I would be down there.”
MINOGUE: “Two years into the next governor’s term, we’re going to have a new president, and so whoever that president is, that’s the commander-in-chief to me because I’m ex-military. I want the country to do well, and I’ll work with whoever’s in charge for the benefit of the people. That’s, I think, what most governors should be doing rather than playing party politics.”
Both of you have pledged to reform or repeal laws if you take office, including the MBTA Communities Act and the state’s “right-to-shelter” law. Changes to either of those would require buy-in from Democrats who lead the state Legislature. How would you convince Democrats to go along with your priorities?
MINOGUE: “When I am governor, I’ll work with anyone who wants to solve problems. But I’m also running for the audit-and-the-math party. So you have to have a balance sheet, and you can’t continue to overspend.”
SHORTSLEEVE: “Bill Weld, when he got elected governor back in 1990, people said, ‘You’re never going to be able to get anything done because you’re a Republican governor with a Democratic Legislature.’ He cut taxes 43 times in his first year.”
(Moderator’s note: Weld himself has boasted of having cut taxes 21 times, not 43, and over his entire 6½ years in office.)
SHORTSLEEVE: “He did it because there was a widespread acknowledgment that the state had real problems, and I would tell you right now we’re in a similar spot.”
Baker was considered one of the most popular governors in the country. How are each of you different from or similar to Baker?
SHORTSLEEVE: “I am a proud Charlie Baker Republican. I am a pro-choice Republican. I’m the electable conservative in this race. Every governor we’ve had in Massachusetts since Roe v. Wade is pro-choice. That’s not going to change this year. Mike Minogue will never win a statewide election.
“In terms of Charlie Baker, I loved my time working with him. He and I are both fiscal hawks, or folks that really tried to bring that businessman perspective into state government.”
Have you asked Baker for his support?
SHORTSLEEVE: “I talk to Charlie all the time about a lot of ideas. I’m looking for everyone’s support in this race.”
But have you asked Baker for his endorsement?
SHORTSLEEVE: “Charlie’s got a big job running the NCAA.”
MINOGUE: “I was a supporter of his multiple times, and I’m friends with him. I think he did a good job on the economy and building businesses. And at that time, Abiomed was a little business, and we grew to one of the biggest, most successful cardiac health care companies in the US. And so I saw the engagement of how he helped businesses, and how he helped talk to and visit and make sure that we would grow.”
Have you sought his endorsement in this race?
MINOGUE: “The other two candidates worked with Charlie, and I also have a relationship with Governor Baker. So he’s been clear that at the end of the primary, then he will step forward and support whoever the winner of the primary is.”
(Moderator’s note: Mike Kennealy, a Cabinet secretary under Baker, was a candidate, but did not make the primary ballot. Baker, who did not back a candidate in the 2022 race to replace him, did not respond to a request for comment about whether he will, in fact, support the GOP nominee this time.)
Chris Van Buskirk can be reached at chris.vanb@globe.com. Follow him on X @byChrisVan