Healey and Minogue square off, and Donald Trump gets top billing

If you tuned into Thursday night's first gubernatorial debate on WBZ-TV and kept a running tally of how often one name came up, you'd have run out of fingers fast. Gov. Maura Healey invoked President Trump more than 30 times, starting about two minutes and forty seconds in. Her pitch: tariffs, a war, and federal program cuts are driving up the cost of living, and her Republican challenger, Mike Minogue, is Trump's guy. Minogue, a medical device executive and first-time candidate, never said the president's name. He ran the opposite play, arguing that Healey has had four years, a Democratic Legislature, and record budgets to fix affordability and hasn't. "You keep blaming somebody in DC, and we know who it is," he said.

The central question of the night was whose fault the cost crunch is: Beacon Hill or Washington. Healey touted tax cuts, a housing law she says will bring 100,000 homes online, health care cost caps, and free community college. Minogue hit the state's rankings on health care, electricity, and child care costs. There were also sharper exchanges over a federal scholarship tax credit and the state's proposed $2 billion Springfield courthouse.

What happens next? A second debate is coming within a week, so expect both camps to sharpen these lines. The structural reality is stiff for Minogue: Massachusetts voters have a long history of electing Republican governors as a check on a Democratic Legislature, but they also tend to find Trump unappealing. Minogue's challenge is making this a referendum on Healey while Healey makes it a referendum on the president. Whoever wins that framing fight probably wins the race.

Full story at GBH News →

More takeaways: Boston Globe → | CommonWealth Beacon → | WBZ's Jon Keller →

Opening statements loom in the Matthew Farwell trial. After days of intense jury screening, in which potential jurors recounted painful stories of suicide and self-harm, opening statements are expected this morning. The former Stoughton police officer is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore. Chief US District Judge Denise Casper will let lawyers make their final jury cuts first. Boston Globe →

Lindsay Clancy's lawyer wants a real hearing. Attorney Kevin Reddington is asking Judge William Sullivan to let him call witnesses and present evidence at the Nov. 2 hearing on whether to dismiss murder charges on double jeopardy grounds. The September mistrial came after jurors deadlocked 11-1 over a holdout who admitted doubts about her guilt. Reddington argues that deciding on filings alone would deny Clancy a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Boston Globe →

Eversource's CEO says the utility bashing is just election-season noise. At a September 30 industry conference, CEO Joe Nolan said Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll told him "nothing personal" about their attacks on utility profits, and predicted the "volume is going to go right down" after Election Day. That's a notable contrast with Healey's campaign pitch about taking on utility "greed." CommonWealth Beacon →

Lawrence's corruption saga gets a harder look. Mayor Brian DePeña faces federal fraud and money laundering charges plus state wiretapping and witness intimidation charges, with an arraignment set for Oct. 13. That's on top of his chief of staff's conviction and a state takeover of last year's municipal election. Columnist Yvonne Abraham argues the damage goes beyond headlines, in a city of 89,000 where just 11,379 voters picked its mayor. Boston Globe →

More rail for the Berkshires. MassDOT and CSX have reached an agreement to fund a new siding and track improvements around Pittsfield, easing freight-passenger conflicts and supporting permanent seasonal weekend Berkshire Flyer service. It's another step toward the long-discussed East-West Rail vision, though the administration didn't say what CSX itself committed to. GBH News →

Question 9 is on your ballot. The referendum on the 2024 gun reform law (Chapter 135) is worth understanding before you vote: a yes vote keeps the law, a no vote repeals it. It expanded the "assault-style firearm" definition, cracked down on ghost guns, and broadened courts' ability to remove guns from people deemed dangerous. Boston.com →

Remembering Margaret Hamilton. The Cambridge computer scientist who led the MIT team that wrote the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo program died Sept. 30 at 90. Her work helped make the moon landings possible, and she became an enduring symbol of women in technology. WBUR →

• Oct. 13: Mayor Brian DePeña's arraignment on state wiretapping and witness intimidation charges in Lawrence. Boston Globe →
• Oct. 13-15: Operation Wicked Safe, a six-state crackdown on speeding, distracted, and impaired driving on I-90, I-93, I-95, and other interstates. Boston Globe →
• Nov. 2: Plymouth Superior Court hearing on dismissing Lindsay Clancy's murder charges. Boston Globe →

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Recent filings with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance:

Candidates

• Zuhair Syed (Democratic) — City Councilor, Lowell — Filed: 10/9/2026
• Maria Desposito — City Councilor, Malden — Filed: 10/8/2026
• Steven Comei — City Councilor, Haverhill — Filed: 10/7/2026
• Warren Samuels — City Councilor, New Bedford — Filed: 10/6/2026

Change of Purposes

• Cari-Ann Knight — House, 3rd Worcester → Mayoral, Fitchburg — Filed: 10/7/2026

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