AMESBURY — Buoyed by dozens of supporters wearing cowboy and baseball caps bearing his name, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Mike Minogue stopped by local business Shea Concrete Thursday morning to release his “blueprint” for the state.
Last week, Minogue won the GOP primary for governor defeating Brian Shortsleeve. Now, the U.S. Army veteran and former medical device company executive, is gearing up to face incumbent Gov. Maura Healey in November.
As part of his campaigning efforts, Minogue spent part of Thursday morning at the precast concrete manufacturer on Haverhill Road, where his supporters gathered, waving campaign signs and excitedly chattering while they waited for his appearance.
Before Minogue came out to address the crowd, the upbeat music blaring at the campaign site ceased, and he was introduced by Greg Shea of Shea Concrete who explained why his business supports the South Hamilton resident.
“Shea Concrete doesn’t usually get involved with politics like this, but when we met Mike, we said ‘we need to get involved.’ As you all know, Mike’s here to talk about his concrete blueprint, you like that word, concrete, his concrete blueprint for Massachusetts. He’s here to support small businesses like us, the economy and see Massachusetts grow and be a place that we all want it to be,” he said.
After Shea’s introduction, Minogue walked out to address the crowd who erupted in uproarious applause.
Early on in his address in front of a large American flag, Minogue described the four key components of his blueprint: accountability, affordability, opportunity and keeping communities safe, eliciting more cheers from the energized crowd.
Minogue then delved into the specifics of each component, starting with accountability, which led him to bring up the audit of the state legislature.
The audit was approved by 72% of Massachusetts voters through a ballot question in 2024 which authorized State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to audit the state’s legislature. But, Bill H.5469, which limits the audit’s scope, was passed in the House of Representatives earlier this summer.
When speaking about the audit, Minogue went after Healey, and emphasized that he was in favor of the audit.
“Seventy-two percent of our voters supported the audit, but the governor will not enforce the will of the people. It’s law,” he said.
He then transitioned to affordability, commenting on the rising cost of living in Massachusetts, and vowing to cut taxes and spending.
“People, entrepreneurs, and businesses are leaving the Commonwealth because of the Massachusetts high cost of living in energy, housing, healthcare, car insurance, child care, we’re top in the nation. I am a proven leader in the military, in combat, in business, in healthcare and in the nonprofit space, and I have a skill set that none of these politicians have, and I will help solve the problems,” he said.
Minogue continued to focus on businesses and entrepreneurs when addressing the opportunity component of his blueprint, and said the key to job growth is encouraging businesses to remain in the state.
“Now, the critical path forward requires entrepreneurs and businesses to stay in Massachusetts and expand operations and manufacturing, and have more of these American dreams like behind me. These businesses employ people, give back to the community. That’s what makes our country great. But, we harass our entrepreneurs and businesses. We need to embolden them and say ‘thank you’,” he said.
When speaking about opportunity, Minogue also mentioned that he visited Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School on Wednesday, and said he would expand schools like Essex Tech if elected.
“What an amazing high school,” he said of Essex Tech. “It is the future. It’s incredible. Those kids are blessed, and I was so inspired. And I’m going to make sure that we expand charter, technical and vocational schools all across the Commonwealth. We would lead the world if we had more schools like Essex Tech, an absolutely incredible place,” he said
Minogue then spoke about his final component, and explained how he would keep communities safe by eliminating the sanctuary state policy, creating mandatory jail time for convictions of violence against law enforcement agents and more.
“I will protect our constitutional rights, and I will fully fund and protect qualified immunity for law enforcement, and I will ensure citizens’ privacy is respected while keeping communities safe,” he said.
Finally, Minogue concluded his address with a rallying cry to his supporters, urging them to believe in his campaign.
“Massachusetts has led the world and altered the course of history from 250 years ago when George Washington was outside Boston and thinking they could never win. We won, and we’re going to continue to change the course of history and save the Commonwealth together on Nov. 3,” he said.