REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE Mike Minogue plans to have no lieutenant governor in his administration if he wins the general election, a decision he announced after Republican candidate for the No. 2 job, Shawn Oliver, suspended his campaign Sunday following a drunken driving arrest.
Oliver was arrested in New Bedford late Saturday night on operating under the influence of liquor and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, after Oliver reportedly crashed his SUV into five parked cars and flipped his car. He was sent to the hospital for injuries, and local police confirmed no one else was seriously injured. He pleaded not guilty in New Bedford District Court on Monday morning, according to the New Bedford Light, but suspended his statewide campaign.
Minogue had called for Oliver to suspend his campaign Sunday morning, and at a press availability in his hometown of Hamilton on Monday afternoon, the gubernatorial candidate outlined his plan if he wins in November.
“I am glad he’s safe, but at this point, I called for him to suspend and terminate his campaign, and he will not be my lieutenant governor,” Minogue said. “Maine and New Hampshire don’t have one, and I’m going to move forward without him.”
Ballots are already printed with Oliver’s name next to Minogue’s as a joint ticket, and over 200,000 voters have already cast their ballots through early voting.
Minogue asked his supporters to still “vote for me, knowing that he will not be my lieutenant governor.”
“And please do not mark off or do anything different or write in because it will disqualify the people’s vote,” Minogue said.
He said he will ask Oliver to resign if the pair are elected, then will operate without a second-in-command.
Massachusetts has no process for replacing a lieutenant governor who resigns. The state Constitution doesn’t let the governor appoint a replacement or call a special election, so the office simply stays empty until the next regular election. That was the case for the end of Gov. Deval Patrick’s tenure, after Lt. Gov. Tim Murray resigned a year and a half before the end of his term.
The lieutenant governor’s main constitutional job is to step in for the governor when they are out of the state. With that seat empty, the next person in the line of succession is the secretary of state, followed by the attorney general, the treasurer and the auditor. The lieutenant governor has other duties, such as presiding over the Governor’s Council, and is given other responsibilities based on the administration.
Asked Monday whether he was prepared to take on the roles that the lieutenant governor covers, such as chairing the Governor’s Council, Minogue responded he would “have people around me that are some of the experts.”
“What I’m going to focus on with my staff is to bring in one of the most competent groups that have expertise — many will be like me, in that they won’t be taking a salary, they’ll be volunteering to give back,” he said.
Minogue added, “And I’m very comfortable because, again, Maine, New Hampshire, other states don’t have lieutenant governors, and I think we’re going to be fine. And I’m very focused on just solving problems and putting together an A-plus team.”
Minogue said he had spoken to Oliver, but did not share many details of the conversation.
“I’ve spoken to him. He’s going through the legal process. I’ve expressed my disappointment in the judgement, I’m glad he’s recovering, but he understands that he cannot be and will not be my lieutenant governor,” he said.
Oliver pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday morning: operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding and a marked lanes violation. He was released on the condition that he not drive while the case is pending, ahead of his next court date on Nov. 16.
Asked if Oliver’s not guilty plea impacts his decision, Minogue said, “Whatever he pleads is his process.”
“For what has happened alone, he no longer has the ability to be my lieutenant governor, and he will not be my lieutenant governor,” he said.
Oliver, a New Bedford city councilor, initially launched his campaign as the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve. Ahead of the Republican convention in the spring, Minogue endorsed Anne Brensley for lieutenant governor. Despite getting the party’s endorsement at the convention, Brensley failed to qualify for the official ballot when she chose not to submit nomination signatures based on allegations of fraud by her signature collector. Brensley is running instead for secretary of state.
Oliver was the only lieutenant governor candidate on the September primary ballot, and joined Minogue on the ticket after Minogue’s victory over Shortsleeve.
“There was a lot of drama in the convention process. I did not pick an LG during this process. I went in to be the outsider, I said I would follow wherever the path led,” Minogue said Monday. “I did say at the convention that I was going to vote for Anne Brensley. Anne Brensley won first place at the convention, Anne Manning Martin won second place, and Shawn Oliver got 16%, so he made the ballot by 16 percent. And then Anne Manning Martin was eliminated because she was a victim of signature fraud, and by default, Shawn got the LG role.”
“I would have worked with him had this not happened, and I had moved on and was focusing on the campaign, but with this as a distraction, and with this error in judgement, that is not a position that he will be allowed to be,” he said. “He was Brian Shortsleeve’s person, if you just look at the record.”
Minogue used the press availability Monday to cast the situation as his campaign taking accountability, and trying to draw a distinction to Gov. Maura Healey’s handling of a situation in which her former aide was arrested on charges involving alleged cocaine trafficking. Healey says she fired the aide immediately when she heard of his arrest.
“I think it’s important to note that this is what you’re supposed to do as a leader,” Minogue said Monday. “You hold people accountable. You’re tough on the issue. You’re compassionate to the person. You don’t let something bad define you the rest of your life, but there’s an accountability where you basically move forward, and we need to move forward.”
Healey holds a 25-percentage point lead over Minogue, according to the latest UMass Amherst / WCVB poll.
