Healey reiterates stance on not disclosing personal travel plans

Local News ‘I’ve just drawn a line’: Healey reiterates stance on not disclosing personal travel plans The Healey Administration said they would no longer disclose travel plans in advance in November. Now, she’s defending keeping her personal plans private. Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Governor Maura Healey defended her choice to not disclose her personal travel, saying it’s just that — personal.
“I’ve just drawn a line and said that that information is for me and my family and I’m going to protect my family privacy,” Healey told Radio Boston on Tuesday. “Whether or not I disclose that I’m going to this place on a Saturday or Sunday with family, I’m going to continue to keep that information personal.”
Back in November, The Boston Globe reported on Healey’s intention to not disclose travel plans in advance due to “security concerns.” Healey had been disclosing most trips since her tenure began last year, but the Globe found out about a trip in October that wasn’t reported. Then, a spokesperson for the governor announced the change in their policy.
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This is a departure from previous administrations, both WBUR and the Globe reported, because the governor’s responsibilities transfer to the lieutenant governor while the governor is traveling, per the state constitution. But Healey pushed back against that.
“I don’t know that other governors have done it differently,” Healey said. “There have been times when I’ve disclosed where I’ve been on personal trips, as other governors have done, and also it’s not the case that that’s the way it’s always been done.”
Last month, Secretary of State William Galvin was acting as governor for three days when both Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll were out of state, the Globe reported. Healey’s aides still aren’t saying where she traveled to, and her monthly calendar did not specific any details about the trip.
Around the time of her trip, a local neo-Nazi group gathered across the street from Healey’s Arlington home. The group had previously demonstrated at her home in October.
Healey referenced the failed plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying political violence is “just something we all have to account for.”
“This is a time of heightened violence, vitriol, hate, demonstration,” Healey said. “We see all sorts of ugly things happening out there, not just directed at officials at the local, state, and federal level, but just more broadly, too.”
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Healey, the first woman and first openly gay person elected governor of Massachusetts, also told WBUR that she doesn’t think most of her constituents are worried about her personal travel plans.