Gov. Maura Healey added her voice Wednesday to the WEEI/NESN 36-hour radio telethon, urging people to “give as much as they can” to the Jimmy Fund to advance cancer research, treatment, and care for families.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a personal experience in their family with cancer,” Healey told The Greg Hill Show. “My brother survived it earlier this year. My dad unfortunately passed away of colon cancer.”
Before her interview, the show’s hosts were discussing the importance of pre-screening, and Healey said that is “something that my siblings and I all do.”
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute patients, care providers and others have been sharing their stories live from Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday and Wednesday to mark 75 years of the Jimmy Fund. Last year’s event raised more than $3.5 million, bringing the total since 2002 to $65 million, according to organizers.
“We really, really are blessed here in Boston, in Massachusetts,” the governor said. “Folks come from all over New England, all over the country, to receive treatment at our hospitals, at our institutions, and of course at Dana Farber.”
Healey said “we are closing the gap on some of these diseases, and on cancer” and said donations can “make it happen sooner for more people.”
Over her first eight months in office, Healey has not offered a deep legislative agenda and during Wednesday’s 10-minute interview talked up her role as a “cheerleader and champion” of Massachusetts, even taking a swipe at the Bay State’s northern neighbor.
“You know, I grew up in New Hampshire. Great place to live, but also you don’t have access to all of the things that we have access to here in Massachusetts,” she said, after promoting health care and education access in Massachusetts, and protections here for people’s “freedoms and rights.”
Healey accepted praise from the program’s hosts for the state’s innovative campaign to making more people moving into the Boston area this week aware that moving trucks are not allowed on Storrow Drive and will not make it under the road’s overpasses.
The governor called the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s campaign “cute” and “jokey” but said it’s intended to get a serious message out.
“We’re trying,” Healey said. “Every year this time of year we’ve got hundreds of thousands of people descending on our city. It’s awesome. I want as many people coming to school here, staying here, growing families, growing businesses. Unfortunately, every September it seems we see these vans get Storrowed because people don’t understand, you can’t drive moving trucks on Storrow Drive.”
When there’s a Storrowing, Healey said, “it screws up traffic, it really hurts our bridges, and it’s obviously a public safety issue.”
Healey said “it’s been great” being governor and touched on areas where the state has struggled to make progress — improving transportation, tackling high housing costs and an inventory shortage, and achieving tax relief, a topic where she’s been unable to lead Democrats on Beacon Hill to final decisions.
The U.S. Census Bureau for years has charted the movement of more Americans to the southern and western parts of the country, and Healey said cold weather and the higher heating costs that come with that are a factor in the Bay State’s high cost of living.
“I want people coming here, I want them staying here. I want employers and businesses staying here. I don’t want them relocating to New Hampshire, or the Carolinas or Texas, or elsewhere,” Healey said. She added, “We have access to health care and education, and we’re just a great state. We have great sports teams, right, and a history. But part of my job as governor is to make sure that life is affordable for everybody, so that’s what I’m focused on now.”
Noting how people stepped up to help farmers hurt by recent floods, Healey said “it’s why I know we can do really great things, if we come together.”
She said high housing costs are also partly “the price of our success.”
“This is a super-desirable area,” Healey said. “We’ve got a ton of venture capitalists, and private equity, life sciences, technology, with our colleges and universities and what they attract. And of course all that leads to competition for homes and that leads to increased prices.”
While there are higher expenses here, Healey touted the access here to quality health care and education, adding, “I just made community college free for people 25 years and older. Bring them off the sidelines, bring them back into the workforce, we’ve got employers who are lining up to hire people today.”
Host Greg Hill circled back to Healey’s comments about Boston’s pro sports teams, and asked about the Celtics trading Marcus Smart for big man Kristaps Porzingis.
“I wasn’t happy to see Marcus go,” Healey said. “He was so much the heart of that team. I loved him as a player and what he brought to the team.”
Healey described herself as a “huge fan” of the Celtics and said she was glad they signed Jaylen Brown to keep him on the team.
The politician in Healey came out when she was asked which local team she thought might need a championship parade in the three-plus years left on her term.
“Boy, you know, we’re going to root for all of them,” she said, mentioning news of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s plans for a team in Boston.
The last local championships came in late 2018 (Red Sox) and early 2019 (Patriots), but both of those teams have taken a step back in recent years.
The Red Sox finished last in their division in 2022 and, with a month left in the regular season, are already falling out of contention this year.
“I’m not giving up on the Sox, but they’re not making it easy for us right now,” Healey said.
