# Healey and Minogue clash on energy and fired aide

> In Massachusetts's final governor debate, the Democratic incumbent and Republican challenger spar over affordability, natural gas pipelines and a state worker arrested for cocaine trafficking.
- Title: Healey and Minogue clash on energy and fired aide · PolitiFact
- Summary: In Massachusetts's final governor debate, the Democratic incumbent and Republican challenger spar over affordability, natural gas pipelines and a state…
- Keywords: maura healey, mike minogue, massachusetts governor debate, 2026 election, energy policy, natural gas pipelines, lamar cook, affordability, politics, fact check, Healey, Minogue
- Source: PolitiFact — https://politifact.com/article/2026/oct/15/massachusetts-governor-debate-healey-minogue
- Author: PolitiFact Staff
- Published: 2026-10-16T03:25:18+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: maura healey, mike minogue, massachusetts governor debate, 2026 election, energy policy, natural gas pipelines, lamar cook, affordability, politics, fact check
## Final debate before Election Day
Democratic incumbent Gov. Maura Healey and Republican Mike Minogue debated October fifteenth, twenty twenty-six at WCVB-TV's studio in Needham, Massachusetts, cohosted with WBUR-FM and The Boston Globe.
## The central argument
Minogue, a former CEO of a medical device company, argued Massachusetts needs new leadership to improve affordability challenges. Healey defended her record on tax cuts and housing policy.
## Minogue attacks natural gas record
Minogue said Healey stopped natural gas pipelines coming into Massachusetts. This accurately describes her actions about a decade ago when she was state attorney general.

> stopped the natural gas pipelines coming in
## Healey's pipeline reasoning
Healey said she blocked pipelines because the developer wanted ratepayers, not the company, to pay for construction. In twenty fifteen, her office authorized a study finding Massachusetts didn't need new pipelines through twenty thirty.

> ratepayers and not the developer, not the company, to pay for it
## Healey reverses course on gas
Amid today's high energy costs, Healey has reversed course. On October first, twenty twenty-six, Healey asked the Trump administration to speed up natural gas expansion into Massachusetts.
## Healey's energy bill claim
Healey said she filed legislation that would save about thirteen billion dollars. An independent analysis commissioned by her administration estimated savings of eleven point fifty-eight billion to fourteen point thirty-five billion dollars over ten years.

> save us about $13 billion
## Critics dispute savings estimate
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative advocacy group, said the estimate was inflated because it did not reflect the bill's costs for ratepayers.
## Massachusetts electricity costs
Minogue said Massachusetts is one of the most expensive places for electricity. That's accurate. Massachusetts ranked fourth as of July twenty twenty-six at thirty point forty-nine cents per kilowatt hour.

> one of the most expensive places for electricity
## LaMar Cook's arrest and firing
LaMar Cook, deputy director of Healey's western Massachusetts office, was fired after Healey learned he was arrested October twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-five for trafficking cocaine.
## Cook's severance and SNAP fraud
The state paid Cook twenty-two thousand three hundred seventy-four dollars and twenty-nine cents in net pay for accrued vacation leave after his firing.
## Cook's false SNAP application
Cook applied for SNAP benefits April sixth and falsely claimed he had less than one hundred dollars in his bank account.
## Key takeaway

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and Republican Mike Minogue debated energy policy and her handling of a fired aide charged with fraud in the final Massachusetts governor debate before Election Day.