Mass. Gov. Candidate Downing Derides 'Complacent' And 'Comfortable' Political Culture, Touts 'Clear-Eyed' Ambition

Former Massachusetts State Senator Ben Downing took aim at both Gov. Charlie Baker and Massachusetts’ Democrat-led state legislature during a Wednesday appearance on GBH’s Boston Public Radio.

“I believe the future of Massachusetts is limitless, but it’s time that we stood up and fought for that future,” he said, taking on “a political culture that is too complacent, too comfortable with the status quo.”

Downing, a Democrat, was the first candidate to enter the 2022 gubernatorial race back in February. He’s since been joined by Democrats Danielle Allen, a Harvard professor, and Massachusetts State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz. On the Republican side, former State Representative Geoff Diehl entered the race earlier this month. Baker, also a Republican, has yet to announce whether he intends to run for a third term.

Speaking to hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, Downing framed his ambition for the state’s top job as a reaction to economic hardship he saw growing up in his hometown of Pittsfield after the closure of the General Electric plant in 1977.

“The message that I heard growing up — and my generation heard growing up — was ‘study hard and get out, the best days of your hometown are behind you,’” he said. “And unfortunately, I think that’s the message that folks in a lot of different communities across this state heard as well.”

Downing added that communities like Pittsfield, Fall River and New Bedford “continue to deal with the challenges of making an economic transition from one major employer.” He said decades of leadership from both parties “haven’t enabled them to make the transition, to make the most of the skills, the abilities, the resources that those communities have across this state.”

Downing said his “clear-eyed” understanding of the hurdles before him, paired with a willingness to push back against fellow Democrats, makes him apt for the job in a way his predecessors haven’t been.

One area of intra-party disagreement appears to be whether more investigation is needed into the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home. In contrast with both Baker and Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano, Downing said he’s committed to further investigation into the factors that led to the March 2020 outbreak.

“I think the Globe Spotlight showed us that we have not had [thorough answers] from the governor’s report, from the Pearlstein report, from the many reports that have been issued,” he said.

“I have friends who lost loved ones in Holyoke,” he went on. “This isn’t a political issue, and they deserve the comfort of knowing that there is an unvarnished, complete review of the facts there so that no family ever has to deal with that again. ... That’s the least that we can provide them at this point, given how horribly we’ve failed them.”

If he does choose to run for reelection, Baker will pose a tough challenge for Downing. According to a recent Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll, Baker has the overall approval of around two-thirds of Massachusetts residents.