Do you think Gov. Maura Healey on Monday knew what was coming the following day? As you may vaguely recall (or not), the governor earlier this week announced plans to quicken the pace of closing hotel shelters for the homeless and newly arrived immigrants. The next day, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio slammed the Healey administration for approving ‘unlawful’ no-bid contracts for the controversial shelter program. … So to answer the opening question: Yeah, Healey knew what was coming. The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld agrees, saying DiZoglio’s harsh criticism could be a preview of a Healey-DiZoglio clash for governor. I don’t know about that. As I’ve previously noted, the time’s not right for DiZoglio, who’s young and can afford to wait.

As for the shelter program, Healey has known for a while that it’s a complete boondoggle, costing the state a billion dollars a year before she and other state leaders finally imposed some common-sense restraints on an out-of-control program that threatened the state’s fiscal health, not to mention threatened certain Dems’ political futures. Healey, who’s running for re-election, didn’t need Diana DiZoglio’s prodding to act. Next year’s gubernatorial election is motivation enough. The shelter program, as it stood before recent changes, was bad government and therefore bad politics. … 

Next question: Did Healey act in time to distance herself from the shelter fiasco? I think so. I don’t hear a lot of people talking about it these days. But a competently produced GOP attack ad, run over and over again on the tube and elsewhere next year, could change all that. 

Update — 5.23.25 – Spoke too soon. GOP gubernatorial candidate Michael Kenneealy isn’t waiting till next year to go after Healey on the issue — and the Healey team is hitting back, the Herald reports. Howie Carr is taking time off from the Karen Read trial to pile on.

Update II – 5.23.25 – And from MassterList: “The shelter headache that won’t cease.”