Sunday, August 14, 2005

Healey Lines Up Her Consultants

The Boston Globe reported yesteday that Kerry Healey has hired a new political consultant to help her in her quest to be Mitt Romney's successor. The firm's principal, Stuart Stevens, was the one responsible for last year's Bush attack ad with John Kerry windsurfing, but he's worked the Commonwealth before. From the article:

Stevens has a strong track record in Massachusetts. He advised Weld in both his successful gubernatorial campaigns in 1990 and 1994 and his failed battle in 1996 to unseat Kerry. He also worked for Cellucci in his 1998 election and for Cellucci's 2000 income tax rollback initiative that voters approved.

The Stevens firm specializes in working for moderate Republicans in what are considered tough states for GOP candidates, many of them in the Northeast.
The contract is, of course, contingent on Governor Romney deciding to sit out the 2006 election. I have to wonder, though, if she has some information about his plans that the rest of us aren't privy to. The whole thing is playing out like some kind of conspiracy on the part of the administration to make sure that Healey is the 2006 nominee. Charlie Baker can't do anything political as the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim, and he can't quit if there's a chance that Mitt will run for reelection. The longer that Romney waits to announce his decision (a decision that he's probably already made) the shorter time that Baker, or any other Republican who's thinking about running for governor has to build a campaign and fundraise enough money (at $500 maximum per donor) to compete with Healey's deep pockets. On the other hand, Healey has license to do whatever pre-campaign work she wants with Romney's blessing. And with that blessing comes protection from rivals, who may not want to risk being disloyal to the administration, particularly if it's still going to be around after two Novembers.