Thursday, February 5, 2015
Things to know about Attorney General Maura Healey!
Those at the MWPC were first introduced to Maura
Healey in the beginning of 2014 shortly after she announced her campaign to run for Attorney General of
Massachusetts. MWPC board member Amy Burke insisted we meet with this fantastic
woman and later in the year, Amy would serve on the Healey campaign's
fundraising team. After the election, the Attorney
General-elect hired
Amy to plan the inauguration of "The People's Lawyer"
at the historic Faneuil Hall which was held this past January. Filled with
long-time supporters and volunteers, as well as fellow power players in
Massachusetts politics, the Globe quoted a Republican insider in an article this
week stating “That, with a dollop of exasperation and a pinch of healthy regard,
was the inauguration of the governor of the Democratic Party.” It was a
tremendous affair marking the end of a hard won campaign and the beginning of
Maura Healey's term as Attorney General, where she will tackle tough challenges
such as opiate addiction and for-profit colleges.
Here are
some interesting things to know about Attorney General Maura Healey:
- Maura was Chief of the Civil Rights Division in the Attorney General's Office.
- Maura led the nation’s first successful challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law that discriminated against same-sex married couples.
- She also defended the Massachusetts Buffer Zone law and protected women’s access to reproductive health care.
- Healey graduated from Harvard in 1992 and received her JD from Northeastern University.
- Considered an underdog when she first entered the race, Healey defeated former state senator Warren Tolman in the Democratic Primary with 62.5% of the votes.
- During her campaign she broke a fundraising record for a first time, female state-wide candidate to raise more than 1 million dollars - she raised $1.5 million!
- As part of her swearing in ceremony, the Attorney General also had to swear in over 200 assistant attorneys general.
- Her swearing in ceremony, held at Faneuil Hall, was at maximum capacity of 800 guests. In addition, nearly 200 people watching the ceremony streamed live from the Omni Parker House Hotel.
