Governor Maura Healey said Monday that she spent last week in the south of France, a family trip that had drawn criticism from one of the Republicans looking to unseat her in the corner office.
In her first State House availability with reporters since her July 4 budget signature and bill-filing, Healey said she traveled to the Provence region with her partner, Joanna Lydgate, and family.
“My partner had spent time there as a young child on and off for many years, so it was a special family trip to take her dad and siblings back to see that part,” Healey said. “I missed the first week when they were in Paris, but I joined for the tail end and returned on Saturday.”
Healey signed a $60.9 billion budget on the Fourth of July — after only four days of review, faster than any other governor in at least the last 25 years. Her office then disclosed the following Monday that the governor would be away with her family for the week.
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Healey’s team has a practice of not disclosing her out-of-state travel in advance. When the governor is outside Massachusetts, acting governor responsibilities fall to the lieutenant governor.
The summertime travel drew criticism from Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve, who on Tuesday said he would disclose travel plans and apply the open records law to the governor’s office if elected, and from the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a right-leaning watchdog group.
“This isn’t about whether the Governor is allowed to take a vacation, it’s about transparency and accountability,” MassFiscal Executive Director Paul Craney said Monday. “Governor Healey left the country, traveled to another continent, and refused to tell the public where she was or when she’d return.”
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