Maura Healey doesn't have the spacious campaign Headquarters of a long time politician, but she's got a young, energized staff determined to make Healey the next Massachusetts Attorney General.
"There is a ton of enthusiasm and energy for this campaign. People are coming out of the woodwork to volunteer and spread the word. It's been a great grassroots effort and I'm really, really excited about it," Healey said.
Healey, 43, is a Harvard and Northeastern Law School graduate who has worked as an assistant Middlesex County district attorney and as an attorney at the WilmerHale law firm. She has spent the past seven years in the Attorney General's Office. It's the kind of resume she says sets her apart from her Democratic primary opponent, Warren Tolman.
"I have the experience and I've been doing the job. I understand the power and the possibility of the Attorney General's Office and how that office can be a champion for people here in Massachusetts," Healey said.
Healey came into the race as the underdog but surprised many at the Democratic State Convention in June when she lost to Tolman by just 160 votes, or about 2 percent. She says it's proof her positions, such as opposing casinos, are connecting with voters.
"My opponent supports casinos, he supports gaming, he's worked and been involved in the industry and that is important when it comes to what I think is the most important consumer protection in this state going forward," she said.
"I actually look at casinos and say, look, is it the best form of economic development? No. But if its your job that it provides... That's a very good thing," Tolman said.
Politics
Tolman, 54, is the establishment candidate. Supported by the four former living Massachusetts attorney's general, he is a former state senator from Watertown, a former lieutenant gubernatorial candidate and a 2002 candidate for governor. He has spent the past decade in private practice and feels it is the sum of his experience that makes him a better choice over Healey.
"It's about vision, it's about leadership and it's about someone who knows how to get things done," Tolman said.
Tolman says he's stood up to the most entrenched interests on Beacon Hill and won, including the tobacco industry. He says he would mandate smart gun technology and that he would do it without needing to go through the legislature, which he says Healey would do.
"There is express statutory authority given to the AG's office to do this ... We can do it, and in my opinion we ought to do it and I'm the only candidate in this race who will take on the NRA," Tolman said.
Coming in to the final stretch, Tolman has more in the bank than any other Democratic primary candidate in the state with almost $1 million. Healey has about $560,000. Both say they have enough to win.
