Tax-credit backers want Healey to follow the NY guv’s lead. But the two aren’t always on the same team.

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A picture Kathy Hochul posted to Facebook back in February shows the New York governor in a Buffalo Bills cap, shoulder-to-shoulder with a Patriots hat-wearing Gov. Maura Healey.

"Rivals on the field, partners in fighting for your family," Hochul wrote in a birthday message to her Massachusetts counterpart.

Sports allegiances aside, the two Democrats are often aligned, whether it's backing offshore wind or, in 2023, prodding the Biden administration to speed up the work authorization process during a migrant crisis. A couple weeks after Hochul's birthday greeting, Healey penned her own social media post thanking Hochul for sending gear to help with blizzard cleanup: "When winter hits hard, New York and Massachusetts are on the same team. Game Day? That’s a different story."

They could also end up being on different teams when it comes to a federal scholarship tax credit that's become a hot topic in the governor's race.

Republican Mike Minogue has been pushing for Healey to embrace the program, which will make federal tax credits available to people who donate to nonprofits that provide K-12 scholarships. Healey has said she’s reviewing guidelines around the credits before deciding whether to opt in, wanting to both protect public education and fact-check the Trump administration.

When the two debated last week, Minogue kept up his tax-credit drumbeat, pointing out that the Democratic governors of New York and Colorado were jumping in. Hochul's announcement Friday that New York will officially opt in caught the attention of the Pioneer Institute, too.

"Governor Hochul did what she promised: She reviewed the federal regulations and acted accordingly," Pioneer executive director Jim Stergios said in a statement. "Governor Healey should keep hers: Complete her review and give Massachusetts families the very same opportunities."

For all the places where Healey and Hochul's political and regional interests overlap, it's not clear that nodding toward New York is an argument that will land. Healey's declined to follow Hochul's lead before.

This spring, when costly transit tickets to World Cup matches sparked fan pushback, Hochul announced a price cut for bus rides, while Healey called the $80 commuter rail fare "reasonable" and said she'd rather focus on savings for everyday riders.

And a year ago, with a government shutdown-driven freeze in SNAP benefits looming, reporters asked Healey if she'd mirror New York and other states that planned to use their own emergency dollars to fill some of the gap. Instead, Healey said that with no plans for federal reimbursement, the money wasn't available. She fast-tracked funding for food banks and continued her calls for the Trump administration to keep the food assistance flowing.

But maybe this election season will end up being a time that Healey and Hochul are particularly in tune.

The two incumbent governors are campaigning on similar messages, both pledging to lower costs while standing up against President Donald Trump. And with baseball season now over for both the Red Sox and the Yankees, there's one less point of friction.

What's your favorite Massachusetts vs. New York rivalry? Let me know: [email protected].

Massachusetts leaders are working to make electricity more affordable. But proposed fixed charges in S.3166 and H.5175 would undermine reforms designed to lower costs and instead raise bills for households and businesses. Lawmakers and Gov. Healey should say “NO” to fixed charges. Learn more here.

HAPPENING TODAY

8:00 | Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Doug Howgate discusses the state's fiscal outlook, including budget priorities, revenue trends and economic forces affecting Massachusetts, at a Springfield Regional Chamber breakfast forum | Marriott Springfield Downtown, Grand Ballroom, 2 Boland Way, Springfield

9:00 | Massachusetts Port Authority board meets | More Info

9:45 | U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan speaks during a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce government affairs forum. After her keynote, Trahan participates in a fireside chat with chamber CEO Jim Rooney | Westin Copley Plaza, 10 Huntington Ave., Boston | Register

10:00 | Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Massachusetts Clean Water Trust and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection hold a celebration for $10 billion in loans the agencies have partnered to issue to cities and towns for water infrastructure projects | Worcester City Hall at 455 Main St., Worcester

11:00 | House meets in an informal session | House Chamber

11:00 | Senate meets | Senate Chamber

11:00 | GBH News’ Boston Public Radio hosts a debate about Question 7, the ballot measure that aims to ease local zoning restrictions by enabling single-family homes to be built on lots that are at least 5,000 square feet with at least 50 feet of street frontage, and have access to public sewer and water services. Supporter Andrew Mikula of the Legalize Starter Homes campaign and opponent Adam Chapdelaine from the Massachusetts Municipal Association debate.....GBH 89.7 FM

11:00 | No on 8 campaign holds a press conference to discuss public health impacts from the ballot question that would end retail cannabis sales in Massachusetts | New Dia Dispensary, 71 Lansdowne St., Boston

11:00 | Congressman Richard Neal will join Ben Sosne, executive director for the Berkshire Innovation Center, Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti, and state and local officials to announce federal funding for the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Cybersecurity Learning and Testing Facility | Berkshire Innovation Center, 45 Woodlawn Avenue, Pittsfield

1:00 | Sen. DiDomenico, Rep. Ryan, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang and Kendall Square Association Director Beth O'Neill Maloney speak as Amgen Massachusetts marks 25 years at its Kendall Square site | Amgen Massachusetts, 360 Binney St., Cambridge

5:00 | Attorney General Campbell joins Christine Monska, executive director of Women's Fund SouthCoast and chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, for a fireside conversation at the fund's "Women, Power, and the Future of Democracy" event. Sen. Edwards participates in a panel discussion with reproductive justice activist Loretta Ross, former National Immigration Law Center head Marielena Hincapié, and SouthCoast Community Foundation CEO Melanie Edwards-Tavares | Zeiterion, 684 Purchase St., New Bedford | Info and Tickets

6:00 | Department of Conservation and Recreation presents plans to replace a suspension bridge in poor condition that spans the Farmington River in Otis. The pedestrian and snowmobile bridge connects Route 8 to snowmobile trails on DCR land | Zoom

6:00 | Mass Humanities and Mass Cultural Council host the 2026 Massachusetts Storyteller of the Year Celebration. The honorees are Bomba de Aquí, an Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance group, and radio personalities Monte Belmonte and Kaliis Smith of NEPM. Guests include Sens. Gómez and Velis and Reps. Domb, Duffy and González | Mill One, 1 Open Square Way, Holyoke

8:00 | WCVB Channel 5, WBUR and The Boston Globe host a one-hour debate between Gov. Maura Healey and GOP gubernatorial contender Mike Minogue. Ed Harding, WCVB anchor and "On The Record" co-host, moderates. Panelists include "On The Record" co-host and political reporter Sharman Sacchetti, Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker and WBUR's "Morning Edition" host Tiziana Dearing | WCVB Channel 5, 5 TV Place, Needham

JOB BOARD

Director of Resource Development — NEW, The Neighborhood Developers

Director of Human Resources, SEIU Local 509

Deputy Sewer Director, Town of Nantucket

Communications & Community Engagement Manager, City of Chelsea

Chief Financial Officer, Cooperative for Human Services Inc

Justice Geraldine S. Hines Legal Fellowship, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Senior Transportation Engineer, City of Newton

Financial Investigator III, Mass Gaming Commission

Job board continues below the fold — post a job

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ON BEACON HILL

SNAP JUDGMENT: LaMar Cook, a former Western Mass. aide to Gov. Healey who is already facing state-level drug trafficking charges, was newly charged with SNAP fraud in federal court Wednesday, drawing knocks on the governor from Republican rival Mike Minogue and U.S. Attorney Leah Foley. Healey says she's glad to see Foley's office take action to hold Cook accountable | Boston Herald

COUNTDOWN: | Proposed Census changes that would exclude hundreds of thousands of noncitizens from the 2030 count could cost Massachusetts more than $1.5 billion a year in federal funds, one researcher told lawmakers. Other moves could affect how college students and snowbirds are tallied. State House News Service (gift link)

HEATING UP: More than 10,000 people have expressed interest in a new home heating assistance program for middle-income households, announced last week by Gov. Healey. | Boston 25

NEWS NEXT DOOR

THEIR OWN DEVICES: A new proposal from Boston Public Schools officials would require students to lock up their cellphones, personal laptops, smart watches, smart glasses and tablets throughout the full school day, starting next fall. Beacon Hill lawmakers have yet to reach a deal on statewide school cellphone ban legislation. | Boston Globe

FINAL RESTING PLACE: Two religious statues at the center of a Quincy legal fight could end up in a cemetery across the street from the public safety building where they were originally intended to be installed. Quincy police and fire unions offered to put the statues in Mount Wollaston Cemetery, after court rulings blocked them from going up at the city building. | WCVB

DATA CENTER DOWN: Westfield's planning board denied a permit extension for Servistar Realties' hyperscale data center project, leaving the project that's been in the works since 2019 without a path forward. A representative for the developer cited a number of factors that held up the project, including the need for state tax breaks like the ones Gov. Healey froze this summer. | NEPM

TAKEN FOR GRANTED: Dracut officials say they were "locked out" of a $120,000 state grant supporting early college because of the town's noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Act, but UMass Lowell will keep working with the 40 high schoolers enrolled in the program this year. | The Sun

UNKNOWN CALLER: Truro police have been unable to trace or find evidence establishing the motive of the anonymous call that triggered a major search effort behind Montano's Restaurant. The restaurant owner has described the false report as retaliation for a fundraiser hosted there two days earlier for Republican candidates Mike Minogue for governor and Tyler Macallister for Congress. | Provincetown Independent

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