> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.newbostonpost.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Maura Healey Blames Mike Minogue for Shawn Oliver’s OUI Arrest While Her Own Party Has Plenty of Drunks - URL: https://www.newbostonpost.com/maura-healey-double-standard-drunk-driving/ - Published: 2026-10-20T21:30:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-20T21:31:06.000Z - Description: Maura Healey calls Mike Minogue’s campaign “chaos” after Shawn Oliver’s OUI arrest. Her own party chairman kept his job after an OUI case. - Author: NBP Editorial Board - Tags: Editorials, Maura Healey, Mike Minogue, Politics, Massachusetts, #lead, #morning-bell, morning-bell, #1 Governor Maura Healey must have a short memory. She called Mike Minogue’s campaign “chaos” Monday. She said this after Republican lieutenant governor nominee Shawn Oliver suspended his campaign following an OUI arrest. “It’s obvious there’s chaos over at the Mike Minogue campaign,” Healey[ said](https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/10/19/healey-minogue-oliver-arrest-chaos-massachusetts-governor-race-lieutenant-governor?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. Oh really? Healey's party has some problems she might want to address first. Police [say](https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2026/10/19/lieutenant-governor-candidate-shawn-oliver-arraigned-alleged-drunk/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ Oliver hit five parked vehicles and flipped his SUV in New Bedford last Saturday night. He pleaded not guilty Monday. That's bad. But... Minogue couldn't've handled the tough break any better. He immediately condemned Oliver. He called on Oliver to suspend his campaign, and later said he would seek Oliver’s resignation if they win. He made it very clear that Oliver wouldn't serve as his lieutenant governor. And you can't help but feel bad for Minogue here. Oliver wasn’t even his choice. At the convention, Minogue [backed](https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/10/19/mike-minogue-no-lieutenant-governor-shawn-oliver-arrest?ref=newbostonpost.com) Anne Brensley for LG. She didn't make the primary ballot because of problems with her nomination signatures. Oliver started as Brian Shortsleeve’s running mate. He then [challenged](https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/07/13/walsh-manning-martin-republican-signature-fraud-accusations-rulings?ref=newbostonpost.com) Anne Manning Martin’s nomination signatures. That helped knock her off the ballot and left Oliver as the one Republican LG candidate in the primary. He also irked the state party by doing it. You may have noticed the MassGOP never really embraced him. That's why. Minogue didn’t choose Oliver. Once Oliver faced these charges, Minogue told him to step aside. What else was Minogue supposed to do? Healey also blamed Minogue for Brensley and Manning Martin's signature problems. She then predictably referenced the one man she's obsessed with. “We’ve got enough chaos with Donald Trump,” she[ said](https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2026-10-19/what-if-there-was-no-lieutenant-governor-heres-what-could-happen-in-mass?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. “We don’t need more from Mike Minogue.” Now let's consider how Healey treated Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Steve Kerrigan. Back in June, police [arrested](https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/07/28/steve-kerrigan-drunk-driving-arrest-democratic-party?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ Kerrigan for an OUI in Southborough. His blood alcohol level was 0.089%. That's a bit over the 0.08% limit. Kerrigan admitted prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. The judge cut him a break and continued the case without a finding. Kerrigan got one year of probation, a 45-day license suspension and $600 in fines. “Driving under the influence is never acceptable,” Healey said at the time. “He has taken responsibility for his actions and committed to making sure this never happens again," she added. Kerrigan still chairs the MassDems. Mind you, when NewBostonPost reached out to the MassDems for a comment from Kerrigan about Oliver's OUI arrest – given his expertise on drunk driving – we got no response. Why does Healey stress taking responsibility when her party chairman faces an OUI case, but then attack Minogue even after he tells Oliver to beat it? Other Democrats have kept their jobs, too. Police arrested state Representative John Lawn after he hit a parked truck near the State House and took off in July 2025\. The Watertown Democrat[ admitted](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/mass-state-lawmaker-admits-facts-oui-case-will-lose-his-license/U7IJGYTCBVHTTNPWEDXM272BJI/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ to sufficient facts in his case. He got probation and a license suspension; he still serves in the House. Meanwhile, police[ arrested](https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/09/23/hampden-sheriff-nick-cocchi-arrested-dwi?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi outside MGM Springfield in September 2024\. He had driven a department SUV that police found running with a *missing tire*. Picture that: a drunken sheriff driving around with three tires. He admitted to sufficient facts in his OUI case. He kept his job and served a three-day unpaid [suspension](https://www.mainepublic.org/2024-10-02/hampden-county-sheriff-cocchi-suspended-for-3-days-after-arrest?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. And then there's state Senator Michael Brady. He has[ *two* OUI arrests](https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/06/05/michael-brady-brockton-alcohol-abuse?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. Police arrested the Brockton Democrat in Weymouth in 1998 after he drove into a telephone pole. That case ended with civil infractions and a fine. Police arrested him *again* in 2018\. He admitted to sufficient facts the next year and received probation, a license suspension and alcohol education requirements. Brady still serves in the Senate – and he still goes out drinking in his district. NewBostonPost has seen him out drinking at Cape Cod Cafe in Brockton and the East Bridgewater Commercial Club. We’ve also received verified reports of Brady spending time at another establishment in his district that’s a little less family-friendly. Let’s just say it wasn’t Frank’s. Plus, state Representative David LeBoeuf kept his job after his 2022 OUI arrest, as NewBostonPost[ reported](https://www.newbostonpost.com/massachusetts-democrats-oui-arrests-still-in-office/) at the time⁠. Healey's own administration has had problems, too. She[ fired](https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/10/14/lamar-cook-arrested-snap-fraud-charges?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ western Massachusetts aide LaMar Cook after his arrest on cocaine trafficking and firearm charges last year. She was right to fire him. But her administration then mistakenly paid him thousands of dollars in accrued leave. The state sued to get the money back. Then, federal authorities[ charged](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-massachusetts-state-official-charged-snap-fraud?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ him with SNAP fraud and wire fraud last week. Those charges remain pending. Healey wants voters to blame Minogue for Oliver’s conduct. Yet Minogue did what any competent executive would do. She hasn't. Her own party chairman still has his job. She should explain that before she lectures anyone else about chaos.