Durant endorses Shortsleeve in Republican race for gov

State senator Peter Durant R-Spencer has officially endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve for governor Durant who broadcasted his backing of Shortsleeve s candidacy in a press conference outside the state house Thursday is the first Republican senator to make an official endorsement in the ballot The state senator who had previously considered his own run for governor cited Shortsleeve s leadership and promising above fellow Republican candidates Mike Kennealy and Michael Minogue to unseat Democratic Gov Maura Healey in the general voting After much consideration and meeting with all the candidates there is one person who I believe can defeat Maura Healey and restore common sense for the Commonwealth That s why in contemporary times I am proudly endorsing Brian Shortsleeve for Governor noted Durant From an out of control immigration predicament to soaring utility costs and a worsening housing shortage I ve seen how Beacon Hill s misplaced priorities are squeezing middle-class families And that s why I m supporting Brian Because he understands the problems aren t the people of Massachusetts it s the way the executive spends their money Durant also cited Shortsleeve s commitment to overhaul the state s current immigration policies most of notably his promise to change the state s Right to Shelter law if elected One of my top priorities is to amend the Right to Shelter law to end the costly migrant predicament I ve identified that Brian is the candidate the majority committed to ending Healey s sanctuary policies and stopping the wasteful spending of billions of dollars on the migrant issue Durant added Brian and I share the same goals when it comes to protecting taxpayers Brian has the financial discipline and expertise to get our state back on track But this isn t just an endorsement I look forward to actively supporting Brian s campaign because this polling is just too essential to sit on the sidelines Shortsleeve welcomed Durant s endorsement calling him a real leader in fighting for taxpayers and standing up against the costly influx of newcomers into our state Throughout his time on Beacon Hill Peter has proven that he is not afraid to take on the toughest issues He s been a strong voice for taxpayers a strong voice for small businesses and a strong voice for our communities Shortsleeve added Like Senator Durant I believe that this state can do better and that this state must do better and it starts with a new governor The two republicans also spoke about their shared distaste for Gov Healey s sweeping local option tax hike proposal something that has drawn the ire of fiscal advocacy groups like the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance ever since the Healey-Driscoll Administration quietly began promoting it last week Known as the Municipal Empowerment Act the proposed decree would give cities and towns across Massachusetts the authority to raise taxes on residents and businesses Specifically it would allow municipalities to raise the local meals tax from to increase the local lodging tax from to and create an additional surcharge on the motor bicycle excise tax of up to I think its just passing the buck revealed Sen Durant So what the governor has commented is I m not going to raise your taxes but I ll let you do it So all she s doing is trying to pass the buck Shortsleeve echoed Durant s comments adding that his campaign has started an online petition to block the measure from calling Healey s proposal a punch in the gut for working families The only thing worse than the auto excise tax is a surcharge on top of the auto excise tax Working families in this state are getting taxed too much We need to be cutting taxes We need to be making this state more affordable explained Shortsleeve I m opposed to it We ve got a petition going online I encourage everyone to come online and tell Maura Healey no way on hiking the auto excise tax Shortsleeve has also won the endorsements of Republican state Reps Marc Lombardo R Billerica and Nick Boldyga R-Southwick