The Republican race for two top sets in government now whas its first unofficial ticket. On Tuesday, the Mike Kennealy campaign announced that Kennealy is tapping Peabody City Councilor Anne Manning Martin as his running mate.
Manning Martin, who’s been a city councilor for nearly two decades, works as the deputy superintendent at Jamaica Plain’s Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, which is part of the state’s Department of Correction and provides medical care for incarcerated individuals. She previously ran unsuccessfully for the Massachusetts Governor’s Council and for Essex County Sheriff.
Manning Martin is sharply critical of Gov. Maura Healey, who Kennealy hopes to unseat this fall. Manning Martin argues the governor has focused too much on “going after” President Donald Trump and not enough on responding to the needs of Massachusetts residents.
“She’s really, really laser hyper-focused on Donald Trump,” Manning Martin said. “And the constituents I talk to, they don’t bring up Donald Trump with me at all. They talk about, ‘Anne, why are my energy costs — look at my bill!’
“They’ll pull over, I’ll be pumping my gas or getting my coffee at 7-11, and they’ll walk in with their energy bill and say, ‘Anne please explain this to me!’ … They talk to me about their potholes. We have water main breaks; they talk about their infrastructure. They talk about their property taxes. Those are the things that Maura Healey should be talking about, and she’s not.”
While Kennealy says he’s never voted for Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Massachusetts, Manning Martin says she’s voted for Trump three times.
Manning Martin also accuses Healey of hampering local control. She cites the administration’s implementation of the MBTA Communities Act — which became law under former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, and requires communities on or near the MBTA to zone for denser housing near stations — to back up that characterization.
“It’s been weaponized,” Manning Martin said. “Threats of withholding local aid, and forcing local officials, telling them what type of housing and where their housing should go instead of leaving that to the local authorities who know their communities best.”
That criticism echoes Kennealy, who was Baker’s housing secretary when the law went on the books and helped write the guidelines for its implementation. Kennealy has accused the Healey administration of needlessly relying on “lawsuits and strong-arm tactics” in applying the law.
Manning Martin isn’t the only candidate in the Republican mix for lieutenant governor. Wayland selectwoman Anne Brensley, who runs an investment firm, has been running since September 2025.
She, too, cites Healey’s implementation of the MBTA Communities Act as evidence of a problematic disconnect between Beacon Hill and cities and towns.
“Every community — what is it, over 350 communities across Massachusetts — every single one of them fits into one of three different categories according to the MBTA Communities Act,” Brensley said. “That’s ridiculous. That’s not good policy. [Neither are] the implementation and how it was rolled out and how grant money was used to kind of hold towns hostage.
“it’s not good, no matter what,” Brensley added. “You can’t force things on communities without communicating with them.”
Healey, Brensley said, is “chasing out jobs, she’s chasing out young people. She is turning us into a state that’s becoming very dependent on state services. You’re seeing unemployment issues. You’re seeing issues with just basic things like utility costs.”
Brensley is also suing to uphold the new law giving the state auditor the authority to audit the Massachusetts Legislature, something Auditor Diana DiZoglio has been unable to do since a ballot question that created the law passed with 72% of the vote in 2024.
Brensley is arguing that she needs access to the information DiZoglio could unearth to make well-informed decisions as a candidate for higher office. A hearing on her lawsuit is scheduled for June.
Massachusetts voters make their picks for governor and lieutenant governor separately, so it is not essential for candidates to announce a joint ticket. It’s possible that Manning Martin or Brensley could end up on the general election ticket alongside GOP gubernatorial candidates Kennealy, Mike Minogue or Brian Shortsleeve. Brensley said she never discussed teaming up to form a ticket with Kennealy, and though her views are more in line with those of Shortsleeve and Minogue, she’s not necessarily seeking to team up with either of them.
“That’s definitely not a goal,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is create a coalition built on what I believe are things that matter to people across Massachusetts, across not only the state but across parties, and I want to be an added value to whoever the governor’s candidate is as chosen by the Republican Party.”
However, Brensley said, “If a candidate wanted me to run with them, I would absolutely consider it.”
