Lexington, MA –Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy said the collapse of the Applegreen contract to operate 18 Massachusetts highway service plazas was both predictable and avoidable, blasting the Healey administration for ever awarding the deal in the first place. The failed deal, born from what Kennealy called a “shadowy procurement process,” has left taxpayer dollars squandered and confidence in state leadership shaken. 

“The entire procurement process that handed Applegreen this contract was suspect from the very beginning,” Kennealy said. “Now we are seeing the results of a backroom deal collapse in plain sight. This fiasco is an outright failure by Governor Maura Healey and her Transportation Secretary, Monica Tibbits-Nutt. Furthermore, the fact that this deal was canceled on the eve of a Senate Audit and Oversight Committee hearing on the procurement process should raise serious concerns.”

Kennealy is calling for the immediate release of all records related to the bidding and decision-making process, which awarded Applegreen the contract despite it not being the most lucrative or advantageous option for the state.

“When bureaucrats are making deals in the shadows, these kinds of disasters are inevitable,” Kennealy continued. “Monica Tibbits-Nutt has shown time and time again that she thinks she knows better than the taxpayers. The truth is, her instincts and her judgment have failed Massachusetts. This debacle is just the latest proof.”

Kennealy also made clear that the responsibility goes straight to the top.

“Governor Healey must release every detail about how this deal was made and why it fell apart. The public deserves the truth, and until we get it, trust in her administration will continue to erode,” Kennealy said. “Monica Tibbits-Nutt should resign from her post immediately because Massachusetts cannot afford this level of incompetence and arrogance in its leadership.”

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