WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - Geoff Diehl, a former GOP state representative from Whitman, announced on the Fourth of July that he’s running for Massachusetts’ top political office.
Diehl is the first Republican to enter the 2022 race for governor because fellow GOP member, Gov. Charlie Baker, has not yet said whether he will call it a day on Beacon Hill or run for another four years.
“Well, I thought Independence Day was a great day to talk about the message of re-empowering the individual,” Diehl told 7NEWS on Wednesday. “I know government has had a real big impact on people’s lives recently.”
As the pandemic winds down, the 42-year old sat down with 7’s Kimberly Bookman to speak about his candidacy near his home in Whitman. He says too many suffered during the COVID-19 emergency due to decisions made by the government.
“Schools could have reopened sooner,” Diehl said. “We obviously think businesses said, ‘Look you got big box stores that are open but small mom and pop stores can’t be open.’ I mean, how does that make sense?”
Diehl and his wife run a performing arts school. He says he understands firsthand that getting back to business isn’t easy and people need help.
“The first thing we can do, and I think the governor should do right away, is stop the unemployment enhancements which are giving people an incentive not to go back to work,” Diehl stated.
Diehl explained that he wants the excess tax revenue that the state unexpectedly collected to go to small business owners. He says he’s also against using it for a two-month tax-free holiday as Baker has proposed.
“I think Gov. Baker obviously ran as a Republican several times but I think he governs center-left and I think for me I’m a center-right person,” Diehl said when asked if he thought Baker was a true Republican.
Diehl was the co-chair of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Massachusetts.
“I was happy to support him then and I still believe in what he was trying to get done,” Diehl said.
When asked if expects an endorsement from Trump, Diehl said, “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. I think right now he’s looking at his own political future so I’ll let him figure that one out.”
What Diehl knows for sure is that he opposes a surcharge on gas, embraces online work and education opportunities, and he is a supporter of the police.
“Just recently you saw that standoff in Wakefield. The police were able to de-escalate a very potentially violent situation,” Diehl said. “Those are the examples that we should be hearing about more often…The great job police are doing in our community.”
For months during the pandemic, Baker had stressed that his only focus was on leading Massachusetts through the public health emergency.
The general election will be held in November.
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