The GOP mayors have succeeded despite, not because of, Trump. Mostly, that’s because they focus on the basic tasks of governing. But the way they talk about Trump, or don’t talk about him, might provide some guidance to other Republicans trying to figure out how to deal with the president’s unpopularity in Massachusetts.
So how are the Commonwealth’s two Republican mayors navigating our current, hyper-polarized political moment? By threading a needle through a very small opening.
“You learn how to row on both sides of the canoe. When you can do that effectively, and you can kind of guide the ship down the middle, that’s where the work gets done,” said Michael McCabe, the mayor of Westfield, a city of some 40,000 just west of West Springfield. “I’m more of a Charlie Baker Republican than a Trump Republican.”
A police officer turned mayor, he said he sees his role as nonpartisan, to be the CEO managing a city.
That said, he’s still a conservative. “I’m not all the way over on the right,” he said. “So what I’m hoping is that they [voters] believe that I’m going to be a good steward of their taxpayer dollars.”
The other Republican Massachusetts mayor, Shaunna O’Connell in Taunton, said she’s most focused on the cost of living and affordable housing in her city of 62,000. When asked what she wanted voters to think of when they see an “R” next to her name, she talked about fiscal responsibility and using tax dollars wisely. She said that the Republican brand stands for “self-sufficiency, responsibility, civic duty, helping others, and giving back to your community.”
Both mayors tried to keep the focus on their day-to-day tasks, filling the potholes and balancing the budget. Still, when discussing politics in 2026, it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room.
McCabe said he likes a lot of Trump’s policies, including his hard-line stance on immigration, getting tough on NATO, and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement (the international compact to curb the greenhouse gasses that fuel climate change). O’Connell said she likes the job Trump has done securing the border. (Note: Both interviews with the mayors happened before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and killed two men in Maine and Texas.)
But the man himself?
“I say he’s the president. It’s that simple,” said McCabe. “Just like I said when Biden was the president.”
Same question to O’Connell: Does she want to be associated with Trump?
“I don’t get into national politics. I’m so focused on Taunton,” she said.
While the two mayors were careful in their word choices, they weren’t willfully ignoring Trump’s norm-shattering behaviors.
O’Connell called Trump “self-promoting.”
McCabe expressed remorse over what Trump has done to the conservative brand. “It’s very frustrating to have somebody who is the chief executive officer of the United States of America who has difficulty getting his point across without some sort of sideswipe.”
McCabe also had criticisms to go around the political spectrum. He said he and Governor Maura Healey “do not see eye to eye on many, many, many social justice policy issues. … That said, I know that I have to find common ground.”
He also had some sharp words for Republican leaders in Massachusetts. “I hate to say this right out loud, but I’m going to say it. My Republican Party continues to want to put up Trump-backed politicians,” McCabe said. “You have zero opportunity for winning the governorship in the state of Massachusetts.
“And we’ve done it again.” (The leading Republican gubernatorial candidate, Mike Minogue, has been a Trump supporter.)
As for what MAGA Republican constituents think of the two mayors?
O’Connell was diplomatic in her answer. “I have a pragmatic approach with a focus on Taunton,” she said, adding that “I believe that my work appeals broadly to Republicans.”
McCabe was less measured. “I think the far right view me as the lesser of the evils, but I really don’t know,” McCabe said.
For these two Republican mayors, success means staying true to conservative principles and working across the aisle. As McCabe said, “I still have to work with these folks,” meaning people of all political stripes. “My job is to get work done.”
Jason Margolis can be reached at jason.margolis@globe.com.
