A very thorough local backgrounder on the folks — The Healeys — who will be hosting Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney at their home in Vermont this week.
We found this article by Susan Smallheer at www.vermonttoday.com. She spoke extensively to Tom Kenyon of West Windsor:
By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is headed this week to a hilltop retreat in the tiny town of West Windsor to prepare for his upcoming debates with President Barack Obama.
Romney is expected in Vermont on Tuesday at the $3.9 million, gated vacation home of his former Massachusetts lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey, which has been described by locals as a “starter palace.”
Romney, who is currently at his vacation home in New Hampshire, is expected to stay in Vermont for three days, his stay coinciding with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
National media, including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and Politico.com, reported that Romney was headed to Vermont, one of the bluest of politically blue states, despite its namesake Green Mountains. A Romney campaign spokesman described the location as “remote” and “mountainous,” but erroneously listed Healey’s home as being in nearby Reading.
In 2008, Vermont went overwhelmingly in favor of Obama, second only to Obama’s home state of Hawaii. West Windsor was no different, voting 68.1 percent in favor of Obama, with 30.9 percent for Sen. John McCain. Romney never campaigned in Vermont before its presidential primary in March, instead sending former N.H. Gov. John Sununu.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is expected to join Romney at Healey’s home for the debate work. Portman played Obama during McCain’s debate preparation so well, according to published reports, that McCain’s wife, Cindy, wouldn’t talk to him afterward.
Healey’s 143-acre home is deep in the exclusive horse country in the northwest corner of West Windsor, near South Woodstock and Reading, said Tom Kenyon, a member of the West Windsor Select Board and a lifelong Republican.
The home was described by a neighbor as a “starter palace” in a Boston Globe story in 2006, which detailed the wealth of Healey, who was then running for governor of Massachusetts, and her husband, Sean, a money manager based near Boston.
Kenyon laughed and said the Healey home was “just your average West Windsor home,” currently assessed at $3.9 million, one of only a handful of properties in that price range in the town.
Kenyon, who is chairman of the West Windsor Republican Committee, said he was unaware of Romney’s upcoming visit, and he said he had never met Healey, who has been seen at the Woodstock Farmers’ Market.
He said the town, whose population is just over 1,000 and which has only an elected part-time constable for law enforcement, was unaware of the presidential contender’s visit and had nothing planned.
Healey and her husband have owned the property on Rush Meadow Road for about 10 years. Kenyon said the couple had built the home on a hilltop and had a fabulous view. He said the home was not visible from the road, which is dirt.
He said the entrance to the house, which he had visited, was near a large beaver pond.
Jack Lindley, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party and chairman of the Romney campaign in the state, said Sunday it was too soon to say whether Romney would make any public appearances while in Vermont. Lindley had just returned from the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
“I’ll know a lot more in 24 hours,” said Lindley, who said that Vermont was the perfect place to prepare for a presidential debate, offering peace and quiet and fresh air.
The Healeys were part of a group of five homeowners who sued the town of West Windsor over their property tax appraisals back in 2003. The case went all the way to the Vermont Supreme Court, with the town losing in a 2004 decision.
According to published reports at the time, the Healeys saved $7,000 a year off their original $14,000 tax bill as a result. The existing house and barns, part of an Arabian horse farm, was valued at $700,000 by the town, and cut to $370,000 assessed value as part of the lawsuit.
Its value increased when the Healeys built a new home valued at $2 million in 2006. The property is currently assessed at $3.9 million on the West Windsor grand list, Kenyon said.
The state’s high court faulted the town for undervaluing some properties, and not having tax uniformity.
Romney carried Vermont during March’s primary, with 39.5 percent of the vote to Ron Paul’s 25.3 percent and Rick Santorum’s 23.6 percent.
All three 2012 presidential debates will be held in October.
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 
Posted by Mary Loren on September 4, 2012 at 13:12
When one has made your money off “other people’s money” it is them easy to be powerful and throw your weight around against a little community. I wonder how many services the town is providing for the Healey’s? How many more examples like this we could find for those who support Romney. If only the “common person – working man/woman” could understand who they are voting for and who has their best interest at heart.
“According to published reports at the time, the Healeys saved $7,000 a year off their original $14,000 tax bill as a result. The existing house and barns, part of an Arabian horse farm, was valued at $700,000 by the town, and cut to $370,000 assessed value as part of the lawsuit.
Its value increased when the Healeys built a new home valued at $2 million in 2006. The property is currently assessed at $3.9 million on the West Windsor grand list, Kenyon said.
The state’s high court faulted the town for undervaluing some properties, and not having tax uniformity.”
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