Shortsleeve says his name is Mike Kennealy.

In a post yesterday, Shortsleeve went directly at Kennealy's record in the Baker administration — accusing him of writing the regulations for the MBTA Communities Act and then personally pushing his hometown to be among the first communities to comply. The zoning changes that followed, Shortsleeve argues, set in motion the chain of decisions that produced both the $660 million school and the layoffs.

Kennealy's communications director Logan Trupiano didn't hold back.

"Brian Shortsleeve is lying and showing clear ignorance of how policy actually works," Trupiano told Mass Daily News. "Mike Kennealy didn't write the MBTA Communities Act. And is a strong proponent of giving communities flexibility not forcing mandates."

Shortsleeve's argument, he said, is "completely incoherent" — an attempt to connect "unrelated local decisions in ways that are simply not accurate." It's "misleading," he added, and "voters deserve better."

Then he went after Shortsleeve's standing in the race directly: "He is distorting the facts because his campaign is struggling to gain traction."

"Voters are looking for serious leadership, not misleading attacks. Mike Kennealy is the only candidate in this race with a proven conservative record and the real-world experience to win both the primary and defeat Maura Healey."

The MBTA Communities Act was signed by Baker in 2021 — before he left for the NCAA presidency and handed his party the fallout. The law requires 177 communities near the T to allow multi-family housing by right near transit stations or lose access to certain state grants. It has been one of the most contentious laws in Massachusetts in recent years, pitting state government against local officials who say it stripped their towns of zoning control.

Kennealy served as Baker's housing secretary when the implementing regulations were developed. Lexington — where Kennealy lives — was among the first communities to pass compliant zoning.

Whether that makes Kennealy responsible for what Lexington built and cut afterward is the central dispute — and Kennealy's team says the connection is a fiction. Shortsleeve is betting voters will disagree.

Shortsleeve, Kennealy, and former biotech CEO Michael Minogue are all competing for the GOP nomination ahead of the September primary. Whoever wins faces Governor Maura Healey in the fall.

The exchange puts Kennealy in the unusual position of defending his Baker administration record in a Republican primary where Baker is long gone and the MBTA Act is deeply unpopular.