BOSTON -- Businessman Christy Mihos announced Thursday that he will run for governor of Massachusetts as an independent.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that Mihos, 56, whose family started Christy's Markets decades ago, has been on the periphery of state politics for years as a Turnpike Board member and a Republican insider.

If elected, Mihos made three promises for his first day in office:

"I will drive myself to work. I will begin the pledge I began at the Turnpike Authority and take down those tolls from Weston to the New York border. And thirdly, the gate will be forever opened to the people's building," he said.

Mihos said he is disgusted with his party and that is why he is running as an independent. This is despite every effort to convince Mihos to run as a Republican by Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, who would rather eliminate him in a primary contest than share votes with him while running against a Democrat in the general election.

"Why did your supporters try to convince him to run as a Republican?" Wu asked Healey.

"Christy had been a Republican, but he has made some other choices. So now I welcome him into the race as an independent," Healey said.

Healey denied reports that she tried convince Mihos to be her running mate, and denied his candidacy is a vendetta.

"Republicans basically just have become like the Democrats -- just beholden to special interests. And you have covered what has been happening in the last few years -- the Big Dig and the Turnpike Authority -- not one Republican ever came to my defense," he said.

Mihos said he is pro-choice, for gay rights and supports no government inference when it comes to stem cell research.

"My No. 1 issue is returning government to the people first, but working to stem the tide of the brain-drain and mass exodus of people leaving the commonwealth because they can't afford it here any longer. I am talking about taxes, I am talking about the fees, the fines, the taxes, car insurance -- just everything that is causing people to leave the commonwealth," he said.

Democrats Thomas Reilly and Deval Patrick are also running for governor.