By Former Rep. Lenny Mirra
10-23
Every first time candidate for office promises to be “the most transparent” ever, and I’m sure many actually believe they will be, but a funny thing happens on their way to getting sworn in. Then their loyalty to voters, laws, and the Constitution suddenly takes a back seat to their loyalty to party leaders, and they’ll conjure up all manner of excuses as to why we can’t get records and information that every other state seems to provide with no problem.
This is especially common in corrupt one-party states and Massachusetts is certainly no exception. For a very long time we’ve had the embarrassing notoriety of having one of the worst records in America when it comes to open records and transparency.
So, it was not surprising when our lopsided legislature refused to allow our Auditor, Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen), to audit them just as she does every other agency and entity in our state government.
To be fair there’s currently only two politicians currently standing in the way of this audit, House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) and Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). I say currently because they have so far spared their members the horrifying choice of having to vote to allow an audit or to keep their (our) finances secret.
It’s basically a choice between doing what’s right and doing what their masters demand in exchange for chairmanships and bogus “leadership” positions that come with huge raises.
Anyone who knows DiZoglio knows she’s not going away without a fight and it’s turning into a large and public brawl that has escalated with her suing to force the legislature to submit to an audit, but she’s not stopping there. She is taking the issue to the voters by filing a petition for a ballot question that would explicitly allow the Auditor’s office to audit the legislature.
Best of all, she’s turning to unlikely allies to help out. Mass GOP Chair Amy Carnevale says, “It’s an initiative that we support, and we absolutely would welcome the opportunity to work with her.”
On the other end of the political spectrum, she’s got the support of Our Revolution Massachusetts, a progressive group that backed her opponent in last year’s Democratic primary.
“It’s all hands-on deck and this is a nonpartisan, good-government issue,” DiZoglio said. “I am grateful to have folks of all political stripes joining our fight for greater transparency and accountability on Beacon Hill.”
Well, it should be nonpartisan, but maybe someone should tell that to Mass Dems Chair Steven Kerrigan who was not going to let DiZoglio speak at their Convention. He eventually relented and let her speak, but Democrats never did take up a resolution at their convention that would have put the party on record as either supporting or opposing Diana DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature. When she spoke of the “roadblocks” Democratic legislative leaders have put up to her proposed audit of their practices and procedures, activists booed. So much for putting principle above party.
“I have very clearly requested the same opportunity to speak that every other statewide elected has been given,” DiZoglio stated. “Censorship of my comments or of my ability to speak does not serve the Democratic Party or anyone else.”
It’s a smart and gutsy move to reach out to all parties and ask for help on this effort. After a lengthy phone call with DiZoglio I’m happy to say that I’ll be doing my part as well. I will personally be reaching out to friends on all sides to get the 75,000 signatures needed to get this question on the ballot. Those interested in signing, or maybe even collecting signatures, can contact me here or at my email: Lenny.Mirra@gmail.com.
Getting this question on the ballot is democracy in action, and anyone who cares about democracy should want our Auditor to be able to do her job. The public deserves to know where their tax dollars are going, and she deserves our help! ◊