Democratic Massachusetts State Senator Diana DiZoglio is running for state auditor. After a primary win over Chris Dempsey, who had received the endorsement of outgoing state auditor Suzanne Bump, she now faces Republican Anthony Amore on Tuesday. DiZoglio has been a Beacon Hill fixture since 2013, when she won a seat in the House representing the 14th district. In 2019, she ascended to the Senate from the 1st Essex district. WAMC spoke with DiZoglio today about her promise to address cost of living increases in Massachusetts, as well as recent scrutiny of her political past.
DIZOGLIO: So, on the ground level, I am speaking with voters, have heard, you know, the same thing that we've been hearing this entire time since last year when we started campaigning almost, well over a year ago, and the things that keep coming up on the campaign trail are issues pertaining to the high cost of living, making sure that we are protecting our environment, making sure that folks have access to the services that they need- Access to health care, access to mental health services, access to addiction resources, access to a great education regardless of family background, bank balance, or zip code. We have a real challenge in the state government with transparency, accountability, and equity, and Massachusetts is actually ranked as the least transparent state government in the entire nation by almost every single good government group. That means it's incredibly difficult for working families, everyday families, to get access to what's actually happening in state government, because many of the decisions are being made behind closed doors- Many of those decisions that impact our everyday lives. So as a state auditor, I want to shine a light in the dark areas of our state government to show where we can do better by everyday working families in those areas that are of concern to folks, such as housing, education, health care, and more.
WAMC: So, connect the dots there- How would you as a state auditor help lower cost of living, and what areas of state government would you like to most shine a light into?
State auditor’s role is to shine a light on the dark areas of our state government. She is the chief accountability officer, she's the one who stands up and speaks truth to power, is the whistleblower, is a government watchdog, so to speak. So, it's actually her role to shine a light on different challenges, different areas where there are potential areas for improvement, and to make sure that our tax dollars are being used efficiently and effectively. And then use that data to inform the legislature and the administration about areas that they need to focus on. So, regarding housing, for example. The state auditor is able to look into the Department of Housing and Community Development, community development block grants, our MassWorks program, these public-private partnerships that exist between the state and developers, for example, and shine a light on if there are any breakdowns occurring so that we can do better when we expend state tax dollars on these initiatives. It's one thing to know that a project was done for, just using as an example, $500,000 thatat was an affordable housing project, for example. And everybody pats themselves on the back, and they say, great job, we created this affordable housing project- But it's a completely different conversation when you learn that you could have potentially done that same project for half the cost, because that means that those tax dollars that were expended and wasted could have been spent on housing another family. Every wasted dollar is another child's future opportunities that's put at risk. It's another person that goes without housing. It's another person that goes without health care. It’s another climate change initiative that's glossed over. So, the state auditor can really look into the state agencies such as the Department of Housing and Community Development, and make sure that their expenditures make sense and that our tax dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. You know, we talk about the tax dollar aspect of this, and a lot of times folks focus on the financial aspects of the auditor's office, which of course is a large part of the job. But the auditor also has the ability to conduct qualitative audits and not just quantitative audits. She can also do these qualitative audits and performance audits of various agencies to make sure that they're operating at their best. We think about the Department of Children and Families for example. As a childhood survivor of domestic abuse myself, I have sought during my legislative years to be a part of different initiatives that have supported domestic abuse survivors. The Department of Children and Families has had tremendous challenges through the years where we've seen children suffer the consequences of the inefficiencies in that agency. And of course, we need to ensure that they're receiving the appropriate level of funding so that they're able to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. But we also need to look at the processes and the procedures and where those processes and procedures have broken down, that have allowed for tragedies to have occurred. The auditor can shine a light in the dark areas, and make sure that agencies such as Department of Children and Families are held accountable once again, not just on the financial aspects, but on these procedures and processes that are happening behind closed doors.
WAMC: This week in the Boston Globe, attention was drawn to your past, more conservative voting tendencies as an elected official, especially around issues like abortion access, transparency- Yhings that left you sort of abreast of the main Democratic herd on Beacon Hill. Can you speak to that journey and speak to your past record?
Yes, of course. I'm proud to be the MassEquality endorsed candidate in this race, I am proud to be the Planned Parenthood endorsed candidates in this race, the Reproductive Equity Now endorsed candidate and his race, and Emily's List endorsed candidate in this race, all due to my record over the last 10 years in the state legislature of standing up for civil rights and standing up to make sure that we have reproductive justice in the state of Massachusetts. I have a 100% voting record on choice, and we know that in the last days of the campaign, of course, folks are going to try to dismiss and discredit your work, but the record is very clear. And that's why I've earned the endorsement of Planned Parenthood, MassEquality, Emily's List, and more who know that I have a 100% voting record on these issues during the course of my entire time in the state legislature.
With just days to go and voters choosing between the two candidates, what do you think most distinguishes you from Anthony Amore In this contest?
I bring to the table my 10 years of legislative experience standing up and speaking truth to power to both sides of the aisle. I think it's important that we have somebody who has the ability to be independent when conducting these audits. As many may have heard during past interviews, when I came forward to expose the sexual harassment had been occurring in the House of Representatives, I also exposed that taxpayer dollars were being used to fund non-disclosure agreements to keep sex harassment victims quiet. That meant taking on my own Democratic Speaker of the House at that time. I have also taken on this Republican administration’s abuse of our tax dollars to fund these agreements. And, you know, we need to make sure that these types of things are not occurring moving forward. So, I have the proven track record of standing up, speaking truth to power on both sides of the aisle, Democrat or Republican, and making sure that our leaders and state government are held accountable on the abuse of our tax dollars. I have 10 years of experience going through the state budget going line by line in how our tax dollars are being spent, and making sure to hold state agencies accountable. Most recently, I had actually been the lead in the State Senate on demanding oversight hearings of the MBTA, where trains are literally catching on fire right now. This is a huge area of concern even for folks who don't necessarily take the MBTA, because it's all of our tax dollars that are being expended towards this failing transportation system. I demanded oversight hearings as a state senator, and as your next state auditor I have committed to conducting a full safety audit of the MBTA and looking into our Department of Transportation and shining a light on ways that we can and must do better.
