An Interview with Candidates for Massachusetts State Auditor

I have the education, the experience and the toughness to be the next chief accountability officer for the taxpayers and residents of Massachusetts. I am a proven advocate and watchdog for the public interest and am the only candidate in this race with experience working in the executive branch of state government, which is the focus of the State Auditor’s Office. In addition to my experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, I have worked in the private sector in management consulting and hold an MBA from Harvard Business School.  

The state auditor is one of only six state officials that is accountable directly to voters. The auditor oversees a team of about 200 analysts and auditors who dig into every corner of the executive branch of state government. The office conducts audits, investigations, and studies to promote accountability and transparency, improve performance and make government work better.  

As the chief accountability officer for state government in Massachusetts, the auditor must be someone who is independent, who has experience working in state government, and who has stood up to powerful special interests to protect taxpayers and the public interest. The auditor must be the public face of accountability and good government for all of the Commonwealth.  

I served as assistant secretary of transportation for Governor Deval Patrick, where I co-founded the MassDOT open-data program, which launched smartphone applications that tell you when your bus or train is going to arrive, saving taxpayers and farepayers millions compared with more costly and cumbersome alternatives. We made the MBTA the first transit agency on the entire East Coast to make those apps available to riders and received national attention in the Wall Street Journal and on NPR by making the MBTA a leader on real-time information.  

More recently, I served as the director of the transportation for Massachusetts coalition, which advocates for better transportation policy statewide. While Massachusetts compares well to other states on issues like education and health care, we have fallen far behind on transportation, where we typically rank in the bottom ten states. We need more leaders on Beacon Hill with the experience and expertise to fix our transportation problems, which are intertwined with our challenges in housing, the environment, and in other key areas of public policy.  

But beyond my professional track record working to improve the Commonwealth, I have also stood up to protect the public interest with volunteerism and civic engagement. I led the grassroots campaign No Boston Olympics, which was successful despite being outspent 1,500-1 by some of the most powerful special interests in the state. The Boston 2024 Olympic bid required that taxpayers promise to cover 100% of Olympic cost overruns, threatening the fiscal future of our Commonwealth and putting taxpayers on the hook for a private endeavor. This grassroots leadership earned me Boston Globe Magazine’s “Bostonian of the Year” award in 2015.  

I also have experience working in and with municipal government, as an elected Town Meeting Member in Brookline since 2012, and as Chair of the Transportation Board. I understand the needs and budgetary constraints faced by Massachusetts cities and towns and have managed hundreds -- if not thousands -- of hours of public meetings keeping the wheels of local government turning while ensuring that all voices are heard.  

In the private sector, I have worked with some of the country’s largest companies to help the economy grow as a consultant at Bain & Co., and also led business development for a software technology startup that created jobs in Massachusetts and provided improved and innovative delivery of public services to residents in Massachusetts, New York, California and elsewhere.  

My leadership of the No Boston Olympics effort saved taxpayers billions of dollars in Olympic cost overruns. Our grassroots campaign drew significant public attention to the possibilities of extreme waste associated and perverse incentives associated with a bid for the Olympics. The Boston 2024 proposal, pushed by powerful, connected special interests and supported by many of the Commonwealth’s most influential elected officials, would have required all of us as state taxpayers to cover all Olympic cost overruns. The risks and costs associated with Olympic bids are well-documented, but it is easy for a community to get caught up in Olympic gold fever, especially when the boosters of the games show off glossy images of gleaming Olympic venues, and then offer promises, however hollow, about how these venues will be built without public dollars. Early polling showed that the public supported the Olympic bid. But as No Boston Olympics worked to uncover and share more data with the public, the tide turned.  

We were outspent on this campaign 1,500 to 1, but we had the facts on our side, and we built a grassroots effort that made the case to the public. We ensured the media and public were aware of important details buried in agreements that were left unaddressed at celebratory press conferences held by Olympic boosters. These agreements included unrealistic estimates of construction (and demolition) costs, mischaracterizations of our public-transportation system, and requirements for Olympic officials to restrict public access on certain highways for the duration of the Games. Our concerns about cost overruns were ratified by the Brattle Group, an internationally regarded economic consulting firm hired by Governor Baker to appraise the costs and ramifications of the Games.  

I have also worked within state government to save taxpayers money. I am a transit rider, and I will be the first statewide elected official since Governor Dukakis to commute to Beacon Hill on the T. I know what it’s like to be waiting in the rain for a train or bus. As Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Governor Deval Patrick, I was shocked when I walked into a room at the MBTA Operations Center and learned that the agency had access to the real-time locations of MBTA buses. Yet management didn’t see fit to make that information public to frustrated commuters like me.  

Rather than just call on others to make change, I decided to do something about it myself. I co-founded the program at MassDOT that released that data to the public via real-time apps available to riders. This made the MBTA – not an agency known for innovation – the very first transit agency on the East Coast to do so and set a tone for transit agencies nationwide that these data should be open and transparent to all. My approach saved taxpayers and farepayers millions relative to more costly alternatives that elusively always remained five-or-more years away. As state auditor I will bring this same brand of transformational change and transparency to every corner of state government.  

Both within government and as a private citizen, I have succeeded at leading teams that have improved our Commonwealth. This has meant digging into and understanding the details of public policy, because the details matter in our finances and the services we deliver.  

Our campaign has released three policy papers that provide a perspective on the breadth of my priorities as state auditor and the role that the auditor can play in meaningfully advancing the Commonwealth to make it more efficient, more effective and more fair. These are:  

1. Oversight of federal stimulus funding

2. Climate and environmental justice

3. Reform and accountability of the Massachusetts State Police  

These papers describe an approach to public accountability and reform that is both creative and pragmatic. We need to apply this kind of problem-solving to every challenge facing the Commonwealth, including housing, transportation, healthcare and education. Many of these challenges overlap and contribute to barriers of affordability and access for too many Massachusetts residents. The next state auditor should be someone who hasn’t just called for change, but has actually led change within state government and solved tangible, real problems facing people across the Commonwealth.  

I am the only candidate in this race with experience at the municipal level, where I have served as an elected town meeting member since 2012, have served on committees on zoning and regulation of short-term rentals (such as Airbnbs), and served for many years as the chair of the Brookline Transportation Board. I understand the needs of our communities first-hand, and appreciate the opportunity that federal stimulus funding provides. As of late February, nine months into this race, we are the only campaign to release a specific plan for oversight of federal stimulus dollars.  

That more than $5 billion will be allocated and spent by the state government – and additional billions by municipalities and other public entities – between now and 2026 presents a monumental opportunity, but it also comes with significant risks. Without oversight, this unique chance to invest in the people of Massachusetts and strengthen our economy could be squandered on inefficient programs, slow bureaucratic processes, and fraud and abuse. But if these discretionary and state/local agency dollars are spent well, they can transform our communities, reduce inequities in health and education, improve our environment, and leave a lasting legacy for future generations. Our Commonwealth and its residents need clear and accessible information about how the money is being spent. This includes ensuring that state and federal rules have been followed and that government entities and residents alike understand how well these funds have met our goals. The Governor’s Federal Funds Office has begun the first step by providing initial transparency into how funds have been spent so far, but there is far more oversight needed. I will regularly meet with the MassCPAs Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee and partner with the committee to ensure its perspective is heard on Beacon Hill.  

The state auditor is directly elected by the voters and is independent from both the legislature and the governor. It is the right office within the state government to take responsibility for making certain that federal funds are spent clearly and appropriately and that those responsible for tracking and safeguarding funds at a local level have a seat at the table on Beacon Hill.  

Recovery funds come with specific reporting requirements to ensure these resources are used for appropriate purposes and documented properly. These rules aren’t merely a matter of completing paperwork. Funds misused (or misdocumented) are subject to repayment to the Federal government – meaning that failure to adhere to these requirements presents a real risk to our state and local budgets. Returning these dollars to the federal government would be a monumental breach of the public trust and a failure of responsible stewardship of public resources. The state auditor’s office can prevent that from happening, especially when it works in partnership with municipal auditors and municipalities and the experts who make up the MassCPAs Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee.  

The Governor’s Federal Funds Office has laid the groundwork to provide compliance information to state agencies, as well as to local governments receiving unprecedented quantities of Federal aid. As auditor, I will review the practices and performance of the Federal Funds Office to ensure compliance with federal and state rules and prevent Massachusetts from needing to return a single dollar to Washington, D.C.  

Auditor Suzanne Bump and Inspector General Glenn Cunha recently testified before the State Legislature in support of the creation of a reserve fund to be used by the state auditor’s office, the Office of the Inspector General, the Attorney General, and the State Comptroller for pandemic relief oversight. A similar fund was available in response to the stimulus spending process during the Great Recession, and Massachusetts received national recognition for its oversight of those funds.  

These federal funds are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make our Commonwealth stronger than it was before the pandemic; but that will only happen if we ensure these dollars are spent well. That includes addressing systemic problems in our society that COVID-19 brought into stark relief. As state auditor, I will track and monitor this spending, make sure it reaches every community in the Commonwealth, and ensure that it leaves our Commonwealth stronger and more resilient.  

Auditor Bump’s “sweeping reforms” have put the office in a strong position. Increased attention to culture and internal oversight have improved the outputs of the office and professionalized its approach to reform of state government. I look forward to working with the staff she has recruited and trained. As the question notes, however, members of the staff will retire and change jobs, and I plan to further build a dynamic and skilled team.  

The strength of the Massachusetts economy and people are advantages for the auditor’s office as we renew the workforce in the coming years. The growing importance of auditing and evaluation within the public and social sectors has led to more relevant coursework at colleges and universities as well as people picking up these skills mid-career. Building awareness and excitement around the role of auditor will only help to recruit additional candidates.  

As auditor, I will strengthen our relationship with postsecondary and graduate institutions to build a pipeline of recent graduates for entry and second-level positions. I will also work with to introduce, where possible, hiring flexibilities including:  

• Permanent, part-time staff to encourage people with child care, medical or other personal responsibilities to be able to serve the Commonwealth
• Succession planning and phase-down of commitments for those near the end of their career who may wish to remain part-time or on a consultative basis
• Entry paths for people looking at mid-career shifts to work with the State and/or to make auditing and evaluation full-time pursuits
• Investigating a program to bring in new skills and practices by engaging employees from other public and private organizations to serve in the auditor’s office in full-time, part-time or temporary capacities. This program could also give opportunities for non-traditional employees to try working for the auditor’s office without a long-term commitment.

I have been on both sides of the table for complex public-sector procurements of technology. As assistant secretary of transportation, I led a procurement process for the overhaul of the state’s 511 traffic information system. As the North American Business Development Director for Masabi, I led successful transitions and rollouts for public sector agencies looking to adopt world-leading technology to improve customer service. As a management consultant at Bain & Co., I worked with large datasets and developed sophisticated analytical tools to help a telecommunications company plan its rollout of fiber-optic infrastructure. This model had informed multi-billion-dollar investment decisions.  

As in the previous question, this is an area where we are fortunate that the needs of the auditor’s office match those of Massachusetts employers broadly. Analytical, data collection and data management skills are increasingly important across society and are taught in our schools, colleges and universities. Our local tech sector is truly an asset in this area as we have residents who are both building and using the tools our own office also needs. Useful, mutual exchange with these organizations (taking advantage of the flexibilities identified above) can help my office have access to the necessary people, skills and tools. It will also help the companies building these tools keep the needs of public agencies in mind as they develop and improve new products. Ultimately, we need more of this expertise in-house in state government, and that means fostering a culture of results-oriented public service that serves taxpayers and provides employees with a meaningful opportunity to make change in Massachusetts state government.  

Looking at the areas for advancement, the best machine learning algorithms or most esoteric regression models are insufficient when data are poorly documented, inconsistently recorded or spread across disparate incompatible data sources. Broadly, audits, evaluations and functional everyday service rely on connected, documented, accessible and secure databases. Unfortunately, across governments worldwide, data are not always able to guarantee they are all of the above.  

Improvements and modernization in data collection and storage across the Commonwealth would not only result in improved quality and utility of audits from my office, but also enable state agencies to improve their own service delivery. In publishing open and transparent data, our state agencies will support the needs of the research community, advocacy groups and residents in Massachusetts who deserve access to information.  

I look forward to meeting with MassCPAs members and would be grateful for the opportunity to present at a conference. I hope that this will be an annual opportunity. I commit to designating a staff member to attend monthly MassCPAs Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee meetings, and I think those meetings will provide value to our office and to taxpayers. I hope they also help inform the Committee and the broader accounting/financial community about the important work our office is doing.  

In addition to events and regular meetings, I want my office, my staff and the work that we do to be a resource to support government accountants and auditors day-to-day. As noted above, initiatives that bring people into the world of government auditing and evaluation, improvements to data collection and storage, and the sharing of other best practices are important ways my office will be supporting everyone in the accounting and financial community daily. Beyond those broad items, the Auditor’s Office must maintain and strengthen its role as a resource for all, responding to queries from municipalities and those in the field. I will be a strong partner to the accounting/financial community.  

Born to a 17-year-old single mom, I learned to work hard and fight for the things that mattered. A graduate of Methuen public schools, I went to Middlesex Community College and later earned a scholarship to Wellesley College.  

After serving in the legislature as an aide, as Chief of Staff for the 12,000-member Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts and years of work for local nonprofits and community organizations, I won my first race for public office in 2012. I served three terms as State Representative for the 14th Essex District. In 2018, I was elected to the State Senate. I am currently in my 10th year of service as a member of the legislature.  

I have spent my life – as a small businesswoman, a nonprofit leader and as an elected official – fighting for everyday people. I have worked to ban the longstanding practice of powerful people using taxpayer-funded non-disclosure agreements to hide bad behavior. I have worked to hold Columbia Gas accountable for the disaster they created in the Merrimack Valley, both inside and outside of my legislative district. I have led efforts to break down barriers to a quality education regardless of zip code and stood by our small businesses every step of the way as they continue to recover from the devastation caused by the pandemic. I continue to go line by line through our state budget to ensure our communities, agencies and organizations receive fair and equitable treatment.  

As a state senator, rather than trying to work within the rules of the powerful Beacon Hill establishment, I have taken it on – fighting for increased transparency, equity, accountability and accessibility for all.  

As state auditor, our team will spend every working hour searching for, reporting on and preventing financial loss. We will work tirelessly to improve the performance of our government. We will report on what’s going right and what’s going wrong, so the public knows what is being done with their tax dollars. A critical priority of mine is implementing my Social Justice and Equity Audit Plan (further detailed below), which would tackle some of Massachusetts largest challenges.  

Our communities deserve a state auditor who is not afraid to speak truth to power and who has the proven track record of standing up for what’s right – even when it means standing alone.  

Over the last decade, as a State Representative and a State Senator, I have a strong and public track record of holding the powerful accountable on behalf of the people of Massachusetts. As a legislator, I have prioritized ensuring appropriate transparency and oversight of our expenditures during the annual budget process to ensure that the people who need our help get it and those who abuse the system are held accountable.  

I have been leading the charge on calling for greater transparency around Massachusetts’ unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund. A complete financial accounting of the fund has not been done since June of last year, and a monthly financial report has been missing, with the fund showing a negative balance of $1.77 billion. But we need more than just a financial report to ensure greater accountability within the system. Businesses are bearing the brunt of this burden, and it’s imperative that our state government provide a solution as we replenish the fund. By implementing proper procedures, we could save taxpayers billions of dollars in the long-run.  

In the wake of an audit that uncovered welfare abuse – where deceased individuals’ social security numbers were used for fraudulent public assistance applications – I supported a comprehensive reform bill that corrected several agency oversights and inefficiencies. It allowed us to maintain our critical social safety net for families in need while at the same time reducing fraud and abuse, ultimately saving tax dollars. This was personal for me, as my mother helped raise me through the support of public assistance, and I know how much of a lifeline it was for us. This kind of fraud hurts the families who are in dire need because it undermines the general public’s support for such important assistance.  

I have been unafraid to publicly decry legislative rule-change in the House of Representatives that would oppress the rights of minority members and decrease the number of recorded votes. I am committed to opening up government to the people and ensuring that we all see our stake in legislative activity.  

I have also been a strong advocate for ending taxpayer-paid nondisclosure agreements throughout state government. In 2018, in a speech on the House floor, I shared my own personal experience in being silenced, breaking my own NDA to uncover abuse. This practice harms victims and ensures protection for abusers, and it has no place in our state government.  

Our state government is great at making promises but, too often, it fails to actually live up to those ideals. Growing up in Lawrence and Methuen, I saw first-hand the disproportionate impacts of unfair policies on underserved communities. Our policies feed a self-sustaining status quo where people with generational access to power prosper and the everyday working people are pushed aside and marginalized. I will be an auditor who opens state government to everyone and shifts the balance of power back to the working people.  

That is what my audit plan will accomplish tackling some of the big challenges facing the Commonwealth while working to dismantle outdated and unfair policies that continue to disproportionately harm working class communities.  

Some of the challenges my plan will tackle include:  

• Affordable Housing - Growing up housing insecure in Lawrence and Methuen taught me that housing is one of the most basic, fundamental needs that distinguishes between families that easily succeed and those that struggle. My mom and I were lucky to have loved ones who could take us in to provide some stability in difficult times. Growing up, I was able to stay with friends or family, “couch surfing,” or taking a spare room depending on availability in their homes. My story is not that different from the stories of many other people here in Massachusetts who are currently struggling just to find a basic, affordable place to live. We are in a housing crisis and far too many families are facing these challenges. We need to do better by those who are working hard to make ends meet, yet still struggling. As your State Auditor, I will fight to increase housing opportunities that are affordable.  
  
  I’ll actively analyze, audit and report on the expenditure of federal stimulus, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other COVID-related funding to ensure they are used effectively and efficiently. I will work to identify the most cost-effective approaches to produce affordable housing. That will include: converting existing housing stock to affordable; preserving existing housing that is already affordable to residents; and significantly expanding transit-oriented development. 
  
  We need to get more housing for our tax subsidies and to produce more housing that’s available for families in genuine need. I will analyze the cost effectiveness of building new affordable housing as compared to purchasing existing properties and converting them into affordable housing.  
  
  Communities that fail to comply with affordable housing laws such as 40B are not eligible for funding under the Housing Choice Initiative, Local Capital Projects Fund or MassWorks Infrastructure Fund. I will report on whether or not the Commonwealth is actually enforcing these requirements. I will also study and report on the opportunity to increase housing opportunities, affordable to working families, on State land and on land owned by other public authorities such as MassPort and regional transit agencies.  
   
• Climate Change - It is of the utmost importance that the administration be held accountable on meeting climate goals passed through “Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy.” The legislation directed state agencies to set, “interim economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions limits, as well as sector-based emissions sub-limits for certain sectors, every five years. It codifies the state’s long-term emissions limit of net-zero emissions by 2050 and directs the adoption of a 2030 emissions limit of “at least 50 percent below 1990 levels,” a 2040 emissions limit of, “at least 75 percent below 1990 levels.” I will audit  relevant state agencies to shine a light on where we are, or are not, meeting our commitments.  
  
  In addition, the Mass Save program too often benefits wealthier communities while low-income neighborhoods are overlooked and ignored. There should be accountability in ensuring equitable access to the program for underserved communities. Mass Save’s stated goal is to help “residents and businesses across Massachusetts save money and energy, leading our state to a clean and energy efficient future.” These are laudable goals, however, we must ensure environmental justice is not taking a backseat to the well-intentioned stated priorities of the program. The Mass Save program itself is funded through our utility payments, across the board, in Massachusetts. I will analyze and report on disparities between services provided to low-income residents and underserved communities and residents in more affluent communities.
   
• Early Education and Care - The 2016-2018 audit of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) found several significant problems directly impacting children. EEC failed to review or initiate investigations into reported child abuse and neglect. It did not always conduct background checks for those involved in caring for children, and it did not complete licensing investigations into care programs, or even visit them in a timely manner. These problems disproportionately impact lower-income communities and communities of color because of the underinvestment in affordable childcare. These failures have serious impacts on our children and need to be addressed.  
  
  This is why I have committed, as your state auditor, that we will follow up on important audits and studies that our office does through a dedicated team that ensures accountability. Reporting on a problem is only part of the process. The most important piece is actually following through and working to turn the office’s reports into systemic change. That work will be done in my office, and outcomes will be reported to the public, so they know what their public officials are doing and hold them accountable for actions or inaction.

It is critical that this much-needed infusion of federal funding gets to the families and communities that need it most and that we take every step possible to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. This is work I already began in the legislature – co-sponsoring an amendment that would increase accountability and transparency in the expenditure of ARPA funds. It would provide a user-friendly tracking system and website through which the public may access, in near real-time, the amount and percentage, by spending category, of funds appropriated under this act spent in communities that were disproportionally impacted by the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic.  

As auditor, I am committed to partnering with MassCPAs in this effort, creating an advisory panel of CPAs to specifically assist in crafting processes and procedures that will make sure this money is going where it’s needed. As auditor, the Society will always have a seat at our table. I will work hand-in-hand with them, utilizing my 10 years of experience in the legislature to push lawmakers to ensure adequate resources that would prevent waste and fraud.  

I applaud Auditor Bump for the work she has done to professionalize the Office of the Auditor and ensure that staff have the skills and qualifications necessary to perform their critical duties.  I am committed to building on that progress – maintaining a robust human resources department and high professional standards – focusing on what you know, and not who you know, when it comes to hiring. I am also committed to partnering with MassCPAs and others to maintain and strengthen a diverse pipeline of qualified applicants. This is crucial for me, as someone who was born and raised in a gateway city and knows just how wide the talent pipeline really is.  

My co-sponsoring of the amendment to increase accountability and transparency in the expenditure of ARPA funds would be an example of how I see technology playing a role in state government. We need modern, updated methods of tracking fund disbursement and use. Our vision is to provide a user-friendly tracking system and website through which the public may access, in near real-time, the amount and percentage, by spending category, of funds appropriated under ARPA and spent in communities that were disproportionately impacted by the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic. This includes spending received by environmental justice populations or communities that score in the top half of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index; a breakdown of contract and subcontract dollars awarded to diverse businesses, a breakdown of spending by zip code and statewide; and any other data or analysis necessary. Information on the website shall be made available in a machine-readable, downloadable format and through data visualization tools on the website. I believe that uncovering and updating this database is key to ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the state, and it’s a model that could be used for other projects.  

As auditor, MassCPAs will always have a seat at the table of my administration, and I will be aggressive in ensuring that your recommendations are turned into action. I greatly value the experience and dedication to civic engagement that the members and leadership of MassCPAs bring to our shared commitment to transparency and accountability in government.

Your expertise will be critical to the success of our next state auditor. I would actively seek to include you on task forces and advisory commissions, as experts in the field. I hope to rely on you as we work to tackle Massachusetts’ most urgent challenges and ensure greater transparency and accountability throughout our state agencies. Our relationship will be one of collaboration, respect and action to properly serve the people of Massachusetts. I and my staff will always have an open door and open minds when it comes to the Society and other experts, and I would be thrilled to attend conferences and meetings that will further our shared goals.