Sen. Diana DiZoglio of Methuen, who has been at odds with the Senate leadership much of the year, formally said today she will seek the office of state auditor being vacated next year by Suzanne M. Bump.
Bump, the first woman elected to the post, said recently she is not running for a fourth term. DiZoglio, reiterating a theme she has raised in the state senate, said she will audit Gov. Charlie Baker’s pandemic spending.
“The millions of taxpayer dollars spent on no-bid contracts during the failed vaccine rollout requires greater transparency. I will also launch an audit into the tragedy surrounding the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home,” she said in a statement.
DiZoglio, who has criticized Sen. President Karen E. Spilka’s team for not allowing enough time to review legislation, added, “Massachusetts people have too often been left in the dark due to the secretive and inaccessible culture of centralized power on Beacon Hill.”
The second term senator who previously served three terms in the House, said her other priorities include her work to “shine a bright light on the abuse of nondisclosure agreements that have been used by the politically powerful to silence victims about harassment, discrimination and abuse across our government.” During a debate on sexual harassment policies in 2018, DiZoglio broke the non-disclosure agreement she signed years earlier when she was fired as a House aide. She sought a ban the use of public funds for “silencing the complainant or concealing the details related to claims of sexual harassment or assault.”
In 2019, DiZoglio and Rep. Alyson Sullivan, an Abington Republican, called on Bump to report how many non-disclosure agreements exist statewide by branch and agency of government and how much money has been spent on those agreements.
“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,” she said in a statement Monday.
Others who have declared their intentions to run for the state auditor’s job are Governor’s Councilor Eileen Duff and Transportation for Massachusetts Director Chris Dempsey.