State Auditor Diana DiZoglio.
Reminder Publishing file photo
SPRINGFIELD — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio does not believe Massachusetts is immune to the federal government’s threat to democracy. In fact, she thinks the state is very much part of the problem.
“I do think that democracy is under attack across our nation at the federal level, of course,” DiZoglio said on the “So That Reminds Me” podcast at Hampshire County Sheriff Nick Cocchi’s picnic on Aug. 19. “But it’s also under attack here in Massachusetts in our own state government. And it’s not being talked about enough. We, the people, have rights. Our rights are being violated. The law is being broken by the lawmakers.”
Her consternation stems from what she perceives as the Massachusetts Legislature’s total neglect of the state’s voters. Almost two years ago, 72% of voters said they wanted the state Legislature to be audited. Yet, DiZoglio said that the Legislature is using its power to patronize and undermine those voters.
This year alone, the state’s House of Representatives passed a bill that outlines the administrative functions of the Legislature to audit but said constitutional functions could not be audited. The bill also does not apply the existing public records law to the Legislature.
Over a month later, the state Senate passed its own bill that creates a formal process for requesting legislative records and adds a press shield to protect journalists. But like the House bill, it stops short of applying the state’s public records law to the Legislature. Instead, it’s more limited in scope, covering records that are largely already available, according to the State House News Service.
In her interview with the “So That Reminds Me” hosts, DiZoglio argued that these bills are meant to overturn the audit Massachusetts residents voted for and sabotage the November ballot question asking if the governor’s office and Legislature should be subject to the public records law.
“The sheriffs that are here today, every city councilor, every select board member, every single municipal official and state official, we all follow the public records laws, but the Legislature and governor’s office exempt themselves from the same laws,” DiZoglio said. “And this allows for financial receipts to be hidden from the general public, the taxpayers. It allows for state contracts to be hidden from the general public.”
DiZoglio believes these recent actions go beyond just the audit and the public records law at this point. If the governor’s office and Legislature have the power to pass bills that nullify ballot questions, she fears that people are losing their constitutional protections.
She said the constitution is there to protect people, not politicians.
“That ballot process is in place to actually make sure that the people are protected from government tyranny,” DiZoglio said. “And when you have a legislative body that says, ‘oh, well, that’s not really what we’re doing, and you all just don’t understand,’ not only is it dismissive of the voters and patronizing to the voters who very much know what they’re going to vote for, but it also is anti-democratic.”
The roadblocks have made her job difficult, DiZoglio said. Most politicians, when they run for office, need to appear infallible as they stroll the campaign trail. In her case, however, DiZoglio said she almost considered not running for reelection this November because the bullying and retaliation toward her office have “gotten out of hand.”
Still, she said the public galvanizes her to keep going, so that’s exactly what she plans to do.
“I really feel a responsibility at this point to keep carrying the torch on this issue,” DiZoglio said. “I helped to start this … I lit the match, and I’m carrying the torch now, and I want to see this through. So I am running for reelection, and I am also working to pass the ballot question into law that will subject the statehouse to the public records law.”
