When the Auditor’s Race Matters
In the wake of Joe DeNucci’s announcement that he will not seek reelection, there has been a fair amount of buzz about potential Democrat and Republican contenders for the Auditor’s seat. If, however, those Democrat and Republican candidates were the only choices in front of the voters, the race would not matter, nor would its outcome.
Why? Because the other major party candidates have the same things in common, none of which the people of Massachusetts need: They all lack vision and independence from party loyalties, and they are all political opportunists seeking to reach the next rung on the political ladder, and to be a guardian for their party. These two parties have controlled the Governor’s office and the Legislature for decades, taking turns in the driver’s seat but always moving in one direction: More spending and bigger government with NO transparency or accountability.
There is a candidate for Auditor with a clearly-articulated vision for TOTAL transparency and accountability, and the independence the people of our state so desperately need to help them know all that goes on in state government: Kamal Jain. The people need someone inside government who is on their side. Together we can leave no stone unturned, no agency or department unexamined.
The people of Massachusetts are smart enough to know that audits of the government by the government will never expose much of the waste and corruption. The people of Massachusetts need the tools and information to enable them all to become citizen auditors and investigators, able to identify and examine every expenditure, every contract bid and award process, every decision made — things done in near secrecy today. The people need transparency and accountability.
When there is a candidate who stands for transparency and accountability, the Auditor’s race will matter.
The Auditor’s race matters; there is a transparency and accountability candidate: Kamal Jain.
Tags: Accountability, independence, Transparency, vision
This editorial made me stop and think of my own household budget. I always know where the money is, where it goes, what it does. I can’t imagine what life would be like if that were not the case. If I suddenly couldn’t account for a sum, well, that would be very upsetting and I would go looking for the money until I found it, as I sometimes have to do when balancing my checkbook month-to-month.
One purpose of government noted in our Preamble is that of securing the existence of the body politic. Just as having a handle on my household budget is necessary to secure my existence, and that of my family, having the “household budget” of the Commonwealth under control is necessary to secure the existence of the body politic. Not knowing where the money is, where it goes, what it does, upsets the body politic, thereby thwarting the very purpose for which the government of this Commonwealth was established in the first place.
I’m just starting to realize how important are these issues Kamal Jain is raising in his campaign for Auditor.