It is so tiring to keep reading about the audit that State Auditor Diana DiZoglio has pushed for since that ballot question. Residents already know that ballot questions can be difficult to decipher. That question didn’t say enough about why the audit was needed, and for that reason I voted “no.” It smelled like gas(lighting).
Then I read about all the “special interest groups” who like to target blue Massachusetts (lots of ballot questions are coming). Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton, just to muddy the waters in an election year, is suing the state because of this audit question. The rather long article in both the Recorder and Gazette didn’t say enough about why the “audit” hasn’t happened, nor did the Beacon Hill Roll Call. So, to keep it simple, the part of the question that added “the general court itself” was unlawful. Our state Constitution doesn’t give the auditor the power to audit the legislative branch. It’s always been done by an outside auditor, which assures no conflict of interest. DiZoglio, with the GOP, is using this question to fire up the right, which is saying Dems are corrupt, and therefore should be audited.
I know that I’m tired of the GOP gaslighting voters. At a time when federal monies are disappearing for every state and even more for “blue” states, and we have an authoritarian in the White House, we should be grateful that we live in a state where our elected leaders fight for all of us, not just those who voted for them.
Linda Hillenbrand
Leverett