Jon Keller wrote on his blog (and reiterated in last night’s conversation with us) that Christy Mihos, for all of his faults as a gubernatorial candidate, “has an interesting habit of being proven right about virtually everything he says about the Big Dig.” Keller continues:
Mihos has consistently forecast the parade of problems with the Big Dig, the leaks, the shoddy workmanship, the lack of proper oversight, and now, the dire public-safety consequences of the whole fiasco. He had repeatedly called on Tom Reilly and Mitt Romney to take a much more aggressive posture, seizing records, firing managers, and so on. And he has predicted that the whole shambles would dissolve into criminal prosecutions.
All true. And all of which got me thinking: isn’t it too bad that Mihos is wasting his time and money running a quixotic campaign for Governor when he could be doing something really constructive?
Mihos clearly has a talent for spotting waste and mismanagement, particularly when it comes to the Big Dig, and for speaking up loudly about it, no matter who he irks in the process. On the other hand, he clearly (IMHO anyway) does not have a talent for being a very good politician, or for demonstrating the kinds of qualities that most people want in the person running the state. Gosh, if only there were some job in which Mihos could put the talents he has to good use, and in which he wouldn’t need those other skills that he lacks…
Oh yeah! There is such a job: the State Auditor. The Auditor’s job is to “to ensure that funds are spent in an appropriate manner. In so doing, the State Auditor provides the Governor, Legislature, auditees, and the public with an independent financial, managerial, and technical assessment of the state’s agencies, activities, contracts, and programs.” In other words, the Auditor is essentially the state’s whistleblower-in-chief. Sounds like a pretty good match for Mihos’s talents.
Now, of course, there is one problem: we already have an Auditor, in the person of Democrat Joe DeNucci, and DeNucci is running for reelection to the office to which he was first elected in – get this – 1986. Really, though, I’m sure DeNucci is a nice man and everything, but when was the last time you heard about the Auditor revealing major-league fraud, waste, or mismanagement in state government?
DeNucci has no Democratic opponent in the primary, no Republican opponent in the general, and apparently must overcome only the Working Families candidate (who describes his own chances as “highly unlikely”) to retain his job for another four years. Meanwhile, the questions about whether state money has been wasted are more urgent than ever. It’s time for a change in that office.
In many ways, Mihos is the ideal person to challenge DeNucci. He’s unenrolled – an excellent attribute in someone running for the job of calling out mismanagement regardless of which party was responsible. He’s got a high enough profile, because of both his time on the Turnpike Authority and his gubernatorial campaign, and he’s got enough money, that he could generate the media and public attention he would need to run an effective campaign against a long-time incumbent. And he’s got a track record of doing pretty much exactly what the Auditor is supposed to do.
Moreover, what a revelation it would be to have an effective State Auditor! It’s actually a great idea to elect the Auditor, rather than having him or her be appointed, because (at least in theory) an elected official is accountable only to the people, not to the party or the individual making the appointment. As Auditor, Mihos would have the ability to cause exactly the kind of shake-ups in state government that he wants to cause – and he’d be able to do a lot more in that office than he would by grabbing 10-15% of the vote in a gubernatorial election.
So what do you say, Christy? Let’s face facts: you’re not going to win the Governor’s race. Here’s a statewide office that you actually could win, that matches your talents well, and in which you could do a great service to the people of Massachusetts. (You’d even get to be Acting Governor if the Gov, Lt. Gov, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Treasurer happened to be out of state simultaneously!) There’s plenty of time to change your mind and collect the 5,000 signatures you need by August 1. And I bet you’d find that a lot of people who aren’t interested in your gubernatorial campaign would back you for Auditor.
Go for it.
but what a fantastic freaking idea. To be honest, I think he’d beat DeNucci. I’m a Dem, but no fan of DeNucci. I don’t think he’s doing a bad job, but as you pointed out, it doesn’t seem like he’s doing much of a job at all, since the Red Sox lost the World Series to the Mets.
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Nobody likes government waste, be it financial or otherwise. It seems like Mihos could make a sound argument that he’d do a better job uncovering waste than DeNucci — which makes him a fine candidate.
Yes, please help clear the field, I’m sure it won’t have any effect on the outcome of the Governor’s race…
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Of course after she’s elected Governor and Christy is Auditor, she’s going to have a few problems, but what the hell if it helps pave the way to the Governor’s office?
Mihos might pull a few more votes from Healey than from the Dem candidate, but not enough to affect the result. There are plenty of voters who would otherwise vote Democratic that will vote for Mihos if he stays in the Gov’s race.
http://capecodporcupine.blogspot.com/2006/03/tale-of-two-kickoffs.html
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Also, I urged Mr. Mihos, in person and at great length, to please consider a run for auditor, using the Grabauskas /Herzfelter race as an example. He looked puzzled, and said that he WANTED to be Governor, and always had.
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It’s too bad.
Well done, PP. It would indeed be a shame if Mihos were to let his ego get in the way of doing something truly constructive for the state he says he loves.
As State Auditor Joe DeNucci stopped the Weld/Cellucci privatization give away to campaign contributors dead in its tracks. DeNucci effectively used the Pacheco-Menard Law to prove there were no real savings and no public benefits to the privatization scheme.
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As a State Legislator, Joe was an advocate for human services, fought for funding for programs that benefited low income families and was a spokesman fot workers.
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Since being elected Auditor, Joe has led audit after audit exposing waste and taxpayers dollars being misused. Joe doesn’t do it for headlines, he just does the job.
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Go back a google auditors reports on state agencies, vendors and projects. DeNucci does the job. It is too bad that progressive can’t handle the concept that experience not public relations matters.
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2. Has DeNucci said anything significant about the Big Dig, compared to which I’d think every other project pales?
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3. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Joe DeNucci defend his record before the public, instead of coasting to victory? What’s wrong with a real race? If his record is as good as you say, he will deservedly win reelection.
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And I have no idea why you tossed in the gratuitous slur against “progressives.” It’s not like I’m backing the Working Families guy (though I’m sure he’s a fine fellow).
In ’93 DeNucci put out a report that said $23M was wasted because four newly constructed Big Dig ramps had to be torn down because the project had not obtained the prior necessary approvals. Think about that. Where was the outrage? $23M isn’t huge in terms of billions, but it’s still $23M and a symptom of the larger problem which he documented on numerous occasions.
In March of 2000, when things blew up when it was revealed the cost was going from $10.8B to $12.2B, State House News Service reported the following:
“Addressing lawmakers, DeNucci ticked through the topics of his various Big Dig audits, which found poor project scheduling and coordination of construction; inadequate management oversight of design and construction; and a failure to adhere to state environmental regulations.
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Other DeNucci audits found that federal bridge repair money was diverted to the Big Dig and that the Turnpike Authority maintained “excessive reserves, unnecessary insurance and imprudent investments.”
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“It is clear from my reports that the project management has not made cost containment and prudent financing a top priority,” DeNucci said. “They have a tremendous propaganda machine. They have been well protected by the local newspaper outlets. They have been given absolution for everything they do because it’s an important project.”
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DeNucci has long contended that the Big Dig’s price tag would balloon beyond the public estimates. Today, in so many words, he told lawmakers he told them so. Further, he echoed the federal inspector general in warning that the end of the overruns might not yet be in sight.
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“Given the project history of over-budget bids and change orders, I have often stated that the cost of this project would escalate far beyond estimates,” DeNucci said. “Don’t be surprised if it goes over $15 billion.”
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Six years later we’re at $14.6B. The Mass. auditor’s strongest tool is public disclosure and it took until the Globe’s series in ’03 — too late — for the Dig scrutiny to get where it should have been.
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Having followed this for a while, DeNucci has been on the Dig.
I’ve READ the Auditor’s take on the Big Dig – and the Herald had better info.