Like many, I watched the Connaughton car crash (from David’s helpful post) in the NECN auditor candidate’s debate with amusement. Yes, she really was that bad – no further dissection needed.
But what struck me about what Mary Z repeated over and over again – the trifecta of “waste, fraud and corruption” – was how narrowly and negatively she conceives of the job. In contrast, Suzanne Bump not only grasped the importance of political leadership but also the auditor’s ability to inform and improve public policy.
From the debate, I think the difference between the candidates can be summed up as follows:
– Bump wants to make government work better, because she believes a smarter government can make more of a positive difference in people’s lives
– Connaughton looks at government itself as the problem and thinks an auditor’s job is to expose and punish its flaws.
These world views of course mirror the general division between liberals and conservatives today. But this matters a lot in electing someone as auditor. For example, whereas Auditor Bump might take a look at where savings can be made in the health care bureaucracy by streamlining functions or better targeting interventions, which could save tens of millions and improve health care quality, Auditor Mary Z would focus on finding that bad apple in some town’s housing authority who misappropriated a few thousand in State funds. That might make local headlines but won’t save much, change much or mean much to many people.
And before people jump to conclusions, I’m not saying fraud and corruption don’t need to be tackled. They do. We need policies and processes that root them out and make them harder to commit. But the things making government more expensive are not fraud or corruption, but increased demand (new tech, demographic pressures, etc), lack of innovation and weak mechanisms for driving efficiency. Bump get’s that. She’s made it happen. Connaughton, like so many Republicans, instead plays to the cheap seats, making it sound like… “if we could just get rid of all that waste, fraud and corruption we could have good government and pay no taxes at all.”
The excessive use of term “waste” is also annoying. I’d like to hear Mary Z explain to us what she means by it. Does she have particular programs in mind she thinks are wasteful? Does she mean when an agency has 40 people providing a service when only 20 could really do the job? Again, like so many Republicans, she threw the term around without specifying what she was talking about. Doing so would mean actually knowing something or being willing to piss someone off. Instead, Ms. Z just sees government as inherently flawed, instead of needing constant improvement and renewal (like any institution).
The question then is what does the public want in an auditor. Do they want someone who sees the job as making government overall better or someone who wants to break out the rule book and slap some wrists? I imagine a lot of people might want both. Thing is, in this race there is only one candidate who offers the complete package, Ms. Bump of course. Mary Z may be an accountant – but her narrow view of what an auditor can do for our State would make little difference to people’s lives. There’s no point electing that!
Bump has always impressed me as the most thoughtful, articulate, and visionary candidate in this race. That is why she beat out the favorite Glodis, and that is why she will beat Connaughton even in a Republican year. I respect Mary Z, and would have voted for her in a heartbeat over Glodis, but Bump is the real deal. She has a great vision for the office, a great plan of action, stellar resume, and she will combine the openness and transparency of progressive politics with the record of helping working people her predecessor had. A good combo if you ask me and one that is sorely lacking in our state. Mary Z. should run for a state leg position, she clearly has no idea what the Auditor does.
I Hope Bump is better prepared for the next debate.
Mary was vastly improved for this 1.
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p>I’m not so sure Mary Z’s pitiful 1st performance wasn’t staged to make it clear she’s not the politically connected hack in the race.
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p>Bump will have to better deal with her past ethics problem if she wants to win.
Are the progressive future of our state.
I’d add independent candidate Jim Henderson for Secretary of the Commonwealth. He has a Grossman-style vision to upgrade and overhaul this key office.
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p>We have a chance for three huge progressive wins in the down-ballot races.
His head is way up in the tree line as he looks down at the diminutive cameraman.