State auditor candidate Suzanne Bump called for more oversight and accountability for state spending Thursday as she outlined her campaign platform before The Eagle editorial board.
“We need to do more — we need oversight of government spending, we need more accountability, and we need more scrutiny over the results,” Bump said. “That’s what will keep the agencies and contractors honest.”
Bump, a lawyer and former Eastern Massachusetts state senator who was most recently state secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, officially resides in Great Barrington. She is competing against the half-million-dollar war chest of Worcester County sheriff Guy Glodis and the progressive credentials of former Clinton administration assistant Mike Lake. The winner of the Sept. 14 primary will face the Republican winner.
While Bump has had some recent victories — including receiving more than $100,000 in matching Clean Elections funds, as well as receiving an endorsement from Pittsfield Mayor James M. Ruberto — she said one of the more difficult hurdles is that many constituents aren’t quite sure what the auditor does in the first place.
“When I’m doing meet-and-greets, it’s half civics lesson, half sales pitch,” Bump said.
With outgoing auditor Joe DeNucci vacating his post after 24 years unchallenged, she said “what the auditor does — and could do — hasn’t been part of the conversation.”
For her, the job description is simple: “Follow the money in state government, and make sure that state agencies are following the rules.”
The auditor examines not just how the money is spent, but how it is handled, how it is controlled, and looks for more efficent means of spending — and then works to convince the Legislature to make changes based upon their findings.
Not only are state groups under the auditor’s purview, but so are quasi-public entities such as regional transportation and housing groups.
One example of inefficient spending Bump wants to change is health care — namely, the fact that people can go through either Medicaid, MassHealth and the Medical Security Program.
“Three separate entities, and they don’t talk to each other. They have different eligibilities. … They offer so many alternatives that you have no cost-saving abilities,” Bump said. “How can we look at this system of three separate agencies and blend them together to get more savings and better service?”
Bump also discussed the state’s growing issue with rampant spending within the Probation Department, which was recently referred to in May as a “rogue agency” by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
Referring to the allegations of widespread patronage within the Probation Department, Bump said “it went just beyond personnel policy — it moved to management policy.” With the judiciary too hamstrung to control the Probation Department, “they kept their own little fiefdom — it was totally lacking in oversight and accountability.”
Bump said that while the largesse of Massachusetts politics will often flow eastward, her office would provide a wider look at statewide services and agencies.
“You can be confident that I will follow through with my vision for the office, because I’ve provided in-state accountability, I’ve provided leadership, and I’ve provided results,” Bump said. “You don’t have to take my word for it — my record speaks for itself.”
