Auditor Diana DiZoglio should abandon her futile court case to open the Legislature’s books and instead work on defeating her troika of opponents the old fashioned way – at the ballot box.
DiZoglio could take a page out of strong-armed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s playbook and recruit some credible candidates – call them the Audit Brigade – to run against Senate President Karen Spilka and 79-year-old House Speaker Ron Mariano at least.
DiZoglio never stood a chance in court so as expected she got slapped down again this week, relegated to singing Danny Boy at lame St. Patrick’s Day events.
But how about this time starting a political movement and sticking to what DiZoglio knows best – politics.
Capitalize on the overwhelming support for legislative transparency and Spilka, Mariano and Attorney General Andea Campbell’s arrogant refusal to implement it.
Put money into campaigns instead of flushing public money down the toilet on lawyers.
Go hard at the self-serving Secret Society of the AG, Senate president and House speaker blocking the will of the people. Force them to answer questions on the campaign trail.
Shame them with ‘What are You Hiding?’ signs and campaign ads.
Post videos of catching them ducking in Statehouse hallways.
No joking around this time. Skip the corned beef at the St. Patrick’s Day roast in Southie.
And don’t get political advice from consultants who double as lobbyists and seek favors from the old school pols.
As for Campbell, running against her is probably a lost cause. Democrats have had a lock on the office for decades.
The AG currently has no announced major challenger, so how about calling for a people’s rally outside the attorney general’s home in tony Dartmouth? That would get her attention.
DiZoglio suffered another major legal blow this week when a Supreme Judicial Court judge refused to grant her motion to force the state attorney general’s office – which is backing her opponents – to represent her in court.
In a strongly worded decision, Judge Dalila Argaez Wendlandt said DiZoglio failed to cite a single statute or constitutional provision that would allow her to appoint a special assistant attorney general to the case..
“It is incredibly disappointing that Judge Wendlandt believes access to justice is not for all – and is just for the AG,” DiZoglio whined after the ruling.
Does DiZoglio really think that a liberal high court justice appointed by Charlie Baker who owes her lifetime job to the hackerama is going to back her up in court? Ridiculous.
It shows either naivete or incredibly bad judgment on DiZoglio’s part that she would even try to get the Supreme Court to intervene on her behalf.
This case is rigged on all sides – from Campbell to Spilka to Mariano to Gov. Maura Healey. All of them except maybe Healey are actively trying to torpedo her bid to audit the Legislature. And Healey is doing her best to avoid any shrapnel.
“Our position is legally sound, however the court deck is stacked against the people right now,” DiZoglio admitted.
No kidding.
So drop the court case and go at them where it hurts the most, at the polls.
Spilka has mostly run unopposed, including in 2022, 2016, 2014 and 2012. But she may be out of practice and finding her an opponent – like Wu is doing to her rivals – would send her an unmistakable message not to mess around with DiZoglio.
Mariano also frequently faces no opposition in both the primary and general elections, but boy would he not like to have to defend his record at the voting booth.
