Former Massachusetts Turnpike Board member Mary Z. Connaughton, candidate for State Auditor, spoke at the October 27th meeting of the Medford Republican City Committee about her public service experience and how her ‘insiders view’ has shaped her understanding of the important need for change at all levels of State government.
Mary’s first foray into public office began when she was asked by the Framingham Republican Committee to run for State Representative. While she lost that race, she was surprised later when then Governor Romney asked her to be a board member of the Turnpike Authority. Her skills as a trained CPA helped her quickly grasp the finances of the Authority.
Connaughton spoke on many of the not well known details of the Transportation Reform Bill which has created a State-wide Authority with a five member Board which now has taken control of the Massachusetts Highway Department, the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the MBTA and several regional airports across the State. The term of office for the newly appointed Board members will run to 2013, which will prevent the next Governor from having control of that body until his last year in office. Interestingly, part of the 71 million dollar startup cost may include raises to Mass Highway workers to equal Mass Turnpike employees.
As a result of her service on the Turnpike Authority Board, Connaughton has developed strong views about the independence and oversight needed to properly lead the State Auditors office. With the decreased resources available to the working press, fewer reports on the doings of many State agencies are provided to the public. She stated that the need for more transparency when evaluating and reporting on State agencies has not been addressed by the current State Auditor.
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