DiMasi

Public officials are more likely to make decisions in the best interests of their constituents when they know they’re being watched.

The indictment of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi on federal corruption charges left many in Massachusetts wondering how this could have been prevented.

We at ONE Massachusetts have learned that people in our state will support government when they know that taxes and other revenues are raised in a manner that’s fair and spent in a manner that’s wise.

The Budget Conference Committee members are currently considering Senate outside section 7A – the State Budget Transparency web portal. This measure would require the state to create and maintain a searchable website open to the public detailing costs, recipients and purposes for all appropriations, including contracts, grants, subcontracts, tax expenditures and other subsidies funded by the state government. [Amendment sponsored by Senator Cynthia Stone Creem]

Making the state’s budget information more easily accessible would encourage private citizens, journalists and watchdog groups to assumer greater stewardship of our state government.

Yesterday, MASSPIRG sent a letter to the Budget Conference Committee members currently considering this measure: Senators Steven Panagiotakos, Stephen Brewer, Michael Knapik and Representatives Charles Murphy, Barbara L'Italien and Vinny deMacedo.

Now is a good time for you to weigh in.

Lost in today’s news is an important hearing. 1:00.....A Temporary House Committee on Ethics holds a public hearing on Gov. Deval Patrick’s ethics and lobbying reform bill......Room A-1

One of our jobs at ONE Massachusetts is to provide our network members with the information they need to “pay attention” to how our government works and how we pay for it. It’s called informed civic engagement. Yawu Miller will will be testifying today for ONE Mass in support of increased transparency in the budget making process and increased transparency in the registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists.

Why? Because paying attention is a two way street and transparency is the stop light.

Andrea Estes and Matt Viser’s story in today’s Globe speculates that DiMasi’s “relationships contributed to his undoing”.  And they are correct.

There is no excusing the Speaker from not paying attention when his long time friends and supporters offered to pick up some of his personal expenses or offered him gifts, even if it was “perfectly legal”.  He just didn’t think how it would look on the front page of the paper, and how even these perfectly legal activities would further erode the public’s confidence in government.

There is no excusing his long time personal friends for exploiting their friendship with him for their own personal gain as ‘strategists” advising special interests trying to influence public policy.  I doubt they thought for a second how they were betraying the trust of their long time, now very powerful friend.