Transparency in Government
Transparency & Accountability
Like most of you, I yearn for more openness and oversight in the state legislature, such as making committee votes public, reforming the rules and procedure, and increasing citizen participation and engagement in all facets of government. I support measures and other efforts to increase transparency and accountability for all government entities that have access and control over the state's finances. This includes the recent efforts by Massachusetts State Auditor, Diano Dizoglio, to audit the state legislature to expose any and all deals behind closed doors on how our tax dollars are spent. I believe that a government by the people for the people should be as open as possible and there shouldn't be any resistance to increase transparency and accountability on any facets of government.
This effort for increased transparency is one of the likely ballot measure questions for the 2024 election, and I fully support it. This is not a partisan effort to divide our community, but an honest effort to expose any wrongdoings or malfeasance by our elected leaders. I will not only vote for this measure, I will also advocate for increasing accountability from within the legislature when elected.
As Transparency in Government is one of the biggest differences between the incumbent and myself, I have posted screen shots of David Linsky's voting record on transparency and accountability measures to make it easier to digest. The voting record indicates that Mr. Linsky has not voted in the best interests of his constituents. So we must ask ourselves, who does he truly serve?
Fix the Legislature
According to the Coalition to Reform the Legislature " The Massachusetts Legislature Is Exceptionally Bad. The Massachusetts State House has distinguished itself as an underperforming outlier on numerous parameters we, the people, care about: effectiveness, competence, diversity, integrity, accountability, adherence to democratic principles, and transparency."
As a newcomer on the field of Politics, I simply cannot stand by as incumbents and other members of the legislature, beholden to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President, fail to act on issues due to fear of retribution from leadership. Instead, incumbents like David Linsky should be fearful of losing their seat should they fail to act to benefit their constituents.
I agree with the Coalition to Reform the Legislature, that "the people of Massachusetts deserve a legislature that is effective, professional, accountable, transparent, diverse, and responsive to the will of the people." If elected, I am committed to increasing the legislature’s effectiveness and to promoting reforms that will optimize legislative performance for the people it seeks to legislate for.
Act on Mass's Sunlight agenda highlights the problems and the bills that our legislature needs to pass to fix the utterly broken MA legislature.
As a constituent and a candidate for office, I fully support the Sunlight Agenda in whole comprising of the following measures:
S. 2064: An Act extending the public records law to the Governor and the Legislature.
S. 2014/H. 3069: An Act relative to collective bargaining rights for legislative employees
Simply put, not enough is being done in an effective manner at both the state and the federal legislature. At the federal level, democrats don’t have a significant supermajority that we do and have had in Massachusetts, so there is no excuse for any bills to be stalled and not be voted upon at Beacon Hill. We look to our representatives to solve our problems, and each day that a potential solution sits on the floor, is a day that the reps failed us. The most effective ways to legislate includes in-person settings at the state legislature, where communication amongst key players is prioritized. As a new politician, I know I will cherish every minute that I can spend at the state house fighting for affordable education and housing for all Massachusetts residents. I look forward to working with other legislators to implement as many new measures as we can to improve our quality of life as quickly and as effectively as possible. The only thing, we as constituents, can’t get back is our time, and I’m personally tired of waiting for our current slate of legislators to use theirs efficiently and directed at things that matter most to us. A vote for Patel is a vote for term limits. A vote for Patel is a vote for government reform. A vote for Patel is a vote for transparency.
"[Attorney General] Campbell noted that past auditors have filed legislation to give them the power. Those previous bills died in the very legislative bodies the auditor was seeking to audit."
"Welcome to the House of Representatives. This is exactly how the House runs itself and the members should be ashamed. The speaker is like a shepherd leading a flock of sheep." - Rep Russell Holmes