Diana DiZoglio recorded a song about wanting to audit the Legislature
Politics
“Don’t get too excited, legislative leaders. I’m not quitting my day job to go be a singer right now,” DiZoglio joked on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” Monday.
Beacon Hill has a new musical sensation, and it’s … State Auditor Diana DiZoglio?
The Methuen Democrat released an original song this week amid her push to audit the Massachusetts Legislature — a controversial initiative that spurred blowback from legislative leaders and may have almost cost DiZoglio her speech at the 2023 MassDems Convention.
The auditor was initially the only statewide office holder not on the list of convention speakers, Politico first reported. Speaking on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” Monday, she said she was later allotted a few minutes for a speech.
Still, that didn’t stop DiZoglio from airing her grievances in the form of a song, titled “My Voice.”
“Some people go play basketball, some people do knitting,” DiZoglio explained. “I go to my piano, and that is my outlet.”
She said she sang in a gospel choir when she was younger, adding, “Sometimes I write speeches, sometimes I write songs.”
The lyrics include “You can censor my speech, but you won’t silence my voice,” and “Open every closed door. Let the sun shine like never before,” echoing remarks DiZoglio previously made about her attempts to audit the Legislature.
Her office launched the audit back in March, and it didn’t take long for top lawmakers to refuse to comply. House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka both cast doubt on DiZoglio’s legal authority to audit the Legislature, with both pointing to information their respective chambers have already made public.
“It is an incredibly awful example to set to other state entities that the Legislature is refusing to comply right now,” DiZoglio said on GBH Monday. “Imagine if DCF [the Department of Children and Families] just refused to comply with our office. Imagine if the MBTA, during all of their challenging times right now, said, ‘Sorry auditor, we’re not going to comply.’”
In July, DiZoglio asked Attorney General Andrea Campbell for her support if she sues the House and Senate to force their compliance.
Now, DiZoglio is looking to put the issue before voters via a ballot initiative that would explicitly authorize the audit. To do so, however, she’ll need 75,000 signatures on her petition by mid-November.
“If there’s nothing to hide, open up the doors, open up the books, and let us do our review,” she said.
DiZoglio also told “Boston Public Radio” hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan that her office has begun to audit the Legislature already through private meetings and by digging into publicly available documents.
She said she’s reached out to MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale to support the initiative, which she described as a non-partisan and “good government” issue.
And as for DiZoglio’s musical prospects?
“Don’t get too excited, legislative leaders,” she joked. “I’m not quitting my day job to go be a singer right now.”
How would you rate Diana DiZoglio’s song?
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