LOWELL -- Job one for Mike Lake, if he is successful in his campaign for the state auditor's post, will be to rescind the 5 percent pay raise handed out to staff by his predecessor, Joe DeNucci, this week.
"I'm disappointed with the auditor's decision," Lake told Sun editors yesterday. "I think it's a big mistake and I've called on him to rescind it immediately. If he doesn't, when I'm sworn in in January, I'll rescind it. It might be too late by then, but I'm making a pledge."
Lake, a 32-year-old political newcomer who is executive director of the World Class Cities Partnership at Northeastern University, said that while he disagreed with DeNucci's decision, it afforded him an opportunity to distance himself from his Democratic challengers.
"My outrage stemmed from the fact that I was the only candidate for state auditor that actually stood up against the pay raises. That's unacceptable," Lake said, who will face off against former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne Bump and Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis in the Sept. 14 primary. "But it goes along with what I've been talking about on the campaign trail and that's the importance of having an independent state auditor. Somebody who is not beholden to any party or special interest. We expect that and demand that, and I don't think the public should settle for anything less."
Lake also distanced himself from his challengers, he said, by voicing his opposition to casinos in Massachusetts.
"I think we are making an irresponsible decision if we allow that to occur," Lake said. "Especially because we don't have a cost analysis of casinos. If you only do a benefit analysis, which is what was done, it's going to look good."
Lake is a Melrose native who, at age 20, was appointed special assistant for White House Operations by President Bill Clinton. He was also director of development for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. In his current position, he has brought together business, civic and academic leaders from around the world to identify and exchange best-practice solutions to the challenges facing government.
"That is something I would continue to do as auditor -- identifying the best practices in one state agency and spreading that across every agency in state government," said Lake, who proposes a statewide energy audit that would cost the taxpayers nothing. "One of the first things I'll do is audit the auditor's office. I don't say that with tongue in cheek. I say it because it will be important for me to know what I'm inheriting. That process will help identify specifics."
Very few people know precisely what a state auditor does. Lake said that is one of the challenges as he campaigns across the state.
"I want to share my vision for the office, which is to make it proactive," Lake said. "So today we can work with public managers to help them identify inefficiencies in their agencies and help them eliminate them now. So instead of stepping to the podium at the end of an audit and saying this agency has done X, Y and Z incorrectly and it has cost you, the taxpayers, millions of dollars, wouldn't it be nice to step to the microphone with good news saying we just identified millions of dollars in savings?"
Dennis Shaughnessey can be contacted at dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com
