Pattern of Beacon Hill Dem indictments yet another reason for voters to dump commonwealth's one-party rule
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“Having a Democrat-dominated state Legislature has been a stain on accountability,” Lyons said. “We’ve already seen a conga line of Democratic House speakers indicted, not to mention the disaster that happened under our former Democratic Senate president.
Added Lyons: “Somehow we remain the state whose lawmakers are not held accountable to public records laws and open meeting laws. Bringing balance, accountability, and transparency to the state Legislature is something that is well overdue, and restoring that public trust is exactly what the Massachusetts Republican Party is working to accomplish.”
Three Democratic House speakers in a row -- Charles Flaherty, Tom Finneran, and Sal DiMasi -- have been successfully prosecuted, while a fourth, current House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, narrowly avoided federal charges in 2014 after a former Massachusetts Probation Department chief was indicted for, among other actions, bribing DeLeo at least 10 times, “in part to help him as he began his successful campaign to become speaker in 2009,” according to news reports.
In 2017, then-state Sen. Brian Joyce, a Democrat, was charged with raking in more than $1 million in bribes and kickbacks “laundered through his law firm,” according to a Boston Globe report.
“There has to be a balance in the state Legislature, and if not, you can bet this serial pattern of abuse and misconduct will keep happening again and again,” Lyons said. “The Democrats in the Legislature are the stewards of public money, and when they cannot be trusted, it’s up to us to give the voters a choice -- and for the voters to hold them accountable.”
