Endorsement: Mike Lake for State Auditor

Mike Lake addresses supporters at his campaign kick-off.

Boston

April 28, 2010

Today I start a series of posts that outline how I plan to cast my delegate votes next week at the State Democratic Convention in Worcester.

If you sense a theme across my choices, you will see it is one of activism. I was surprised to learn that each of the statewide offices in Massachusetts can have an active role influencing issues that matter to me, including healthcare and investments in the private sector technology economy (which is the sector I work in).

The State Auditor's job is to make things run more efficiently, saving money and cutting waste. And Mike Lake is the right person for that job. I worked along side him in 2008 as a part of now State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz's field operation. She was a grassroots candidate, and grassroots candidates need organization, which Mike Lake helped provide. As one of the downtown Boston field coordinators with Mike, I marveled at home he kept the ship moving even in the middle of the madness of election day.

Mike is a scary smart person. He has something like four or five or six degrees; I lost count. He also worked in an operations position within the Clinton Administration at a very young age. His academic accomplishments should not overshadow the fact that Mike is, fundamentally, a people person. He's been working very hard to meet as many people as possible during this campaign.

And when he speaks to people, what comes across is that Mike has three or four ideas about how, from the first day as State Auditor, he will make a difference. Cutting waste and saving taxpayers money. He wants to engage the public to make citizens aware of how the Auditor's office can help.

Mike will bring 21st-century efficiencies to an office that has not had a new leader in a long time. Just by listening to him for a few seconds, one gets a sense of the passion he has for his potential role. Mike is certainly not the typical politician. His speech is one of action, not of past laurels.

He might not be the most well known candidate, and given the long-term political connections of his opponents, that's not a surprise. But Mike is competent, bright, and deserves the chance to be evaluated by all Democrats in Massachusetts via a primary. I look forward to voting for him at the convention to give him that chance.