As the daughter of a single mother who had her at 17, Diana has always had to fight for the things that have mattered to her. A student of Massachusetts public schools, she went to Middlesex Community College. She later earned a financial scholarship to Wellesley College.After serving in the legislature as an aide, as Chief of Staff for the 12,000 member Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, and years of work for local nonprofits and community organizations, she won her first race for public office in 2012. Diana served three terms as State Representative for the 14th Essex District. In 2018 was elected to the State Senate.
Growing up housing insecure in Lawrence and Methuen taught me that housing is one of the most basic, fundamental needs that distinguishes between families that easily succeed and those that struggle. My mom and I were lucky to have loved ones who could take us in to provide some stability in difficult times. Growing up, I was able to stay with friends or family, “couch surfing,” or taking a spare room depending on availability in their homes.
My story is not that different from the stories of many other people here in Massachusetts who are currently struggling just to find a basic, affordable place to live. We are in a housing crisis and far too many families are facing these challenges. We need to do better by those who are working hard to make ends meet, yet still struggling. As your State Auditor, I will fight to increase housing opportunities that are affordable.
I’ll actively analyze, audit, and report on the expenditure of federal stimulus, ARPA and other COVID-related funding to ensure they are used effectively and efficiently. I will work to identify the most cost-effective approaches to produce affordable housing. That will include: converting existing housing stock to affordable; preserving existing housing that is already affordable to residents; and significantly expanding transit-oriented development.
We need to get more housing for our tax subsidies and to produce more housing that’s available for families in genuine need. I will analyze the cost effectiveness of building new affordable housing as compared to purchasing existing properties and converting them into affordable housing.
Communities that fail to comply with affordable housing laws such as 40B are not eligible for funding under the Housing Choice Initiative, Local Capital Projects Fund or MassWorks Infrastructure Fund. I will report on whether or not the Commonwealth is actually enforcing these requirements. I will also study and report on the opportunity to increase housing opportunities, affordable to working families, on State land and on land owned by other public authorities such as MassPort and regional transit agencies.