Editing the political beat in Massachusetts requires a passion for investigative enterprise stories. I am fortunate to be working with some excellent practitioners of the form, and I love helping them shape complex, highly sensitive material into compelling tales with high impact.
In 2008, I supervised and edited an ongoing enterprise series by State House writer Andrea Estes that uncovered alleged influence peddling and ethics violations involving Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and his close friends. The series of articles led to DiMasi's resignation from his powerful post in January 2009 and prompted federal and state grand jury investigations, which are still active. The main elements of the series are packaged here.
I also guided and edited veteran reporter Sean Murphy's recent coverage of an array of strategies employed by politically connected officials to pad retirement benefits, provoking anger among state residents and prompting Governor Deval Patrick and the Legislature to propose reforms. Among the highlights:
Ex-lawmaker scores both a state job, full pension check, April 12, 2009
2 town moderators use obscure law to pad pensions, March 10, 2009
Increasingly light library board duty doubled pension for former state senator, Feb. 11, 2009
Murphy has been an expert on the $15 billion Big Dig for years. In 2008, we stepped back and looked at the long-term financial impacts of the massive project, which are far more severe than previously disclosed: Big Dig's red ink engulfs state, July 17, 2008
While working with experienced diggers like Estes and Murphy, I have helped guide younger reporters, especially Matt Viser, who moved to the State House from City Hall and has become one of the most prolific, reliable, and insightful reporters at the paper. I routinely help Matt conceive of stories about the state budget crisis and the ongoing debates about proposed casinos. He is versatile and creative, and I often assign him feature stories far from his usual beat. Here is a recent example: NCAA draws hoardes -- and from locals, many blank stares, March 26, 2009
