02/12/2020
Beacon Hill Democrats who say one thing publicly yet do the opposite behind closed doors will be called out, Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons promised on Tuesday.
Lyons’s announcement came a day after a State House News Service report revealed Democratic state Sen. Diana DiZoglio of Methuen was one of 14 Democratic members of the Senate Transportation who voted to advance S. 2061, a bill that would give those living in the United States illegally the ability to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses.
Previously, DiZoglio had publicly opposed such measures.
“As far as the driver’s licenses go, I am opposed,” then-state Rep. DiZoglio said during a 2014 Democratic primary candidates debate moderated by the Valley Patriot’s Tom Duggan.
DiZoglio later added, when asked about in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants:
“I do think that we need to make sure that everybody is documented and here legally before providing state resources.”
According to the News Service report, “Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Joseph Boncore’s staff declined to release how his committee’s members voted on the bill, or even the total vote,” before the House chairman “released both the total and the breakdown to the News Service, following a request for the information.”
“Senate Democrats wanted to keep the public in the dark, and Sen. DiZoglio obviously would have preferred it that way,” said Lyons. “What we have here are Democrats saying one thing and doing the other.
“They can’t stand transparency, and this is why.”
Feb. 11, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Evan Lips, communications director
617-523-5005 ext. 245
