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Bay Staters head to polls for primaries

The polls for the Massachusetts primary election are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Although many candidates are running unopposed for state offices, the open races for treasurer and auditor, particularly on the Democratic side, have several candidates.

In the Democratic race for treasurer, Steve Grossman and Stephen Murphy are fighting for their party's nomination.

Grossman is the chairman of the Grossman Marketing Group in Somerville, and has chaired the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

Murphy, a Boston city councilman, serves as the chair of the Federal Stimulus Oversight committees in Boston.

"We're feeling very confident going into [primary] election day," said Jane Hackett, a member of Murphy's campaign. "Murphy is the only candidate with both public and private financial experience and understands the needs of the working middle class and wants to protect their money."

On the Republican side, state representative Karyn Polito is running unopposed.

One of the most hotly contested races is for state auditor, with three Democrats and two Republicans running.

The three Democrats running for auditor are Suzanne Bump, Guy Glodis and Mike Lake.

Current auditor Joe DeNucci, who is retiring down after serving for 24 years, has endorsed Bump, the former state secretary of labor and workforce development, for the position.

"Suzanne is the only candidate in the race with the record of leadership, accountability and results, and a vision for the auditor's office that will make government better," said Matthew Demerle, a Bump spokesman. "She is the only candidate with both public sector management and private sector experience. Suzanne knows how to make government better because she has already done it."

Bump also served as a state legislator for four terms.

"[Suzanne Bump] has received the endorsements of so many people, including current auditor Joe DeNucci, and so many newspapers, including The Boston Globe, the Springfield Republican and the Lowell Sun," Demerle said. "They all know Suzanne has the experience, the leadership and the vision to be the next state auditor."

Glodis has been the Worcester County sheriff since 2004, and has previously served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and State Senate.

"If voters on Tuesday are looking for a real change... they are going to vote for Guy Glodis. If they are looking for a continuation of how that office has been run, then they will vote for Suzanne Bump," said Ernie Corrigan, a Glodis spokesman. "We're confident that if elected, we can get things done pretty quickly."

Mike Lake, the executive director of the World Class Cities Partnership at Northeastern University, says on his website that he will "build upon his experiences and skills to bring the State Auditor's office into the 21st century...[and] introduce a statewide energy audit program."

In his platform, Lake emphasizes the need for transparency in the auditor's office.

Fighting for the Republican nomination are Mary Connaughton and Kamal Jain.

Connaughton is the former director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Jain works for a technology company in Natick as a director of network operations and customer service.

Jain is pushing for total state transparency as part of his platform.

Jain says on his website that this plan was inspired by his "interest in knowing how the state government spends almost a billion dollars every week, and his inability to gain access to the information."

He explains that in 2008, he attempted for some time to get access to transaction-level details on state spending from the comptroller's office but was denied in his attempt.

Connaughton, who is not shy about advertising the fact that she is the only certified public accountant in the race, explains on her campaign website that she is running for the position of auditor in part because of her experience as a fiscal watchdog on the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

"I didn't just talk transparency, I lived transparency," Connaughton writes on her website.
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