Brian Shortsleeve for Massachusetts BOSTON, MA – For too long, Beacon Hill has treated taxpayer dollars like an unlimited resource. Year after year, the government’s budget grows larger, spending increases automatically, and taxpayers are expected to simply pay more to support a system that has lost accountability.
Meanwhile, families across Massachusetts are struggling with rising property taxes, skyrocketing utility bills, housing costs, and an economy that is becoming harder to afford by the day.
Brian Shortsleeve believes it is time to run state government like a serious organization again.
As governor, Brian will implement a new approach to budgeting built around three simple principles:
AUDIT
For more than 20 years in the private sector, Brian Shortsleeve built organizations by demanding accountability, measuring performance, and constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, eliminate waste, and stay competitive. He understands that successful organizations do not assume every dollar is being spent wisely. They audit, evaluate, and verify.
As the former MBTA chief administrator and acting general manager, Brian Shortsleeve is the only candidate who has done this before. When he took over the MBTA, he launched financial and performance audits that uncovered waste, abuse, and inefficiency throughout the agency.
Massachusetts taxpayers have seen the consequences of a government that no longer asks simple questions: overtime abuse at MassDOT, failures in the SNAP system, questionable no-bid contracts, and repeated breakdowns in oversight. These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a culture that treats taxpayer dollars without the scrutiny they deserve.
Massachusetts taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going and whether government programs are actually delivering results.
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Audit every state agency for waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency
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Conduct independent performance audits to evaluate whether programs are producing measurable results
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Review overtime systems and internal financial controls across all agencies following scandals like the recent MassDOT overtime abuse investigation
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Launch a public online transparency portal so taxpayers can track state spending, contracts, grants, and vendor payments
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Require agencies to justify spending from the ground up through a zero-based budgeting process instead of relying on automatic increases
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Review no-bid contracts and strengthen procurement oversight to protect taxpayer dollars
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Enforce accountability and send cheats and fraudsters to jail
CUT
Brian understands that successful organizations cannot spend without discipline. To remain competitive, businesses must constantly evaluate expenses, eliminate waste, improve efficiency, and focus resources on their core mission.
Brian balanced the MBTA’s budget for the first time in years by identifying and cutting waste, controlling costs, and demanding accountability. State government should apply that same discipline by prioritizing core services over endless bureaucratic expansion
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Cut wasteful spending and eliminate duplicative programs and unnecessary bureaucracy
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Freeze non-essential administrative hiring while prioritizing public safety, education, and frontline services
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Consolidate redundant boards, commissions, and agencies wherever possible
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Require sunset reviews for major government programs so ineffective programs do not continue indefinitely without accountability
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End the culture of automatic spending increases on Beacon Hill
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Put taxpayers first by ensuring every dollar spent serves a clear public purpose
GROW
As a businessman who has spent his career building and growing small businesses, creating jobs, and meeting a payroll, Brian understands what businesses need to succeed. Massachusetts will never become more affordable by growing government. It will become more affordable by growing the economy.
As governor, Brian will focus on reducing taxes, cutting unnecessary regulations, and creating a more predictable business climate that encourages investment, job creation, and economic growth. His goal is simple: make Massachusetts a place where businesses want to grow, families can afford to stay, and opportunity is within reach for everyone.
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Use savings from government reform to provide tax relief for families and small businesses
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Prioritize municipal aid to bring local property tax relief so cities and towns can fund schools, police, fire, and public works without constant Prop ½ overrides
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Create a more competitive business climate by cutting regulations and restoring confidence and predictability in Massachusetts’ economy
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Focus state government on affordability, economic growth, and job creation instead of bureaucracy
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Build a government that respects taxpayers and creates an environment where businesses and families can thrive