Auditor Suzanne Bump releases statement regarding late husband’s businesses
Boston — Massachusetts State Auditor and Great Barrington resident Suzanne Bump has released the following statement:
“The recent death of my husband, Paul McDevitt, apparently has caused some to speculate that I may leave my position in order to run the two businesses he owned and operated. Let me be clear: I remain committed to the work of the office of the state auditor. I will be completing my current four-year term, and I intend to seek re-election in 2018.
“Even before Paul received his terminal diagnosis, he had been preparing his successor, planning for retirement in the near term. I, therefore, already have named Paul’s executive vice president as president and chief executive officer of both Modern Assistance Programs Inc. and Map Test Inc. I am now owner and sole director of both entities, but will have no role in the day-to-day operations of either company. I leave it to the CEO and professionals there to maintain Paul’s legacy of compassionate service in the fields of mental health and substance abuse treatment.
“Given the private sector-nature of the business, it raises no known conflicts of interest for me as an elected official. Nonetheless, I will be informing the State Ethics Commission of my new ownership interest as soon as the necessary legal and operational details have been finalized. Further, I always will keep uppermost in my thinking, not just my legal obligations, but my ethical obligations as a government accountability officer.”
