Mary Zarrilli Connaughton (born Mary Gina Zarrilli August 3, 1960 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

) is a former board member of the

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to it ...

. Connaughton was a candidate for

Massachusetts Auditor The state auditor of Massachusetts is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Twenty-six individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since the office's creation in 1849. The incumbent ...

in 2010.

Political career

Connaughton started her political career in 2004 as a Republican candidate for

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

in the Seventh Middlesex District of

. She lost that open-seat race to then Ashland School Board member Tom Sannicandro. In September 2005, Connaughton was appointed by Governor

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

to the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.Haneisen, Rob
"Connaughton gets big crowd at fundraiser"
''

The MetroWest Daily News ''The MetroWest Daily News'' is an American daily newspaper published in Framingham, Massachusetts, serving the MetroWest region of suburban Boston. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. The newspaper covers several cities and towns in Norfolk, M ...

'', Framingham, 3 February 2010. Retrieved on 2010-04-06. There, Connaughton has gained notoriety as an anti-toll activist for her area, but wanted higher tolls for Boston and Western Massachusetts, appearing on numerous television and radio programs to discuss issues pertaining to the Turnpike. In January 2010, Connaughton announced the commencement of her campaign for Massachusetts State Auditor as the Republican candidate. The seat was to be vacated by Joe DeNucci (D), who announced he would retire at the end of his term. She challenged Suzanne Bump (D), the former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development under Governor Deval Patrick (D), for the Auditor's position. Bump ultimately won the election by a narrow margin. MA Auditor 2010 Election Results
Bump, Suzanne Dem 992,680 49%
Connaughton, Mary GOP 944,475 46%
Fortune, Nat Grn 105,965 5%

Professional background

Connaughton is currently the COO and Director of Government Transparency of Pioneer Institute in Boston. She was a partner in the business development firm of Ascentage Group (formerly Henniker River Group) and an adjunct accounting instructor at

Framingham State College Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. The university, then known as the Normal School in Lexington was founded in 1839 as the first state-supported normal school in the United ...

. Additionally, she served on the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct. Connaughton held the position of senior manager on the audit staff of

Ernst and Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms. The EY network is composed of member firms ...

in the Entrepreneurial Services division and was

Chief Financial Officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

of the

Massachusetts Lottery The Massachusetts Lottery was established on September 27, 1971, following the legalization of gambling by the Massachusetts General Court, the legislature of the Commonwealth. The Lottery is administered by the Massachusetts State Lottery Comm ...

. Her other experience includes working as a financial consultant/CPA both independently and for a local firm and being chief financial officer of a privately held company. She was previously vice-chair of the Framingham Finance Committee and served on the board of directors of Commonwealth Corporation. Connaughton earned her

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from Assumption College in 2009 and a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

in Accounting and a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. She also spent two summers studying

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at the

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Oxford University Summer Seminar program. She is a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Personal life

Connaughton was born at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in the

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

neighborhood of Boston. She lives in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston ...

with her husband and two children.

References

External links

Official Campaign Website
* https://www.facebook.com/MaryForAudito
facebook Supporter page
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Connaughton, Mary Z. Living people Politicians from Framingham, Massachusetts Massachusetts city council members Assumption University (Worcester) alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni 1960 births Massachusetts Republicans Women chief financial officers American chief financial officers Women city councillors in Massachusetts