A Republican member of the Belmont Select Board has launched a campaign for state treasurer against longtime Democratic incumbent Deborah Goldberg.

Elizabeth Dionne launched her campaign last week, making her the first official challenger to try to unseat Goldberg, who has been in office since 2015. In a phone interview with the Herald, Dionne said she’s running to be a voice for taxpayers.

“Right now there is no voice for taxpayers at the state level,” said Dionne. “We face a cost of living crisis. We, right now, rank just behind Hawaii as the second-most expensive state in the United States to live in. We’re hemorrhaging our middle class, we’re hemorrhaging our young professionals, we’re hemorrhaging jobs, we’re hemorrhaging companies. As a mother of four children, my children can’t afford to raise their families in Massachusetts.”

Dionne cites wasteful spending, high taxes and increasing issue of unaffordability in Massachusetts as motivators to pursue the treasurer’s office.

“We rank third in the nation for property tax burden, we rank seventh in the nation for overall tax burden, we rank second in the nation for state debt per capita — all of which burdens you and me, burdens our children, burdens our friends, and burdens our neighbors. And are we hearing about any plans to rein this all in? No,” she said.

When it comes to current Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Dionne says she does not have her focus set on the taxpayer and has instead set her sights on “a personal grudge match” with Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) Chair Shannon O’Brien.

Dionne is referring to a nearly two-year battle between Goldberg and O’Brien that began in 2023. Goldberg first suspended O’Brien in September 2023 before firing her from her position on the CCC in September 2024. A judge reinstated O’Brien in September after ruling Goldberg had illegally terminated her. For her actions against O’Brien, Goldberg cited allegations O’Brien made racially insensitive remarks and mistreated former CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins, who is also a former deputy to Goldberg.

“When someone abuses power, they tell you who they are. Deb Goldberg has told us who she is and I think we should believe her. Whatever you think of Shannon O’Brien’s politics, she is a credible public servant,” Dionne said. “And the fact that Deb Goldberg used the treasurer’s office as a personal piggy bank and spent two years and $2 million on a personal grudge match against Shannon O’Brien, that’s just abhorrent to me. That is not how we use public dollars and that is not how we treat public trust.”

Treasurer Goldberg responded to Dionne’s comments, telling the Herald her office has “led with integrity.”

“I welcome Ms. Dionne to the race and look forward a robust conversation about the work of the Treasurer’s office and our meaningful accomplishments during my tenure. I have led with integrity and purpose as treasurer and will continue to put the people of our state first and foremost,” Goldberg said. “The voters of Massachusetts have trusted me to do so, and I look forward to earning their vote again.”

Dionne also pointed to what she describes as “outrageous” wasteful spending by the treasurer’s office under Goldberg’s leadership, citing a list published in September by the Massachusetts GOP that detailed examples of wasteful spending by the state office.

“Where this journey [to run for office] began was when the MassGOP released a list at the end of September released a list, just an outrageous list of wasteful spending in the state treasurer’s office. From meals to travel to salaries to housing and clothing. Why are they spending money on clothing? It’s really a shocking list of the money that has been wasted. It says they spent over $51,000 on water bottles in three years. Just wasteful.”

The MassGOP list noted a record $62,000 spent on out-of-state travel, $16,814 spent on meals and catering, and over $385,000 in supplemental salaries in 2025 to match manager pay with union pay increases, among a laundry list of other expenses.

“Elizabeth Dionne has led the way implementing sound fiscal management measures in Belmont. Now she’s ready to bring the same level of professionalism to the MA Treasurer’s Office,” said MassGOP in a post to its official X account Tuesday. “Just in time too because it has never been needed more than now!”

With no primary challengers as of yet for both Goldberg and Dionne, the two are set as things stand now to face off in the general election in November.