GOP candidate for state auditor Anthony Amore, left, looks on as former Gov. Jane Swift announces her endorsement of his candidacy on Sept. 8, 2022. State House News Service photo

Anthony Amore, the Republican candidate for state auditor, is pledging to hold suburbs’ feet to the fire for routinely rejecting affordable housing projects if he’s elected.

Amore and Merrimack Valley state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, the Democratic candidate, are vying to replace State Auditor Suzanne Bump in next week’s general election. Amore is seen as outgoing Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s standard-bearer among next week’s statewide contests while Attorney General Maura Healey, the Democratic nominee and leader in the polls, is backing DiZoglio.

While past state auditors have traditionally focused on being a watchdog for government spending and actions by state agencies – the office has strong tools to compel state agencies to turn over documents to its investigators – the race to succeed Bump has seen all the major candidates seize on the office as a potential bully pulpit to call attention to different problems plaguing Massachusetts, from an unreliable MBTA to racial and gender diversity among companies the state hires for various services.

With many Greater Boston suburbs considering whether to adopt multifamily zoning districts under the state’s MBTA Communities zoning reforms and hundreds of millions of federal pandemic relief dollars slated to go towards funding affordable housing production, Amore hopes that the auditor’s investigatory resources and heft on Beacon Hill can put a spotlight on the problem.

“The greatest threat to our Commonwealth’s long-term prosperity is the cost of housing,” Amore said in a statement issued by his campaign. “As State Auditor, I would launch a comprehensive investigation into the collapse of major affordable housing projects with a focus on the Greater Boston region. Right now, no one is connecting the dots into how these individual projects may be failing at town meetings using the same NIMBY arguments. It is incumbent on the next Auditor to shine a light on this issue so lawmakers can enforce efforts to increase housing production such as multi-family zoning in MBTA communities.”

With its own lobbying staff, the auditor’s office can also push for action on problems it highlights, or at least be a thorn in the side of lawmakers traditionally reluctant to issue land-use mandates to municipalities.

The Contrarian Boston newsletter written by Banker & Tradesman columnist Scott Van Voorhis first reported Amore’s proposal.

Amore’s opponent, state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, has made her own pledges on the housing front. The campaign had not returned a request for comment as of publication time, but a 17-point plan her campaign published earlier this year includes a specific commitment to issue reports tracking whether towns not in compliance with the MBTA Communities zoning reform or the Chapter 40B “anti-snob” zoning law are getting grants they are legally barred from obtaining. DiZoglio’s plan also includes a pledge to “study and report” how state-owned land and land owned by public authorities like Massport could be used for housing construction, and a separate pledge to report on the most effective ways to build affordable housing, whether through ground-up construction or adaptive reuse.

“Growing up housing insecure in Lawrence and Methuen taught me that housing is one of the most basic, fundamental needs that distinguishes between families that easily succeed and those that struggle,” DiZoglio’s plan states. “My story is not that different from the stories of many other people here in Massachusetts who are currently struggling just to find a basic, affordable place to live. We are in a housing crisis and far too many families are facing these challenges. We need to do better by those who are working hard to make ends meet, yet still struggling. As your State Auditor, I will fight to increase housing opportunities that are affordable.”