BOSTON (AP) – An aide to Gov. Mitt Romney has vowed to clean up the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board following the resignation of its chairwoman, whom the aide said was forced out because she was trying to reform the board.

Secretary of Administration and Finance Thomas Trimarco said that because Anne Foley did a great job “the other members turned on her and undermined her efforts.”

Foley agreed to resign Friday, effective in five months.

Trimarco also said he would examine what he said were questionable practices by the board, including the “undue” wielding of influence by the lawyers who practice before it.

“The more I have learned about the operations there, the more I have serious concerns about how that board operates,” he said.

Trimarco’s office oversees the board’s operation.

A veteran of the board, commissioner Nancy Egan, said she had “no idea” what Trimarco was referring to about lawyers having influence at the board.

“I have been here 25 years, and I have never heard those allegations before,” she said.

Foley could not be reached for comment.

The agency is obscure, but has great influence due to its decisions on the state’s tax policies. Ninety percent of petitions filed at the board are appeals of local property taxes, according to the board’s Web site. It also hears cases on income taxes and sales and use taxes.

The board chairwoman runs the administration of the agency, setting its schedules and assigning cases to commissioners.

Before Foley resigned, four colleagues who have been at odds with her threatened to take away her administrative duties. The other commissioners said her recent decision to withdraw her name for re-nomination raised legal questions whether she could operate as chairwoman.

-Associated Press