It’s unanimous: with the endorsement of the Erie-Times News, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has earned every newspaper endorsement in Pennsylvania!
* Incumbent Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s strong performance in his first term and his humane, balanced perspective on the vital role his office plays in the lives of Pennsylvanians earns him our endorsement for another term.
* A review of the state’s child abuse hotline revealed that 42,000 calls to the hotline had gone unanswered due to a lack of adequate resources. Subsequent reforms, he said, ensured “better protection for children.” Another audit pointed out funding shortages that have stymied a law meant to eliminate a backlog of 3,000 untested rape kits. That situation not only delays justice for victims, but also gives serial rapists more time to act, he said.
* With DePasquale in office another four years, Pennsylvanians can be confident both tax dollars and services vital to their welfare will be safeguarded.
Erie Times-News: Our view: DePasquale is choice for auditor general
The state auditor general stands guard over state spending.
But the job is not defined solely by a duty to uncover waste or fraud for Pennsylvania taxpayers.
The auditor general must also scrutinize government agencies to determine whether they are actually delivering promised services, especially for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens — a mandate that can result in a call for more spending, not less.
Incumbent Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s strong performance in his first term and his humane, balanced perspective on the vital role his office plays in the lives of Pennsylvanians earns him our endorsement for another term.
DePasquale, 45, a Democrat from York, is vying for a second four-year term against Republican John Brown, a first-term county executive from Northampton County.
Brown, 52, touts his experience in the private sector before he was elected mayor of a small borough, along with savings he has found while serving in county government. He said he eliminated $37 million in wasteful spending and turned around the finances of a county-run nursing home.
Government needs more savvy executives like Brown keenly on the lookout for waste. But his vision seems too fixed on one aspect of the auditor general’s function.
DePasquale, who served in the state Legislature before winning the auditor general post in 2012, said he arrived to find an office confronting a deficit and badly in need of modernization. He brought the office into the digital age and saved $2.8 million annually.
His financial audits have uncovered more than $318 million in wasteful spending or recoverable funds, he said. School district audits discovered $55 million in wasteful transportation spending alone, he said.
A 2013 audit of the Millcreek Township School District memorably took issue with the district providing free tuition to Erie Otters players in exchange for game tickets and other considerations.
Audits of charter schools, including the Erie R.I.S.E. Leadership Academy Charter School, have exposed opportunities for reform in those schools, which he said lack adequate oversight.
DePasquale takes greater pride in performance audits, which he said have resulted in reforms that impact the lives of Pennsylvanians.
DePasquale’s audit of state environmental oversight of Marcellus Shale natural gas production resulted in 27 recommended reforms, almost all of which have been implemented, he said.
A review of the state’s child abuse hotline revealed that 42,000 calls to the hotline had gone unanswered due to a lack of adequate resources. Subsequent reforms, he said, ensured “better protection for children.”
Another audit pointed out funding shortages that have stymied a law meant to eliminate a backlog of 3,000 untested rape kits. That situation not only delays justice for victims, but also gives serial rapists more time to act, he said.
With DePasquale in office another four years, Pennsylvanians can be confident both tax dollars and services vital to their welfare will be safeguarded.
Read the entire endorsement here.
Auditor General DePasquale has also been endorsed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the York Daily Record, the Scranton Times-Tribune, the Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice, and the Hazleton Standard Speaker.