Consider this: Only five of Ohio's 88 auditors are CPAs

Consider this: Only five of Ohio's 88 auditors are CPAs
EDITOR:
Of Ohio's 88 county auditors, 83 are not CPAs.
I feel compelled to point this out, in light of the criticism the Mahoning County Democratic Party received after appointing Michael Sciortino our new auditor.
Of the other 87, I wonder how many have a r & eacute;sum & eacute; as strong as Mike's: master's degree in public administration with a concentration in governmental finance; law degree and practicing attorney; oversaw a $300 million annual budget as assistant county administrator; managed a multi-million dollar departmental budget as director of the board of elections (where he reduced expenditures by over 25 percent); supervised an organization with hundreds of personnel; implemented Ohio's first touch-screen voting system; elected president of the Ohio Elections Officials; appointed by the secretary of state to represent Ohio on the United States Elections Commission (then elected to chair the organization by peers from all 50 states).
I'd say we've got a qualified auditor.
Much has also been made of the fact that Mike and I are friends, especially following a recent Vindicator article. (Unlike past party chairs, I chose to take the "high road" and tell the truth to the candidates, precinct officials, and press -- rather than pretending to be impartial. Would the media have preferred that I lied?) I told your reporter that I supported Mike because his qualifications are outstanding, and because we are friends. Unfortunately, I was only quoted on the second part of that statement.
Each of the candidates who sought the auditor's appointment brought certain excellent qualifications to the debate. One had many years experience with specific office tasks, with some college. Others were not CPAs, but possessed various financial backgrounds in small proprietorships. One was a self-employed CPA, but lacked government management experience.
Our auditor's office is a large, multi-faceted organization. Obviously the office employs accountants, but over 90 percent of the staff is not involved in financial reporting. I am confident that our precinct committee persons carefully analyzed each candidate's overall qualifications -- including management ability, vision, and leadership potential -- before making an informed decision and casting their secret-ballot vote.
I am proud of all our Democratic elected officials in Mahoning County, which I believe are among the most qualified in the entire state. Our new county auditor is no exception.
LISA ANTONINI, chair
Mahoning County Democratic Party
Youngstown
There are angels among us
EDITORS:
Some people are truly angels and my daughter and I have been lucky enough to meet two. We don't know either name, but we want both to know how grateful we are. Last Friday night my daughter Hadleigh, her friend Amanda and I were shoe shopping at the Southern Park Mall. We went into every store that sold shoes and found nothing to fit either girl. The last store we went into was Dillard's where Amanda saw a pair of shoes on one the clerks that were the exact color she needed. The very nice clerk told us where she got them, but no shoes were available in that color. More on this later.
Hadleigh looked for herself and found a pair (finally!) that she loved. However, she didn't check the price before she tried them on. We have to carefully watch our money and the price was above our budget. She really liked them, so we talked it over and she volunteered to continue looking, but she was in love with these shoes. We talked again and I decided we would buy them. My daughter kept insisting that we could not afford them, but I could see how much she liked them. A very kind woman approached me and said that a girl as polite and caring as my daughter deserved to have these shoes and asked if she could purchase them. I protested, but she insisted and bought the shoes, paying cash so I could not find out her name or address. The only thing she would tell us was that she lives in Poland. Both of us are so very grateful and hope she reads this letter. You made her so happy and I am awed at your generosity.
The clerk who was wearing the shoes Amanda loved told us about some hard times her family had gone through and how she had been helped by people in her town. We were talking to the clerks, marveling at the kindness of strangers. As we turned to leave, this clerk went up to Amanda and asked her what size shoes she wore. When she learned that the size was what she was wearing, she took her own shoes off , gave them to Amanda and told her to have fun at the dance.
We met two angels in one day and I hope we can pass on the kindness.
LINDA K. SMITH
Salem
Make you own best deal
EDITOR:
I won't argue with the union worker who wrote that huge bonuses at the top are a big factor in driving up costs in corporate America. The scandals of the past decade have shown that all too often corporate CEOs and other upper level management are among the greediest, overpaid people on the planet.
Still, I wonder if he realizes what a strong case his letter made against belonging to a union. Union membership tends to be a double edged sword with the disadvantages often outweighing the advantages. For one thing, the relationship between management and union tends to be adversarial with representatives of both sides sitting down across the table and having at one another.
As a union member it matters little how loyal, hard-working or capable you are because you are lumped in with everyone else. Chances are if you are an employee with those qualities and were free to do so, a meeting with your manager, supervisor, boss or whatever, would get you a better deal than your union is likely to produce, and get it quicker.
JOHN ZEDAKER
Poland
U.S. is so deep in the hole, we've reached China
EDITOR:
A mid-August release from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted a $331 billion deficit for fiscal year 2005 ending Sept. 30. Although this staggering amount of red ink is lower than originally projected, it ranks as the third-largest deficit in our nation's history, exceeded only by the shortfalls in 2003 and 2004. These totals have been reached with a Republican in the White House and Republicans controlling Congress, so they can't blame the Democrats.
To finance these federal deficits they have to borrow or create new money, so for the past several years, America's indebtedness has been financed by foreign governments, notably Communist China. It's becoming increasingly obvious that our nation's neck is being place in a noose owned by the Beijing government. By the way, the CBO predicts that deficits exceeding $300 billion will continue through 2010. God help our next generation.
BUD McKELVEY
Hermitage
Politicians party hardy
EDITOR:
Why all the fuss and hullabaloo about the governor's junkets, the politician's pay raises, the Sunshine Law violations, the incompetent cabinet appointments and pork barrel spending? Aren't they called the Democratic and Republican parties?
LAWRENCE A MOLER
Masury