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2 seek nod in GOP primary
By MARC KOVAC
COLUMBUS
The Republican primary for state auditor pits a freshman lawmaker with credentials comparable to the current GOP officeholder against a county prosecutor who has the endorsement of the state party.
Seth Morgan is a certified public accountant who is completing his first term in the Ohio House, representing a Dayton-area district. Dave Yost is the Delaware County prosecutor and former Delaware County auditor.
Both say they have the qualifications and the voter backing to replace Mary Taylor, who is leaving her statewide office to run for lieutenant governor with Republican John Kasich.
“I believed that my skill set and my r sum best matched what I believe was necessary for an auditor of state to be a very effective auditor,” Morgan said. “The chances are best when we’ve got someone who actually understands what the difference between a balance sheet and an income statement is.”
Yost countered, “A CPA is a valuable thing; so is a law degree. This isn’t just about doing debits and credits. It’s about cheats and crooks. And my experience, I think, puts me in a better position to serve in this role.”
Both Morgan and Yost praised Taylor for her work in office, and both plan to continue the efforts she and her Republican predecessors started.
“It’s a thoroughly professional career staff there,” Yost said. “So, like a doctor, the next auditor of state’s first goal needs to be to do no harm.”
But both also have their own ideas for improvements.
“I think that there are opportunities for a little more efficient, perhaps, office, expanding some of the initiatives that she had already put in place,” Morgan said, adding that he would like to expand the office’s use of performance audits — providing savings advice to local and state governments.
He added, “I think it will be my job to be the people’s CPA, if you will — the eyes and ears on what’s happening in their local and state governments.”
Yost said he is developing proposals for increasing the availability of financial information to the public and the accountability of public officials’ spending.
He’d like lawmakers to create an independent budget commission, similar to what’s already in place at the county level, to provide revenue projections to the governor and Legislature for use when approving spending plans.
There are two Republicans running in their party’s May 4 primary. There is no Democratic primary.
DAVE YOST
Age: 53.
Home: Delaware.
Education: Law degree from Capital University Law School; a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from The Ohio State University.
Employment: Delaware County prosecutor.
Family: Wife, Darlene; one son and two daughters.
Priority: Clean financial books from every county courthouse to the Statehouse. Also, expanding and promoting the use of performance audits to increase government efficiency and root out waste, expand the use of agreed procedures where possible to contain the costs of audits for local governments, and track and speak out on wasteful public expenditures.
SETH MORGAN
Age: 32.
Home: Dayton.
Education: A master of business administration from the University of Dayton; a bachelor of science degree in management/accounting from Park College.
Employment: State legislator and owner of MLA Management Systems, a business-consulting company.
Family: Wife, Debra; one son and two daughters.
Priority: Find ways to expand the use of independent accounting firms to drive the quality of audits up and the costs down. Use the performance-audit division to continue helping governments find new ways to deliver their services in a more efficient manner. Work with local governments and state agencies to seek to expand the transparency of government’s financial transactions.