Strickland asks why lottery audit has been delayed

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Gov. Ted Strickland is asking the state auditor to explain why a performance audit of the Ohio Lottery won’t be completed in the coming weeks as initially expected.

Auditor Mary Taylor, the running mate of the Republican who seeks to unseat Strickland in November, began the review in January, with the lottery calling the undertaking unreasonable and unnecessary.

The release of the audit is not being delayed, said Taylor spokesman Chris Abbruzzese.

“Work has not stopped,” he said. “It’s not unusual for timelines to be revised.”

But Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said it appeared work was finished last month, and the process stalled for reasons that haven’t been publicly announced.

“This is the first time that a performance audit has been forced on an agency,” Wurst said.

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