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$7 coffee percolates state auditor's race
YOUNGSTOWN
One of the hottest issues in the Ohio auditor’s race is coffee.
A television commercial from state Rep. John Patrick Carney, the Democratic nominee, accuses Republican incumbent Dave Yost of spending $7 in taxpayer dollars per cup of coffee at a fraud and waste conference two years ago.
Carney told The Vindicator on Wednesday the commercial is based on Yost’s office receiving permission from the Ohio Controlling Board for the two-day conference in February 2012 that included $7,000 for 1,000 “coffee breaks.”
He added that the actual cost was probably more than that, though he offered no evidence.
While the final bill from the Hilton Columbus at Easton, where the event was held, doesn’t break out coffee expenses, it lists “bottle(s) of assorted regular, diet and decaffeinated soft drinks” at $3.25 a bottle. It isn’t clear if coffee, which was served at the event, was included in the beverage bill or was omitted. If it is part of the “soft drinks” charge, it’s less than half of the $7 estimate.
Yost said the document to the Controlling Board was an estimate, and Carney “got this flat wrong” by not following up to determine the actual costs.
“I’m so angry about this,” Yost said. “This is a man who wants to be auditor, the truth-teller of state and local governments, the person who has to be able to read the documents, get the numbers right, tell the truth and be reliable.”
Carney said he never saw the Hilton bill, and questioned why the conference was at one of, if not the most, expensive hotels in Columbus.
He added that he still stands by the statements in his commercial. “It’s a fair and accurate ad.”
The conference’s estimated cost was $86,100, but ended up costing $62,307.
However, Yost said none of the expense came from his office.
Payment for the event came from those who attended. Some of them are government employees, and those government entities paid their portion of the bill, and there were people from the private sector at the conference who paid their fees as well.
Carney’s commercial is “wrong on multiple counts,” Yost said. “He ought to be ashamed of himself. But it certainly points to the idea he’s not fit for office.”
Even if there’s a full reimbursement — as in this case — of expenses for a conference the auditor’s office is required to have the Controlling Board approve any contract of at least $50,000, Yost’s office says.
During Yost’s nearly four years as auditor, Carney said, he “likes to say one thing and then does something else.”
Yost wanted a public audit of JobsOhio, the state’s job-development agency, but backed away, Carney said. The auditor said he stood up to fellow Republicans, including the governor, and is now able to conduct compliance and control audits of the agency.
The two disagreed on the auditor’s office cracking down on charter schools under Yost.
“I’ve been the most aggressive auditor in the history of the state when it comes to charter schools,” said Yost, pointing to the conviction of 22 charter-school officials from audits done by his office. While charter schools make up about 300 of the 5,800 entities his office audits, “more than half of the findings for recovery issued came against charter schools.”
Carney said charter schools are out of control and got worse with Yost as auditor.
Also running for auditor is Libertarian Bob Bridges.