October 14, 2006

Goodbye, ho-hum auditor's race; hello, fireworks
The candidates get partisan and prickly in a contest that usually draws little attention in Minnesota.
BY DENNIS LIEN
Pioneer Press

State auditor races in Minnesota typically have been ho-hum affairs attracting little, if any, attention.

Not this year.

Three candidates trying to unseat Republican Patricia Anderson as state auditor in the Nov. 7 election are plastering her with accusations of partisan political behavior. No shrinking violet, Anderson has been lobbing accusations right back.

To some, the growing brouhaha exposes how far things have strayed for an office that has consistently attracted mavericks such as Bob Mattson and Arne Carlson who paused there on the way to other, often higher, offices.

DFL candidate Rebecca Otto, Green Party candidate Dave Berger and Independence Party candidate Lucy Gerold contend that Anderson has transformed the office from an independent-minded watchdog of local governments into an arm of the governor.

"The current auditor has been highly partisan,'' Otto charged. "The auditor is not there to do the work of the party. She's there to do the work of the people.''

As an example, Anderson's challengers cited an auditor's report in 2003 that suggested large cuts in local government aid, an approach Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed in his budget a week later.

"She basically greased the skids for the no-new-taxes agenda,'' Otto said.

Anderson, elected in 2002 as Patricia Anderson Awada before a divorce, called the accusations ludicrous.

"I am not an arm of anybody and never have been — period,'' Anderson said.

"I did the LGA (local government aid) study not to grease any skids, but to find out how is local government aid actually being spent,'' she said. "What our study showed was the more LGA you got, the more you spent on non-essential services. … That was something new to the debate.''

The auditor's office has financial oversight of 4,323 units of local government, such as cities, counties, school districts and pension funds.

It's also been a way station for politicians seeking higher office. Carlson, for example, became governor. His successor, Mark Dayton, is a U.S. senator. Judi Dutcher, Anderson's predecessor, sought the DFL endorsement for governor four years ago and is gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch's running mate this year.

Anderson's three challengers have a philosophical ally in Carlson, who was auditor from 1979 to 1991. A Republican, Carlson said Anderson's predecessors avoided partisan behavior.

"I think that independence has been lost,'' Carlson said. He has switched his support from Anderson to Otto, who served a term as a state representative and was unseated in 2004.

Otto has been nipping at Anderson since spring, criticizing her for what she called big mathematical errors in reports.

"It has happened over and over again,'' Otto said.

In one instance, she cited a $180 million error. In another, she alleged numerous accounting errors.

Anderson challenged Otto's accusations, saying Otto noted typos, made incorrect comparisons or made her own financial mistakes.

"Either she doesn't understand data and reporting, or she was clearly and deliberately trying to mislead and create an issue,'' Anderson said.

Berger jumped into the fray, calling for the legislative auditor to evaluate the state auditor's office to determine who's right — Anderson or Otto.

"No matter who wins, there should be a program evaluation,'' Berger said. "I'm trying to promote that.''

Anderson, Berger and Gerold all questioned Otto's pledge to hold down property taxes, calling it partisan.

"She proposed property tax reform, which is not the role of the auditor whatsoever,'' Anderson said. "That is the role of the Legislature and the governor.''

But Otto, saying many costs have been unfairly shifted to local governments, called her property tax stance good fiscal policy.

A former schoolteacher and school board member, Otto said she envisions the office as a bridge between state and local governments.

Berger, the only minor-party candidate, is a college teacher with an eye for data.

"I think stats are neat,'' said Berger, who teaches sociology, anthropology and criminal justice at Inver Hills Community College. "I love to look at spreadsheets.''

Berger said the auditor's office is no place for the stances Anderson and Otto have taken.

"They want to promise all these things they can't deliver,'' he said. "I can deliver on increasing the efficiency of the office.''

Because the Green Party is not a major party in Minnesota, Berger said, he's had to fight to get into debates and to get his message out. If Berger or any other Green Party candidate for a state constitutional office or the U.S. Senate gets 5 percent of the vote and gets votes in every county, the party would be reinstated as a major party.

Gerold was a finalist for the Minneapolis police chief job three years ago and is on unpaid leave from the department to run for auditor.

"The catalyst for me is I'm tired of the finger-pointing in politics,'' Gerold said. "I have been in local government my entire career, and I have never seen the local and state government relations as toxic and poisonous as it is now.''

She said she couldn't sit by and do nothing.

"The blaming and partisan politics have us gridlocked around partisan issues,'' she said.

Gerold emphasized that the office must be independent.

"It can't be an office that is beholden to an agenda,'' said Gerold, who became a police officer a decade ago and is now deputy chief of investigations, giving her oversight of criminal investigations and the department's crime lab.

Anderson has attracted attention for looking into pension funds and helping force the merger of the nearly insolvent Minneapolis Teachers' Retirement Fund Association into a statewide teachers retirement system.

"Taxpayer watchdog — that is what the job is,'' said Anderson, a former Eagan City Council member and mayor.

"Otto talks about being more friendly to those she audits … the job of the auditor is not to be an advocate, but to be a financial overseer,'' Anderson said. "It's scary if they believe that is the role of the auditor.''

She characterized herself as an active auditor who has expanded the office's role, including placing more emphasis on pension oversight and auditing a wider array of government units.

"I think I have built a reputation for being very factual and not twisting any numbers,'' she said.

Dennis Lien can be reached at dlien@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5588.

Who's who in the state auditor's race

Patricia Anderson

Age: 40

Residence: Eagan

Family: Two sons, two daughters

Education: Bachelor's degree in international relations, University of Minnesota; master's in public administration, Hamline University

Employment: State auditor

Political experience: Eagan mayor, 1998-2002; Eagan City Council member 1991-98.

Dave Berger

Age: 43

Residence: Minneapolis

Family: One son

Education: Bachelor's degrees in political science and sociology, University of Minnesota; master's in sociology, University of Minnesota

Employment: Professor of sociology, anthropology and criminal justice at Inver Hills Community College

Political experience: Green Party's endorsed candidate for Minnesota state auditor, 2002

Lucy Gerold

Age: 54

Residence: Minneapolis

Family: Husband, Bill Svrluga

Education: Bachelor's degree in housing and community development, University of Minnesota; master's in criminal justice, Concordia University

Employment: Deputy Minneapolis police chief

Political experience: None

Rebecca Otto

Age: 43 Residence: Marine on St. Croix

Family: Husband, Shawn; one son

Education: Bachelor's degree in biology, Macalester College; master's in education, University of Minnesota

Employment: Former business owner

Political experience: District 52B state representative, 2003-04; Forest Lake School Board member, 2001-03

— Compiled by Danielle Cabot