Reprinted from

Otto looks to unseat Anderson as auditor
For DFL auditor candidate, it's all in the numbers
By BILL HANNA
Mesabi Daily News
Saturday, October 07th, 2006

VIRGINIA — Rebecca Otto says the numbers just don’t add up when she looks at the tenure the last four years of her opponent, Republican state Auditor Patricia Anderson.

And the Democrat and former state representative from the Stillwater area hopes that adds up to a numbers victory at the polls on Nov. 7.

“The auditor should be someone who works with local governments and helps them when necessary. She should not be someone who champions a cut in Local Government Aid and then tries to tell counties and cities that they are better off and local property taxes would have gone up anyway,” Otto said during a recent campaign visit to the Iron Range.

Otto was referring to Anderson’s activist’s role in promoting and helping push through the Legislature large LGA cuts more than three years ago to help solve the state’s $4.5 billion budget deficit.

According to Otto, that resulted in property taxes going up $2.1 billion, while taxpayers faced another $1.2 billion in fee increases.

“All that did was increase property taxes on a local level. It was a shell game with numbers that really hurt those that most need that aid returned from St. Paul,” Otto said.

Otto travels on the campaign trail armed with documentation of numbers that she says represents Anderson’s misrepresentation of accurate figures. She even has a four-page sheet that’s labeled “State Auditor Times.” The headlines are about numbers:

“Rebecca Otto discovers $12 million error in MN Dept. of Education fiscal report.”

“3 laptops with sensitive identity info stolen from Auditor’s office.”

“The history of ‘no new taxes’ in Minnesota.”

“A ‘property tax’ grab.”

“No new tax rhetoric drives fees up.”

“School property taxes nearly double.”

And those are only part of the headlines, with several graphics accompanying the copy.

There are no shades of gray in the candidates’ disagreement on the LGA issue. In an earlier interview, Anderson claims with pride her role in successfully advocating for the cuts. Otto is adamant in just how hurtful she believes they are to communities.

“Everyone had to share the pain when we had such a huge deficit. That was the reality and some hard decisions needed to be made,” Anderson said.

“That is just plain wrong. It was all part of the cover for a governor who pledged no new tax increases and then shifted that burden onto local property taxes, not to mention all the fee increases,” Otto said.

“She advocated the governor’s agenda and is proud of it. Meanwhile, communities had to cut everything from public safety to local health care. It was good for some of the more well-off communities, but not for the entire state. That’s not supposed to be the role of a state auditor.”

Otto said she would bring a different style to the office.

“I will be a true watchdog for all local governments. And I will work with them, not against them,” she said.