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 Rebecca
Otto's
news to supporters
May 5,
2007
We'd like to update you on a very
productive first four months at the State Auditor's office.
Rebecca has been slowly and carefully implementing changes in the
Auditor's office to address the concerns she campaigned on.
1. VISION
Rebecca has worked hard to change the State Auditor's dealings with
local governments from reactive and punitive to proactive and
preventative.
2. NONPARTISAN LEADERSHIP
Rebecca has made several key moves to insure that the office is well
managed and non-political. The result has been dozens of thank-you
letters from constituents and local governments on the rapid response
from the office.
3. PERSONAL VISITS
In addition to the management steps she's implemented at the main
office, Rebecca has also traveled the state and personally visited with
employees in each of the State Auditor's satellite offices throughout
Greater Minnesota, communicating her vision for the office, listening to
their ideas on how to continue to improve what we do, and getting to
know them.
4. REACHING OUT
Rebecca has been reaching out in other ways as well. She has been
working across the aisles at both the executive level and in the
legislature to get important bills passed that allow local governments
to comply with changing accounting standards, as well as other important
bills that allow for better oversight of local government spending.
She has also met with several agency commissioners in an effort to work
together in government to avoid duplication of efforts, and to open
lines of communication for better government, which benefits all
Minnesotans.
5. STABLIZING FUNDING
In the legislature, Rebecca has personally worked to shepherd her
office's funding bill through the process, asking the House and Senate
for an appropriation for staff retention so that she does not lose any
more staff. It is necessary for them to carry out their statutory work
in a high quality and timely manner. She has also worked for funding
to audit the JOBZ program, which the office was given oversight of in
2005.
6. MAKING SURE THE NUMBERS ADD UP
Another campaign promise Rebecca made was that she would work to make
sure the numbers add up. During the campaign she had discovered
millions of dollars in errors in government reports. You'll be pleased
to know that Rebecca is continuing her financial vigilance. She serves
on 6 State Boards, and has already caught some errors in numbers she
discovered that were incorrect in a few Board packets. While errors are
always possible, Rebecca's attention to detail is serving Minnesotans
well.
7. ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT
In addition to regular news about her office, Rebecca has been helping
to bring more visibility to environmental concerns. Due to Rebecca and
Shawn?s commitment to living green values for over 12 years with their
renewable energy home and wind generator, members of the media have
asked her to share her experience, as it is very topical right now.
Rebecca has agreed to do this in newspaper articles such as a recent
Doug Grow piece in the Star Tribune. Rebecca has also spoken with Don
Shelby for about 20 minutes on WCCO radio in April, talking about her
home and educating listeners about renewable energy. Rebecca will also
be appearing soon on the Newsmaker series on CNN. It is a 5 minute
interview with Colleen Needles about the Office of the State Auditor.
If you have cable, let Rebecca know what you think!
8. YOUR HELP NEEDED
Rebecca has been traveling the state to speak at local gatherings
whenever her schedule permits. Your
contribution will help her continue to
be accessible to citizens throughout the state, and help pay for
continued excellent leadership and communication on issues that affect
all Minnesotans. Please make an
online contribution to support this
important work.
Thank you!
___________________________
Rebecca Otto won by the widest margin against an incumbent since 1894.
She is the first female democrat to be elected State Auditor of
Minnesota.
She received more votes than any State Auditor in Minnesota history.
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