League of Women Voters of Ohio
Ohio State Government November 7, 2006 Election
	Barbara Sykes Answers Questions Candidate for Auditor of State; State of Ohio

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What would you do to enforce Ohio's sunshine laws and open-records policy, given increased difficulty in accessing public records? (150 word limit)

Currently, the Auditor's office trains and educates local government units on Ohio Sunshine laws by request. As State Auditor, I will expand this program through additional personnel to provide continuous education throughout the year to all units of government. I believe the Auditor's office can no longer maintain a passive approach to this issue, but is obligated to proactively educate citizens and local government units alike of the laws designed to protect and inform Ohio taxpayers.

Additionally, because the State Auditor's office is the single entity dealing with all Ohio public agencies, I will work to create a non-binding audit of each agency's open records policies as part of the audit process. Each annual audit will include a review of compliance with Ohio's sunshine laws, document retention policies, and staff training. I believe that the simple act of requiring agencies to report their public records procedures will increase compliance significantly.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. 150 Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 10, 2006 08:37
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