League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
State of Ohio November 2, 2010 Election
	David Pepper 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?

Transparency has been a hallmark of my public service. I have pushed to make meetings, public work and spending as accessible as possible. And I was recognized by a local newspaper as the most transparent public official. The Auditor`s office is uniquely situated to champion transparency, including strict adherence to sunshine and open-records laws. The most important step is to ensure that all officials know the details of both sunshine and public records laws, and why strict adherence to them is so important for open government. At the same time, the Auditor must inform citizens of their rights to open government, and their remedies if those rules are not followed. More broadly, the Auditor`s role as a financial watchdog means that he/she should champion transparency in other ways. I will provide a user-friendly, open window into spending, results/performance, and other government work at all levels.

2. What are your priorities for the auditor's office?

The Auditor can play a key role in ensuring that Ohio competes in this tough 21st century economy. To compete, we need more effective, more efficient, less wasteful government. And we need to prioritize investments that attract and retain companies, jobs and a strong workforce. As Auditor, my priorities will be to serve these ends by: Eliminating waste, fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars. Working with state and local governments to reduce costs Making Ohio competitive for job growth by improving efficiency and reforming government This is exactly the record I have built. I have worked tirelessly to make government efficient, keep costs down, promote ethics and prioritize investments in long-term growth. As a result, we reduced County spending by $60 million, to the lowest level in more than a decade, while making investments to spur economic growth and create jobs.

3. How would you help local and state government agencies deal with the fiscal challenges they are facing today?

Ohio`s Auditor is well-positioned to help government at all levels save tax dollars through efficiencies and reforms. 13 I will take the approach we see from other State Auditors in the country: rooting out waste, fraud and abuse while championing performance audits, best practices reviews, cost-saving reforms such as shared services/consolidation, targeting efficiencies and benchmarking performance. In my years in public service, this is the work I've done. I have balanced budgets and made the tough choices that Mayors, Commissioners and Councilmembers are facing today. In Hamilton County, I pushed for ways to make government more efficient, share and consolidate services, keep costs down, and prioritize investments in long-term growth. As a result, we have reduced spending in the County by $60 million, to the lowest level in more than a decade, while making investments to spur economic growth and create jobs.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. 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: September 24, 2010 18:09
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