Ohio: Mary Taylor

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's budget director says the Republican state auditor's
questioning of Ohio's financial condition hurts confidence in the state during tough economic
times.

Budget Director Pari Sabety told lawmakers today that Ohio's finances are in good condition.
Auditor Mary Taylor says Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's administration's failure to provide
necessary financial information has kept her from being able to conduct an audit.

Sabety says the first-time use of complicated state payroll and accounting software has delayed
the process. She says Ohio is on track to be faster than other states using similar payroll
systems.

Sabety says "exaggerated" claims hurt confidence at a time when Ohio is trying to raise money
through bonds.

The stakes are too high as Ohio navigates the perilous waters of the current recession.  That's why state of Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor should have known better than to call the state "unauditable" last week.

The basis for her stretcher (that's what we used to call lies in Southern Ohio) was the fact that an important end of fiscal year report was past due.  As the Auditor of State, her office has been kept abreast of the issues the state has had in transitioning to its new accounting system known as OAKS.  As the Auditor, she's been treated professionally and her staff always have had a seat at the table.

COLUMBUS -- State Auditor Mary Taylor blasted Gov. Ted Strickland's administration on Monday for failing to turn over basic financial reporting statements for fiscal 2008, making it impossible, she said, to perform a timely audit of the entire state government.

The lone Republican holding statewide executive office, Taylor ripped the Democratic governor's administration, saying the financial statements needed to reconcile the state's books are months late.

In fact, if the administration were a local government entity, Taylor said she would have already declared the administration "unauditable."

"The governor is not fulfilling a commitment to accountability and transparency that I believe Ohioans expect and demand," said Taylor during what was a rare news conference for her since becoming auditor in January 2007.

The Preamble of the Ohio Democratic Party's Constitution and Bylaws of 2007 states, that our party is organized to "sustain and advance the principles of democracy" and that one of the essential tenets of our party is that "We believe that there is no substitute for fair and equal representation and strong public participation in a government chose by election."

And yet, despite that being one of the fundamental principles of the Ohio Democratic Party, Chapter 9 of that same documents says:

"In any election year in which any statewide office . . . are to appear on the ballot, the Executive Committee shall be called for a meeting before the primary election and must carefully consider in each race the endorsement of one of more persons.