Mr. Pepper, a lawyer with two degrees from Yale, first ran for city council in the wake of racial riots in Cincinnati in 2001 and was picked by voters from a field that included 26 candidates. He narrowly lost a run for mayor of Cincinnati in 2005. Then in 2006, he won a hard-fought race against a high-profile Republican for county commission. That was no easy feat, requiring independent and Republican votes. Democrats are hopeful his crossover appeal and hard-fought past political battles translate to the state level.
Mr. Yost, also an attorney, was county auditor in Delaware County from 1999 to 2003 before taking over as the county’s prosecuting attorney. He says he is the only candidate with relevant experience. But Mr. Yost is really a prosecutor by trade. In fact, he started out this year running for Ohio attorney general before a Republican Party deal brokered to protect Mike DeWine from a primary challenge landed him in the state auditor’s race. (He defeated Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, in the Republican primary for auditor in May.)
The major policy disagreement between the two men surrounds the use of “performance audits,” special examinations of public agencies that seek to squeeze waste out of their operations while improving service. Usually they are performed only when a public office requests the review or in cases of financial crisis.
Mr. Yost wants performance audits to become routine, scheduling them publicly in advance over five years. He argues that would create incentives for agencies to improve their practices. Mr. Pepper wants to do more performance audits, too, but he would develop criteria based on agency size, risk, strategic value and potential savings to decide where to take a closer look. He says his process is based on best practices from other states, notably Washington, where he says a similar performance audit process saved $478 million.
Mr. Pepper’s idea is more cutting-edge and is a better bet for bigger savings. His other proposals also are patterned after successful programs elsewhere. Ohio, he says, could save money by sharing services across jurisdictions the way states like New York and New Jersey have. He argues the state could study, catalogue and share best practices, as Minnesota does.
Mr. Pepper is fond of saying the auditor could serve as the “quarterback” of the state’s efforts to increase efficiency. It’s an unfortunate metaphor. There can only be one quarterback among the elected statewide officeholders — the governor. Mr. Pepper, who sounds like a man with higher office in mind for the future, will have to keep his ambition in check to be effective as auditor.
In this race, however, he has a grander vision, better ideas, and is more driven. Mr. Pepper is the better choice.