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Trying to distract from the facts

By Scott Tibbs, August 31, 2016

Ann Boehm is by far the best candidate on the ballot for Monroe County Auditor, which is why Leftists are desperately trying to distract from the discussion of qualifications for that office to anything else, including (and especially) engaging in personality conflicts.

I had a letter to the editor published last week supporting Boehm. The comment section for my letter, as always, attracted people who hate me personally on a visceral level. It speaks volumes that some of my critics are completely incapable of addressing a single argument I made or a single fact I presented in my LTTE.

The problem here is obvious. Monroe County government does not have a qualifications problem. Monroe County government has an integrity problem. This is why Boehm is focusing on integrity, transparency, and best practices. She has the accounting experience needed for this job. Boehm knows any elected official is only as good as his or her staff, which is why she has pledged to end the practice of firing employees without cause. That has happened far too often. With a good staff, one that is not afraid of vindictive firings, the Auditor's Office can be brought back to where it needs to be.

"Independent" candidate Therese Chambers cannot be trusted to do that. She admitted in the Herald-Times that she needs to "restore trust, honesty and integrity to the office" but has totally failed to do that as chief deputy under Amy Gerstman and Steve Saulter. Why should we trust Chambers to do that as elected Auditor? Simple: We cannot. Cathy Smith's management of the Treasurer's Office has been so inept that it cost county government a truckload of cash to fix and resulted in the county commissioners writing a letter to the county bonding agency expressing no confidence in her leadership.

Ann Boehm is the only choice for county auditor. If a human resources director was faced with these three candidates as the candidates for the job, the other two would not even get an interview. Voters need to look past partisanship and instead look at the best person for the job. It does not matter of that person is a Republican, a Democrat or a Democratic "independent" candidate. The auditor does not set public policy. The auditor's only job is to keep track of the county's finances and stand against theft and corruption. Boehm can be trusted to do that. Her opponents cannot.