Auditors are arguably the most important elected officials in government—as well as the least known. These are the powerful nerds who dig into files reporters never get to see in order to reveal mismanagement, waste, and abuse in government programs. These are the clear-eyed folks who sift through budgets and talk to staffers to discover inequity and other issues that prevent good governance. The county’s auditing team is small—just eight staffers—but with a determined leader, it can have a massive impact.
We believe that leader is Jennifer McGuirk. She has the inside knowledge from already working within the current auditor’s office, but also has a revolutionary attitude. McGuirk views the role of the auditor as one who dares to “dig into the facts so we can hold government accountable,” and says she’s in favor of follow-up audits and creating public pressure to force government agencies to change for the better. That means she’ll be sharing inside info with the press, and, predictably, we’re big fans of that.