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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Democratic candidate for Ohio state auditor outlined his policy goals Wednesday, naming as priorities efforts to quantify the impact charter schools have on traditional districts and beefing up the office website.
State Rep. John Patrick Carney, a third-term lawmaker from Columbus, said he wants to increase transparency and public access. Carney is challenging first-term Republican Auditor Dave Yost, a former journalist and county prosecutor.
Carney said he would institute annual assessments of the fiscal impact publicly-funded charter schools have on traditional schools and those results would be made widely available. Carney also proposed establishing a rapid-response audit division for serious allegations of waste, fraud and abuse.
Carney, who says Yost has failed to crack down on misbehaving charter schools, said the unit would be activated whenever substantial credible evidence arose in a case.
"It is the auditor's job to watch out for Ohioans and make sure taxpayers know where their money is going," he said. "We need someone in office that's going to stand up for the taxpayers. Not for political bosses, not for partisan politics, not for anybody else, but for the taxpayers."
Yost campaign spokeswoman Brittany Halpin said the work of Yost's office has produced 80 criminal convictions over the past four years, including 22 tied to charter schools.
Among Yost's highest profile efforts have been a statewide investigation of attendance tampering in Ohio's public schools and his audit of JobsOhio, the privatized economic-development office of Gov. John Kasich, a fellow Republican.
Halpin said: "Voters will care more about Auditor Yost's record than his opponent's expensive, unfunded campaign promises."
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Online:
Carney campaign: http://votecarney.com/
Yost campaign: http://www.daveyost.com/
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