HARRISBURG — Voters will have five candidates for Pennsylvania auditor general to choose from on Nov. 5.
Incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor, a Republican, was first elected in 2020 and is seeking a second term. He faces Democratic state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Alan “Bob” Goodrich of the Constitution Party, Libertarian Reece Smith, and the American Solidarity Party’s Eric K. Anton.
The auditor general monitors how public dollars are spent to catch waste, fraud, and graft. The office does this by conducting financial audits and monitoring whether state-funded programs are doing what they’re supposed to.
Learn more about DeFoor below:
Who is Tim DeFoor?
Website
A Dauphin County native, DeFoor graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
DeFoor, 62, served as a special agent for the state attorney general’s office, investigating Medicaid fraud. He was also a fraud investigator and internal auditor for UPMC and for several federal contractors.
In 2015, DeFoor was elected Dauphin County controller. There, he won national awards and created the county’s first audit division.
In 2020, DeFoor was elected Pennsylvania’s auditor general, defeating Democrat Nina Ahmad. DeFoor is the first person of color to win a state row office in Pennsylvania and the first Republican to hold the auditor general position since 1997.
In his announcement that he would run for reelection, DeFoor said his first term focused on transforming the auditor general’s office in a nonpartisan way, and vowed that his second would center on “ensuring the job gets done.”
DeFoor has primarily stuck to the office’s required functions: auditing local pension plans and volunteer firefighters’ relief associations, and making sure county offices and district courts handle state money properly.
He’s also tackled a handful of controversial issues. In September 2021, he released an audit on former Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic waivers that allowed select businesses to remain open amid lockdown. He found that the program was confusing and flawed.
He also released an audit that claimed a dozen school districts had raised local taxes “while holding millions of dollars in their General Funds.” He said the audit identified districts that were moving around money to meet the state threshold to raise taxes, which he called a “shell game.” Critics said DeFoor lacked an understanding of the districts’ budgeting processes.
DeFoor also closed the bureau that audited schools, which his office said at the time led to 11 layoffs. A spokesperson says eight of those employees applied for and were hired into other audit bureaus, while three did not interview and pursued employment elsewhere. Those responsibilities were transferred back to the state Department of Education.
According to his campaign website, DeFoor’s second-term priorities include:
DeFoor serves on the Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation Board of Directors, the State YMCA of Pennsylvania Board of Directors, and the Chris “Handles” Franklin Foundation Board of Directors. He is a member of the Greater Harrisburg Area NAACP and the Pennsylvania State Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #78.
A month after DeFoor took office as auditor general in 2021, Kenyatta questioned him about election fraud claims at a state House committee hearing. At the time, skepticism about election integrity was high among Republicans after former President Donald Trump baselessly insisted his election had been subject to widespread fraud.
“I believe my election was fair,” DeFoor said. “As far as anybody else’s election, that’s a conversation that you would have to have with them, but I haven’t heard any complaints with regards to my specific election.”
Later that year, legislative Republicans boosted funding for his office in line with his budget request. However, GOP leaders said the funding was for DeFoor to audit election results.
In response, DeFoor argued that he lacked the authority to do so, and Wolf ended up vetoing the additional funding.
Endorsements: the Pennsylvania Republican Party; Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police; Pennsylvania State Troopers Association; Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry; Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association.
>>READ MORE: Your guide to candidates for auditor general
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