Malcolm Kenyatta (l) and Tim DeFoor (campaign photos)
The candidates, the ballot measures, and the tools you need to cast your vote.
The Pennsylvania auditor general is the commonwealth’s chief fiscal officer, charged with policing the state and local agencies that receive and spend taxpayers’ money.
As one of the state’s three elected row offices, the auditor general’s office comes with a bully pulpit of sorts in choosing which policies and programs to scrutinize.
DeFoor faces a reelection challenge from Democratic state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay person of color elected to state office in 2018. Among the most vocally progressive members of the House Democratic Caucus, Kenyatta, of Philadelphia, emerged on the statewide political stage as a candidate for party’s the U.S. Senate nomination in 2022.
The Capital-Star asked DeFoor and Kenyatta why they’re qualified for the job of auditor general, why voters should trust them and how they would run the office over the next four years.
Incumbent: Tim DeFoor
Pa. Auditor General Tim DeFoor (Commonwealth Media Services).
Tim DeFoor is a Harrisburg native and served as an investigator for the Pennsylvania Office of Inspector General seeking out fraud, waste and abuse in state government. He then worked as a special agent for the state Office of the Attorney General investigating medicaid fraud and illegal prescription drug diversion. He also worked as a fraud investigator for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and for several federal agencies. He was elected Dauphin County Controller in 2015.
Q: You released an audit in 2023 of several school districts that looked at their rainy day funds, and were criticized at the time for a lack of understanding about how district budgets operate. How would you reassure voters that you understand the complexities of the role of auditor general?
A: If you look at the report in question, this was an audit that, in summation, examined a process. The audit had two objectives; (1.) Determine whether school districts appropriately used the Pennsylvania Department of Education referendum exception method to raise local school property taxes; (2.) Determine if school districts ensured that fund balances were properly designated and used for intended purposes. In this case, we found that the process allowed for a legal loophole to cut taxpayers out of a decision that impacts their local communities, and we provided recommendations on how to improve that process.
In my 30-year career, I have conducted fraud investigations and have performed financial, internal and forensic audits at all levels of government and in the private sector. The lead auditor for this audit was an attorney, certified public accountant, certified fraud examiner and a former chief financial officer for a central PA school district. A subject matter expert in this area. I stand by the report and the auditors who performed it.
We have a staff made of career auditors, certified public accountants, certified internal auditors, attorneys, certified fraud examiners. Many of them have between 25 and 35 years of service, myself included. Our auditors follow and are trained on the standards and guidelines of the Controller General of the United States, and the Pennsylvania Fiscal code which gives us our power and authority. Staff auditors and other staff are often asked to be subject matter expert presenters at national conferences based on the work and the audits we have performed.
Q: You’ve recently been criticized for auditing PennDOT as other Republicans questioned the agency’s automatic voter registration process in the weeks before the election. How would you reassure voters that this, and other audits conducted by your office, are not politically motivated?
A: It is disheartening that so many baseless assumptions have been made about an audit that is unlikely to be completed until next spring or summer. This is a new program. It is standard audit practice to audit any new program, government or non-government. There are two things that are important to remember about the work of the Department of the Auditor General. First, our audits take time to complete, often months and sometimes years. Secondly, performance audits look at how programs funded with state tax dollars are performing, nothing else. They’re designed to be objective reviews informing everyone from the Governor to your average citizen how government funded programs are working.
It is unfortunate that audits meant to determine if a system or process is working have now become a political weapon depending on what side of the aisle you are on.
Q: How can the next Pennsylvania auditor general improve the office’s performance as the state’s fiscal watchdog?
A: Workforce development, implementing auditing best practices, and continued process improvements.
The office will need to continue to recruit the best and brightest that Pennsylvania has to offer. I have traveled to every state owned and state-related university, as well as community colleges, looking for our next generation of auditors to help with our workload. With an aging workforce, making sure that we rebolster our bench with qualified individuals is critical.
We will continue to groom the next generation of department leadership by providing a career ladder to the newest members of our staff and senior members of our staff, which includes management classes and training, opportunities to continue their education or obtain an advanced college degree, and certifications as a certified public accountant, certified fraud examiner, or certified internal auditor.
We have introduced new auditing methodologies, such as limited procedure engagements and reduced period engagements. This allows us to streamline the audit process, reducing the amount of time it takes to perform an audit, in some cases by months. Limited procedure engagements and reduced period engagements allow the department to audit based on risk and vulnerabilities to the Commonwealth.
We have also obtained auditing software which has allowed the department to better organize audit workpaper by going 100% paperless.
We created a transformation officer position to assure that we are continuing to implement process improvement initiatives at every level of the department.
Q: Which of the initiatives you’ve enacted during your tenure are you most satisfied with?
A: Everything. I’m not kidding. I’m satisfied with everything that we have done in the department. I’m satisfied with what we have done internally for our employees, to recruit new staff through our “Intern To Hire” initiative. I’m satisfied with what we’ve done in the community highlighting financial literacy through our “Be Money Smart” financial literacy initiative, which ultimately led to Pennsylvania becoming the 25th state in the country to require financial literacy courses for high school students.
I’m satisfied with the transformation of the department where employee input was the driving factor. I’m satisfied with the way we have transformed audits to focus on the issues, not just the problems, and developing common sense solutions on how to fix those issues, if any.
I can’t pick just one.
Q: If you’re reelected, what will be your priorities for the auditor general’s office over the next four years?
A: To do the job the way it’s supposed to be done. I will not produce any work or make any promises that I know I can’t deliver on. I will focus on the work the way the law has stated it is to be done. I have done this type of work my entire 30-year career. If the citizens of this Commonwealth give me another opportunity to do right by them, I will continue to work to make the Department of the Auditor General a legitimate auditing shop, not an office utilized for future political aspirations. I will continue to work on process improvements throughout state government, implement risk-based approaches to auditing, and provide transparency for taxpayers.
Over the next four years, we will focus on areas where there are risks and vulnerabilities to the Commonwealth, such as healthcare. Hopefully, if given the authority by the legislature, we will expand our pharmacy benefit manager audit authority to other than Medicaid. We will also continue to develop a forensic audit section, something that we currently don’t have but is needed. We will make sure the transformations that we initiated in the first term become standard practice in the second. What we are doing is simply not just for the DeFoor administration, but for auditor generals over the next decades.
I have only ever run for two political offices (Dauphin County Controller and Pennsylvania Auditor General), both centered around auditing and financial management. I am an auditor. This is the work that I want to do and that I feel is my responsibility to do. I have worked hard to return this office back to its intended functions and, if re-elected, will continue to do as such.
Challenger Malcolm Kenyatta
Malcolm Kenyatta was born and raised in Philadelphia where he graduated from Temple University with a degree in public communications and a minor in political science. After he was elected to the state House, Kenyatta completed public policy training at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 2019. His career experience includes roles in the graduate medical education department at Hahnemann University Hospital and as diversity and inclusion engagement coordinator for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
Q: You’re in your second term as a state Representative but besides that, your experience does not include accounting or auditing. What makes you qualified for the job and how would you reassure voters that you understand the complexities of the role of auditor general?
A: The job of Auditor General is serious and I’m ready to serve on day one, that’s why I’m running. Neither myself or my opponent have degrees in accounting, nor has any Auditor General since it became an elected role in 1850. I’m running because I know it matters whether or not our government delivers for Pennsylvania’s working and middle class families. That being said, competence and readiness graded solely on my major is wholly insufficient.
My experience is deep — and includes three terms in the legislature working on the very budgetary appropriations that I would review as Auditor General. My experience serving on committees like Finance (where I chair the subcommittee on financial services and banking) and Commerce require a deep understanding of fiscal and tax policy, which I’ve ably displayed during my tenure. I’ve worked to cut taxes, fought to cut regulations, and to demand the ethical reforms that a majority of Pennsylvania’s support.
Prior to joining the legislature I also worked for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce directly supporting businesses throughout southeastern Pennsylvania.
The support I’ve earned from Gov. Shapiro and others is not reflexive, it’s a testament to the work I’ve done and the experience that I would bring to this role. But it’s also about my vision and I think that is what is at issue in this campaign.
Q: You’re currently seeking reelection to your state House seat at the same time you’re campaigning for auditor general. How would you reassure voters that you’re committed to the auditor general position if you win both elections?
A: If the voters of Pennsylvania elect me to be the next Auditor General I will resign my seat in the state house and commit to serving my full term.
Kenyatta massively outraises incumbent Auditor General DeFoor according to latest financial reports
Q: How can the next Pennsylvania auditor general improve the office’s performance as the state’s fiscal watchdog?
A: Tim DeFoor has failed, I won’t. Tim closed the Bureau of School Audits, I’ll reopen it. Tim has been asleep at the wheel, I’ll lead this department with the vision it demands. I’ve also committed to building the first of its kind Bureau of Labor and Worker protections to aggressively ensure that our labor laws are enforced and our pensions protected. I will also build out the office capacity to do forensic audits to take a deeper look into how state dollars have deployed. Finally I’ll bring in the best talent to make sure we can execute on the mandated audits and the special/performance audits that require our attention.
Q: Which piece of legislation you introduced as a state representative are you most satisfied with/proud of?
A: Being a good legislator requires you to leave your ego at the door to get things done. During my time in the house I can highlight two great examples: The first is my work with Rep. Jennifer O’Mara (D-Delaware) on campus hunger at our community, state, and private colleges. While our legislation to create a Hunger Free Campus grant program did not pass as a stand alone, it was added to the fiscal code and for the past three budgets has included one million dollars to fund food pantries on college campuses across Pennsylvania. The second is a bill I introduced in my first term with Rep. Andrew Lewis (R-Dauphin) to reform our state licensing process. While it did not become law, Gov. Shapiro signed an administrative directive early on in his administration that reflected many of our priorities. That desire to advance good ideas, in whatever format that is possible speaks to how I would work collaboratively to ensure my audit findings results in real change for Pennsylvania’s families.
Q: If you’re elected, what will be your priorities for the auditor general’s office over the next four years?
A: First, rebuild the Bureau of School Audits and conduct an audit of school facilities and deferred maintenance plans. Second, create the Bureau of Labor and Worker Protections. Three create a public facing system that shows the public in real time the status of audits so they can better understand and engage with the work we do.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.