For city auditor and city attorney
Megan N. Kilgore, Zach Klein clearly best
Few election contests have such clear-cut choices— and carry such momentous consequences for the future stability of the nation’s 14th largest city and the livability of its neighborhoods — as the Nov. 7 races for Columbus city auditor and city attorney.
The city must replace two retiring officeholders of integrity, vision and encyclopedic knowledge: Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian and City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr.
To assure these offices remain in competent hands, The Dispatch strongly endorses Democrats Megan N. Kilgore for Columbus city auditor and Zach Klein for Columbus city attorney.
Kilgore is head-andshoulders more qualified than her opponent. It’s a fact retired IBM executive Bob Mealy seems to also recognize: The Republican says Kilgore can eventually take over the office, since he plans to use the city auditor’s office as a stepping-stone to run for Congress.
City residents deserve an auditor dedicated to running a complicated organization that preserves the city’s financial stability, and one who has prepared for this enormous task and who understands its duties, its authority through law, and its power through strong leadership.
Kilgore is 35, but it is hard to grasp her relative youth given her lengthy experience and a gravitas that mirrors that of a younger Dorrian. This is no coincidence: Dorrian schooled Kilgore as his successor to assure this office would be in solid hands.
Kilgore served as assistant city auditor to Dorrian for 11 years; she currently works in the private sector as a municipal adviser, working with cities, counties, utilities, school districts and economicdevelopment districts to help them plan and finance public projects. She also advises government leaders, creates financial models, analyzes market conditions and assists with government presentations to rating agencies.
In short, she is already an experienced auditor. Kilgore holds a master’s degree in public administration from Northwestern University and teaches public administration at the Ohio State University.
She has the skills, fidelity and experience to become an outstanding city auditor.
In the race for city attorney, Klein is the obvious choice to head an office that serves as the city’s legal adviser, prosecutor and litigator. He ran unsuccessfully last year for Franklin County prosecutor, but is far better suited to the city attorney’s office given his background as the president of Columbus City Council and a genuine bent for community engagement — to address social problems and to help neighborhoods rise.
Klein, 38, is a graduate of Capital Law School and previously served as deputy chief of legal services for then-Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and as a special assistant U.S. Attorney.
First elected to the council in 2011, Klein has worked to equip city police officers with body cameras and create city licensing requirements to shut down properties operating as havens for criminals.
He wants to focus on fighting the scourge of opioid addiction, enacting criminal-justice reforms and continuing the office’s aggressive codeenforcement efforts. Klein’s knowledge of the city and its people, as well as his desire to improve this community, would make him a forceful advocate for Columbus residents.
To continue strong leadership in Columbus, The Dispatch endorses Megan N. Kilgore for city auditor and Zach Klein for city attorney.