The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Westhoven challenging incumbent for Geauga County Auditor
Voters will decide who will become the next Geauga County Auditor in the Nov. 6 General Election.
Incumbent Republican Charles Walder is being challenged by Democrat Garrett Westhoven.
There are 66, 423 registered voters in the county, according to the county Elections Board.
The four-year term begins March 11. The Geauga County Auditor earns an annual salary of $68,390.
Here is some of what Walder and Westhoven had to say on the election questionnaires sent to them by The News-Herald:
Walder
Walder, 62, is a longtime Russell Township resident and previously served as the township’s fiscal officer for five years.
He is also a business owner and served as the treasurer of CMC Condominium Association, vice president and treasurer for the Geauga County Township Association, board member of Rescue Village, advisory board member at Kent State University Geauga and president Spinnaker Run Condominium Association.
“Since being appointed auditor on April 3, 2018, I have demonstrated that I will listen to and consider new and different perspectives,” Walder said. “I encourage open dialog both internally and externally to best understand all issues of a problem before determining a course of action. As the former founder and CEO of a technology company, I bring over 25 years of experience using a collaborative, team driven, management style that cultivates inclusive, strategic, problem solving and customer service.”
If re-elected, he plans to restore the public’s perception and confidence in the auditor’s office.
He said he will accomplish this by investigating and correcting procedural deficiencies, developing logical methodologies where necessary, and communicating information across departments to improve efficiencies and working relationships.
Walder also said he plans to offer periodic training workshops and tools for local governments and other taxing authorities to improve communication and standardize financial modeling, budgeting, and ballot issues.
Westhoven
Westhoven, 36, lives in Chester Township and is currently a web developer.
The three areas that he would like to improve is “corruption, technology and transparency.”
“The previous elected auditor plead guilty to dereliction of duty in the fallout of the alleged $1.8 million that was embezzled by IT staff from Geauga County,” he said. “We will take a hard look and policies and procedures to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Westhoven hopes to achieve this through increasing internal and external transparency, so employees can be empowered to come forward if they see corruption or mismanagement.
If elected, he also would like to “clean up” the Ohio checkbook entry to include line items for IT expenses and ensure expenses are under categories people can understand.
“It is clear that a lack knowledge of what is and isn’t needed from an IT perspective helped lead to a situation where IT staff could take advantage county officials,” Westhoven said. “With my background in IT I can focus on what are sensible directions and purchases in terms of hardware and software for the county.”
Essentially, Westhoven wants to ensure Geauga is in top financial shape, with an eye on technology to help the county be a leader in Ohio in the 21st century.