from the Sandusky Register:
State Rep. Keith Faber, R-Celina, says he’s running for state auditor because it offers a chance to save taxpayer money and make government do a better job.
“It is the one state agency that can have a direct impact on whether government works better for Ohioans,” said Faber, 51, who is the former president of the Ohio Senate. He moved to the House after term limits ended his Senate service.
Faber appeared Thursday on “Between the Lines Live,” the Register’s public affairs program. The video is available for on demand viewing at the Register’s website.
The candidate has no declared Republican opponents so far for state auditor. The job is currently held by Dave Yost, who is running for attorney general. Former U.S. Rep. Zack Space of Dover is a Democratic candidate for state auditor.
Faber said that the state auditor’s job has three main elements:
(1) Catching people who are “lying, cheating and stealing”;
(2) Training local government officials on how to comply with state laws, and
(3) Doing performance audits to see if government entities can do a better job and save money.
He said that as a state lawmaker, he discovered that Ohio spends $40 million for software for state licenses, as opposed to Indiana, which spends $2 million.
Saving taxpayer money can either result in allowing state government to cut taxes, or to redirect money where it is needed, such as public education and fighting opiate addiction, he said.
Commenting on the controversy on whether Ohio has been lax in restraining the waste of taxpayer dollars by charter schools, Faber said lawmakers passed a bill to hold charter schools accountable when he was Senate president.
“I’m a strong supporter of school choice,” Faber said. But both charter schools and other public schools should be held accountable when necessary, he said.
Faber represents western Ohio’s 84th District, which includes Mercer County and portions of Auglaize, Darke and Shelby counties. An attorney in Celina, Faber earned his law degree from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Oakland University in Michigan. He and his wife have two children.