Linn County Auditor candidates stress transparency, fiscal responsibility

CEDAR RAPIDS — The two candidates running for an open seat as Linn County Auditor say they believe transparency and financial responsibility are the most important issues facing the office, and each suggests changes they say would strengthen procedures.

Incumbent Joel Miller has served as Linn County’s auditor since 2007, but announced last year he would not run for re-election — opening the job that pays over $135,000 a year being the commissioner of elections, preparing and certifying tax levies to all taxing entities in the county and providing accounting and clerk services for the county, among other responsibilities.

Republican Terry Chostner, a sales engineer from Alburnett, and Democrat Todd Taylor, a state senator from Cedar Rapids, are running against each other for the position in the Nov. 5 election.

Terry Chostner

Chostner said he is running because he has a “passion for financial responsibility and love the community I’ve been part of for 24 years.”

His 40 years of high-tech manufacturing experience, including electronics, quality management and sales engineering, has made him “uniquely qualified at creating capable systems,” which he plans to bring to the auditor’s office.

Chostner, who has volunteered as a poll worker and polling site chair, said the residents he has heard from want to be able to trust their elections are accurate and their taxes are being “wisely” spent.

“The auditor's office should communicate transparently via the website, which will (provide) a dashboard of the live data,” Chostner said. “The auditor should address election quality using statistical process control and budgets using return on investment analysis.”

Chostner said, as part of continuous improvements for the office, he would apply a “quality tool” used in the manufacturing process that identifies and measures “critical characteristics, the variation is calculated, and then you know how capable the process is.”

Chostner also noted he is good with budgets and the auditor’s office is “budget central” for government entities in Linn County.

“At home, we follow Dave Ramsey’s program,” Chostner said, referring to the author and radio host known for his financial insights. “In business, my customers have saved millions doing ROIs (return on investments) with me. Here’s how it works: Ask the best questions and listen to gather costs, calculate benefits of the new process or technology, total the cost of ownership, and calculate the return time, which usually average a 12-month payback.”

Chostner said he would make transparency a priority, achieving that through “honesty and integrity. Honesty to the truth no matter where it leads and integrity to communicate it to the public.”

Todd Taylor

Taylor said he had his “turn at making laws” and now he wants to continue serving the public and following those election laws. He served in the Iowa Legislature for three decades.

The most important issues facing the auditor’s office is maintaining voters’ belief in the “multilayered checks and balances” of the voting systems, following the election laws and prioritizing transparency, accountability and efficiency in the office, he said.

“I pledge to keep all parties involved in our process to ensure the faith in the system we have and which we must maintain,” he said.

In the Legislature, Taylor served on the Appropriations and State Government committees, where state spending decisions are made and where voting laws are created, he noted.

“This direct experience, over many years, makes me well prepared to be the next Linn County Auditor,” Taylor said. “I have had a leadership role in the development of our state’s budget. This skill set will transfer well in making the office of Linn County Auditor reflective of the needs of transparency, toward efficiency and engagement in the public trust of our election system.”

Taylor said he plans to increase outreach in the community through public forums and school visits, increase new and young voter involvement, particularly with voter registration initiatives including through high school government and social studies classes.

Taylor said it’s also important to maintain financial integrity of the office to keep “public trust” in the office. “We have this now, but I will work toward improving it through regular access to the press and an open-door policy to grant access to decisions made throughout my first term,” he said.

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