Republican State Auditor Josh Gallion, left, and Democrat Tim Lamb will face off in the state auditor race in November. (Photos provided via the North Dakota Monitor)
(North Dakota Monitor) -For North Dakota’s two state auditor candidates, this race is all about transparency and accessibility.
The State Auditor’s Office is in charge of providing auditing, accounting and financial services to state agencies and local governments. Its main job is to see whether the government is complying with financial regulations.
Incumbent Josh Gallion, a Republican, and Democratic-NPL challenger Tim Lamb will face off on the ballot Nov. 5.
Gallion was first elected to the office in 2016. He ran against Libertarian Roland Riemers in the general election, and came away with about 77% of the vote.
He was reelected in 2020, winning roughly 68% of the vote against Democratic-NPL candidate Patrick Hart.
Before becoming auditor, Gallion spent five years in the Air Force. His job was to coordinate deployments, he said — which involved, among other things, making sure people had the proper qualifications and all the necessary documentation on file for wherever they were going.
“I love the structure, I love the discipline, the organization,” he said.
He also previously worked for the North Dakota Public Service Commission and the Department of Transportation.
The State Auditor’s Office has modernized under his leadership, Gallion said — including digitizing state records that previously only existed on paper, updating technology and making it easier for employees to work remotely.
His office has also focused on making audit reports more digestible to the general public, said Gallion.
“I want to make sure that we are putting out audit reports that when people pick them up, they can understand what it is that we found,” he said.
Another priority has been relaxing audit requirements for small local governments.
During the 2023 session, his office supported a bill that allowed local governments with less than $2 million in annual revenues to no longer pay for an audit every two years. Instead, they undergo a simpler financial review. Previously, that annual revenue ceiling was $750,000.
Lamb, an attorney from Grand Forks, said North Dakota’s Republican-dominated government stands in the way of the state truly being transparent and accountable to its people.
“Everything’s governed by one party, and it’s kind of led to a lot of corruption in government,” he said.
Lamb formerly ran as the Democratic-NPL candidate for attorney general in 2022. He received about 29% of the vote, losing to Republican Drew Wrigley.
Like Gallion, Lamb also has a military background, serving in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years and retiring at the rank of major. He said his experience in the military has made him an effective leader with strong attention to detail.
”In my experience in the Army — being a major, and particularly being a captain overseas, and being in staff positions, I understand how organizations work,” he said.
Lamb formed a nonprofit consulting business to help the Grand Forks community recover in the wake of the Red River flood of 1997. One of the organization’s accomplishments was helping to develop a $20 million housing project, according to Lamb’s resume.
He went on to earn his law degree from the University of North Dakota and is now a private practice attorney.
Lamb argued his opponent does not have the trust of North Dakota residents. He pointed to concerns about local government audit costs that spurred the Legislature in 2023 to order a performance audit of the State Auditor’s Office.
Gallion has called the performance audit unnecessary, and said his office is already routinely evaluated on both its performance and its financial statements.
He said his administration has also worked hard to correct concerns voiced by local governments.
The Auditor’s Office now provides cost estimates before any client signs onto an assessment. The proposals also include not-to-exceed clauses, meaning clients must agree before any costs change.
Lamb also drew attention to a video posted to Facebook which showed Gallion in his office announcing his endorsement of three Republican District 30 candidates ahead of the primary election.
“I wouldn’t use the office to endorse other candidates,” Lamb said.
Gallion said that the video was erroneously posted by the District 30 candidates’ campaigns and quickly removed.
“That should have never been put online,” he said.
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