Election integrity is priority for county auditor candidates

Minnehaha County voters have two candidates from which to choose to serve as its county auditor in the Nov. 8 General Election. Leah Anderson is the Republican candidate and Brian Wirth is listed as the Democratic candidate. Following are their responses to a Brandon Valley Journal questionnaire.

LEAH ANDERSON

Sioux Falls • Republican

Accounting - 29 Years (7 years public accounting & 22 years corporate / mmall business accounting)

What motivates you to want to serve as the Minnehaha County Auditor?

For 26 years I have called Minnehaha County my home. I love our community and the people that live here. In 2019 I realized how quickly we can lose our freedoms and began pouring my time into following local government issues. God placed the desire to serve as Auditor on my heart and provided the path. Election Integrity is a deep concern of mine and I feel if we want to see it in our Country, we must make sure we have it at the local level.

What previous work experiences have you had that would be an asset in

serving as Minnehaha County Auditor?

At the age of 15 I began working with the public and in the area of finance. Since graduating from USD in 1993 I have spent 29 years in the Accounting industry. My first 7 years were in Public Accounting, mostly working on audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements. The remaining 22 years have been in corporate accounting at various levels. Currently, I am in charge of the accounting and human resource duties of a small business. This means that I do everything from payables, receivables, payroll, tax reporting, reconciliation, and review of employee benefits. I feel I have a servant heart and I love people.

If you are elected, how would the

 auditor’s office operate differently

than it does now?

Customer service, communication and transparency are top priorities. Also, I would strengthen key staff and volunteer relationships. Only 20 percent of the auditor’s duties are election-related, but those duties are important. The ballot-counting process should be accurate and timely. South Dakota is one of five states that does not do post-election audits. Instead, votes are tabulated, loaded onto a thumb drive, then transferred to the Secretary of State and certified without an audit. In my years of auditing financial statements, the numbers being reported must match supporting documents. The same should hold true when it comes to your vote.

Through the campaign process, what county auditor office-related issues that you’ve heard are of the utmost concern to Minnehaha County voters, and how do you plan to address 

these top concerns?

The most asked question I get when door knocking is “What does the auditor do?” This realization led me to begin publishing newsletters that explain topics related to the auditor. (www.LeahforAuditor.com/News)

The top concern voters have expressed is wanting to know their vote counts. Minnehaha County has election workers and staff that are honest and have integrity, but we can do more to improve voter confidence in our elections. Our voter rolls are not clean and should be more accurate so that people are voting in the district where they live. We should not be using Ballot Drop Boxes as they don’t comply with SD Law. Since our vote tabulation machines are controlled by a third party, auditors should audit the machine results to help ensure vote counts are accurate. These are some key areas that I would like to address to improve voter confidence.

BRIAN WIRTH

Dell Rapids • Democrat

Fraud Investigator

What motivates you to want to serve as the Minnehaha County Auditor?

My name is Brian Wirth and I believe our elections should be fair and free of fraud. As a Certified Financial Crimes Specialist with 15 years’ worth of fraud investigations, I am uniquely qualified to be your next Minnehaha County Auditor. My experience has provided the tools needed to work with law enforcement to detect and stop financial crimes such as identity theft, embezzlement, elder abuse, human trafficking, and gift card scams. 

What previous work experiences have you had that would be an asset in

serving as Minnehaha County Auditor? Working with federal agents and local Sheriff’s departments have been some of the most interesting and rewarding parts of my career. Being able to connect the initial crime with how suspects try to distance money from their victims afterwards, helps tell the whole story and hold the right party accountable. Our community has seen how much damage embezzlement can do to our very own Sioux Empire Fair. It can take years to recover from unchecked fraud and greed. It is very hard for victims to get their money back after these crimes take place. 

If you are elected, how would the auditor’s office operate differently 

than it does now?

Working in local government has always been the plan. I graduated with honors with degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice but raising a family and needing a job with health insurance took precedent.

Access to health insurance still takes precedence, as my son was recently diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic and the increase in costs for his medical care along with the prescriptions he needs to survive has been difficult to absorb into a working family’s budget.

Through the campaign process,

what county auditor office-related

issues that you’ve heard are of the utmost concern to Minnehaha County voters, and how do you plan to

address these top concerns?

My efforts to take an active role in local politics began during college, holding presidential roles of various social clubs. These efforts continued, as I’ve sought out political groups and events to take part in and have previously run for local political seats. Most notably, I have served as Precinct Person, District Vice Chair, and Treasurer of the Minnehaha County Democratic Party. Under my careful watch we have not lost any single dollar and our bills are all paid. I came back to the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party in South Dakota has helped increase the minimum wage, is working to expand medical care, and has been trying to cut taxes for the working class for decades.

 As volunteer positions can be a thankless job sometimes, I’m humbled to have been part of several organizations promoting positive change in our state. And that change continues as I run for Minnehaha County Auditor, because I’m that kid from Hurley who has faith in the integrity of South Dakota elections over fear based, unfounded, election denier accusations of my Floridian born opponent. Our elected officials should all be public servants, especially at the local level. I, Brian Wirth, look forward to representing the people as your next Minnehaha County Auditor.