Former Bloomington alderman and retired banker Rob Fazzini declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for McLean County auditor on Monday, saying the job should be part-time and moved from elected to appointed and nonpartisan.
“Auditors do not make policy,” Fazzini told a crowd of Democratic supporters at Lucca Grill in Bloomington.
“There is no reason to be an independent, a Republican, a Democrat, don’t care. I want the auditor to report to the county administrator.”
Fazzini, 79, served one term on the Bloomington City Council from 2011-2014. He works part time as a business consultant for Henson Disposal and Recycling in Bloomington, a job that he said takes about 15-20 hours per week. He said it’s a job he intends to keep if elected auditor.
He said the job of county auditor can be done in about 30 hours a week since the county moved bill-paying responsibilities to the treasurer’s office in 2018.
“When they moved the other two (positions) over to the treasurer, it became absolute pure auditing, nothing beyond that," Fazzini said. "If the position had three people working for it and they were all busy and it was worth the salary and the time, with one (employee) it has to be less.”
Fazzini said he plans to donate $25,000 of the auditor’s $100,000 annual salary to charity if elected. He referenced county officials tried to cut the salary by that amount last year, but the County Board ultimately rejected the idea.
Fazzini said if the auditor is moved to appointed, he would not seek to stay in the position.
Fazzini added he had decided six weeks ago to run for the position, at the coaxing of McLean County Democratic Party Chairman Erik Rankin, and the timing of his announcement amidst a public dispute between current Auditor Michelle Anderson and Treasurer Rebecca McNeil was coincidental.
“This all came up after and it was just, ‘OK, that might be another reason, but it isn’t the reason (to run),'" he said.
Fazzini acknowledged he lacks the Certified Public Accountant credentials, but he said he understands the role of auditor based on the annual audits he participated in during his 40 years in the banking industry.
Anderson, a Republican, has not indicated if she plans to seek re-election next year, but she said making the position appointed would make it “a puppet of the County Board.”
“It shows he doesn’t understand the job and office responsibilities,” Anderson said in an email.
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