Listen to me. I want to be your Controller.

Al Schmidt is running for office, but unfortunately no one knows it.  It’s partly the media’s fault because they never give him much coverage because no one thinks he has a chance at winning. It’s not that Schmidt is a crackpot, he’s actually a serious candidate. But he’s a Republican. That’s right, he’s a Republican in a city where the number of registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 6-to-1.

Last week there were three City Controller debates. Schmidt who faces no opponent for the Republican nomination in the May 19th Primary, was included in only one.

Full disclosure. Yes, the NEastPhilly/WHYY debate left him out in the cold. On the principle that the Democratic Nomination is being sought by three candidates, and in a one-hour debate that’s not a lot of talk time for three people while Schmidt can already plan his victory party next Tuesday night.

But Al Schmidt is a real guy who is serious about running for City Controller. He’s a former senior analyst at the non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)and also a former Executive Director of the Philadelphia Republican Party. He lives in East Falls So, I decided to reach out to him to get to know him a little better.  So, I sent him a few questions.

It’s Our City: Is the current City Controller doing a good job?

No, otherwise our city’s budget would be in better shape and I wouldn’t be running to replace him.  But forget about good or bad the City Controller isn’t even doing what he is required to do under the City Charter, which is to audit every agency every year without exception.  This is the bare minimum and even that is not being done.

At a time when our city is faced with the possibility of crippling tax increases and draconian cuts to public safety, shouldn’t we at least make sure that our tax dollars are not being wasted or misused?

There is only one universal way that public auditing organizations measure how good a job they are doing: They compare dollar for dollar how much the audit organization saves taxpayers with the audit organization’s total budget.  For example, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) where I was fortunate to work as a senior analyst saves taxpayers a whopping $114 for every $1 spent on its budget.  This is a great return on the investment.  By contrast, the City Controller own estimate for his office is that it saves taxpayers a mere $8 for every $1 spent on its budget.  One thing is clear; Philadelphia can do a lot better.

It’s Our City: It’s tough to get elected in Philadelphia as a Republican. You once served as Executive Director of the Philadelphia Republican Party. Republicans have not been great champions for urban America. Why would we want a Republican City Controller?

Philadelphians don’t want a Democratic City Controller, and they don’t want a Republican City Controller.  They want an independent City Controller who makes sure they get the most for their tax dollars and that municipal services are delivered efficiently and effectively.

The fact that I am a member of the minority party and not part of the political establishment running our city is a good thing, since I will be responsible for auditing city government, if elected.  The incumbent is a ward leader.  His office is responsible for auditing other city agencies, some of which are run by other ward leaders.  Does that sound independent to you?

The problem with the City Controller’s Office isn’t which party it is connected to; it is that it needs to be independent.  When the Clinton Administration appointed me as a policy analyst for the Presidential Commission on Holocaust Assets, it did not expect me to do the job as a Democrat or Republican.  When Democrats on Capital Hill relied on me to conduct performance audits for them, they did not expect me to do the job as a Democrat or Republican.  I was a public servant.  It was an honor.  It wasn’t a stepping stone.  As a former non-partisan performance auditor, I ask two simple questions when reviewing federal programs and agencies is the money being used the way it should be? and is the program or agency doing the best it can? I  The political establishment in Philadelphia has a different approach: see no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil It’s time to change that.

It’s Our City: You were an analyst for the GAO. An analyst is not an auditor. What experience do you bring as an auditor?

While none of the candidates for City Controller including the incumbent has a background as a financial auditor, I am the only candidate of either party who has a background as a performance auditor.  I was a senior analyst for the GAO responsible for conducting performance audits of federal programs and agencies.  As the incumbent City Controller has said: it’s the performance audits that actually find savings and efficiencies Why would voters want to elect someone to run an auditing organization that isn’t even qualified to be employed by that auditing organization?

When running for office four years ago, the incumbent stated that he wanted to make the Office of the City Controller more like the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I have the independence and experience to make that happen.

It’s Our City: In the city’s budget crisis, we’ve heard a lot of calls for the mayor to avoid cuts or taxes, but instead cut government waste. How realistic is this?

It’s tremendously realistic.  There is not a single taxpayer or recipient of municipal services in Philadelphia who doesn’t think there is waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement involving their tax dollars.  Why on earth would our mayor and city council further increase the burden on workers by raising taxes during a recession?  The last time Philadelphia tried this misguided approach was in the 1970s and it resulted in hundreds of thousands of taxpayers leaving our city.  It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  Raising taxes during a recession is insanity.

If we had a City Controller who was serious about conducting audits and identifying government waste we wouldn’t need to raise taxes. It would allow our government to better fund efforts for improving our lives and to keep municipal spending within affordable limits.  Right now we are being given a proverbial false choice either we raise taxes or we cut core services such as public safety and education (such as libraries). The right choice is to cut government waste.

It’s Our City: How come no one pays attention to the City Controller’s audits and recommendations?

No one pays attention because the City Controller lacks credibility.  A spokesperson for Mayor Nutter recently described the incumbent’s proposal for solving the city’s budget crisis as little more than a publicity stunt A City Controller can make as many recommendations for savings as he or she wants, but if those recommendations can’t be acted upon then they don’t deserve serious attention.

Philadelphia needs a City Controller who can do a better job partnering with the mayor and city council to help them identify savings, reduce waste, and increase revenue without raising taxes or cutting core services.  This isn’t something that should be done only when we are in a fiscal crisis, it should be done every day of every year regardless of the financial climate.

See Al Schmidt’s campaign website