Palmer the choice for McHenry Co. auditor

Who would have thought there'd be so much interest in being the McHenry County auditor?

Three Republicans -- incumbent Pam Palmer, who was appointed to the post two years ago after the resignation of Ruth Rooney; challenger Richard C. Kelly; and, more recently, write-in candidate Richard Evans -- are vying for the post.

Palmer, who had been the deputy chief auditor for eight years under Rooney, has proved a capable successor. While Rooney credits Palmer for audit awards the office has won, things haven't run entirely smoothly during Palmer's short tenure, yet she has discovered problems and gone about fixing them.

One has to wonder whether there'd be a race at all if not for a September 2007 column in this newspaper that recounted a large amount of reimbursed spending on snacks and meals for his staff by State's Attorney Lou Bianchi. Reprints of the column later were mailed anonymously by the county GOP chairman to 900 county residents.

Palmer, as all public officials should, complied with our Freedom of Information Act requests for documents detailing Bianchi's spending. It was clear to us she was trying to meet the letter of the law rather than make political hay at Bianchi's expense, as foes allege.

And in the months since she discovered that many of Bianchi's questionable requests for reimbursement had been passed along by her staff, she changed the screening process and now gets more personally involved.

Kelly, a Hebron-based attorney, completed a candidate questionnaire but refused to participate in an endorsement interview with our editorial board. He has not answered phone calls or e-mails. He claimed in a letter posted on his Web site that the Daily Herald conspired to elect Palmer and did so by making the anonymous mailing. We did not.

In his candidate questionnaire, submitted before the anonymous mailings, Kelly writes: "It is not the auditor's job to attempt to control how an elected county official spends his or her operating budget if the records demonstrate the expenses were for county business."

We counter that the expenses were not for county business. And Bianchi's decision to start paying for such food out of his pocket tells us that he was nervous about the distinction. Furthermore, it is the auditor's statutory responsibility to ensure that what is claimed as a business expense is legitimately so. The auditor is the taxpayers' watchdog.

Kelly's claim of conspiracy is unfounded, and his refusal to participate in a conversation about his goals is silly. Palmer is endorsed.

Richard Evans, who has run for Algonquin village board and for McHenry County Board, has entered the race as a write-in candidate. Evans is an accountant. He also was one of seven applicants who applied for the auditor's job when Rooney resigned.