Jill Thompson, who has been serving as the auditor since her appointment in 2000, was elected in 2002 with a 65 percent majority. Apparently, Athens County voters noticed she was doing something right.
During her tenure, she has restructured the office to meet the ever-changing needs of an auditor's office and integrated a more effective computerized system.
She has worked hard in this county and within the state of Ohio to improve communication and cooperation with other government offices.
She has experience, ideas and the practical knowledge of how to make the office more transparent and more open to the citizens of Athens County, two things that are especially important when dealing with tax dollars.
Her ideas also include taking a strong stance against misuse of government dollars, including an effort to clean up the regional jail. This is not something required by her position, but her insistence and eventual success of exposing the shoddy bookkeeping of the jail shows that she has a vested interest in making the area better.
Running against her is the Trimble Township clerk, Pat Sikorski. She was asked in late spring by the Athens County Democratic Party to run against Thompson. Sikorski was a filler candidate, a name to put on the ballot and her inexperience and lack of knowledge about an important office stress that fact even more.
The auditor's office is, on some level, about bookkeeping and financial know-how, but it is Thompson who can use the office for so much more, to the benefit of just about everyone ' and that's why she deserves Athens' votes in November.
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Thompson is the obvious choice to re-elect for the position of Athens County auditor
