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Newly-Minted Auditor General DePasquale Steps Up to Bully Pulpit

DePasquale oath
DePasquale takes the oath of office as his family looks on

Harrisburg — Eugene DePasquale promised to put his reform agenda into action as he was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s new Auditor General.

The three-term York state lawmaker took his oath as his family and politicos from around Pa. and both parties looked on.

He said his role was not just to expose the problems of government, but to propose solutions as well.

“Part of this job is using this as a bully pulpit to outline what is happening and to express to the people of Pennsylvania what needs to be changed,” he said. “The Auditor General is a very interesting role. You have enormous power in the sense you can go in and conduct the audits, but you don’t have the power to go in and make the change.”

“I am going to use my understanding of the General Assembly and what it takes to get laws done, and also working with the Corbett administration, to make the change that is needed.”

He talked about education and infrastructure, but his highest notes came on the subject of the environment. He emphasized his commitment to balancing economic growth with safety vis-a-vis development of Marcellus shale.

“That is why one of my first official duties as Auditor General will be to initiate a performance audit of the Department of Environmental Protection to make sure our constitutional right to pure water is not being compromised,” he said.

As York County Controller Robb Green pointed out, DePasquale is the first York countian to win statewide office since Gov. George Leader in 1954.

And as newly elected state Sen. Rob Teplitz noted, “he’s the first Pa. Auditor General to have mastered P90X.”

DePasquale seated

4 Responses

  1. Refreshing to see a statewide PA public official stepping up to the plate to defend the public interest vis a vis shale gas drilling, esp given powerhouse opposition to the public from Gov Corbett’s office and his bending of DEP to the service of the gas industry. Good luck to Mr DePasqual!

  2. The new Auditor General spoke in simple terms about his duties and gave specific detail about how he will accomplish his task.
    This was one political speech that had by its contents on what he do an elegance of purpose instead of the usual rhetorical fluff.
    I believe we are in for an interesting and fruitful lesson in good governance.

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