Applications — made up of a letter of intent, a resume and three references — for the interim auditor must be mailed by Sept. 17 to the Republican Party. In-person interviews of candidates will be held Sept. 23.
Laura Rosenberger, the chairman of the Executive Committee, said after the screenings, the Central Committee will vote on a new auditor in early October.
Dan Harkins, former Clark County Republican Party chairman, previously said the Central Committee has 45 days after Sept. 1 to seek candidates and make an appointment to the office.
Any candidate could seek to run for the office next year, when the remainder of the unexpired term would appear on the ballot. The filing deadline for that will be in December for Ohio’s March primary, because of 2024′s presidential election.
If the Central Committee’s appointee wants to continue in the position, Rosenberger said they will have to run in the March primary. The winner of that primary will face any Democrat candidate in November 2024, and whoever wins that race will take office in January 2025.
Rosenberger said this means that whoever the Central Committee appoints will serve as auditor until January 2025 unless they are elected into the position as well.
“That interim appointed person may not be the winner of the 2024 election,” Rosenberger said.
With Federer’s retirement followed by Hamilton’s appointment, plus the potential for a new appointment and the possibility of someone else winning the election in November 2024, Clark County could have four different auditors in three years.
Federer appointed longtime employee Hamilton chief deputy auditor while he was hospitalized, Clark County commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt said during a commission meeting last month.
Federer was elected to the position in November 2010 and was in his fourth term after being re-elected in 2022. He is an Ohio State University alumnus and had a 34-year banking career, serving as president, according to the auditor’s website.
Federer’s website touted his office’s successes as including multiple technology enhancements such as direct deposit for county payroll for all employees; a new county-wide financial system; a mobile app allowing taxpayers to easily research properties from any location, and partnering with the city of Springfield, law enforcement and fire departments on the improved use of GIS technology.
The office faced scrutiny when former deputy auditor Robert Vanderhorst was found to have stolen $1.8 million of public money from 2005 to 2021. The stolen funds paid for out-of-state trips, vehicles, home expenses and more.
Vanderhorst was convicted of aggravated theft and theft in office, then sentenced in September 2022 to seven years in prison and ordered to pay $1.87 million in restitution for the stolen funds and court costs.
Vanderhorst was fired on Jan. 12, 2022, after the Clark County Auditor’s Office said it learned of the allegations.
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