Auditor general raises Rendell's hackles

HARRISBURG - If he were an alien beamed into the Capitol from another planet, Gov. Rendell mused recently, he would logically be left with only one thought about Auditor General Jack Wagner: "I think this man is running for office."

Since the beginning of the year, Wagner, a Democrat who has batted around the idea of a gubernatorial run next year, has leveled his office's watchdog function squarely at the governor and his administration. He has taken them to task for everything from how they use state cars to how they are overseeing the billions in federal stimulus dollars coming into Pennsylvania.

The resulting tension between the two men is all the more curious, experts say, because Wagner and Rendell hail from the same party - and Wagner is biting the very hand that could play a critical role in his political future.

Rendell's fund-raising prowess is well-known - as is his ability to help make or break a candidate.

Rendell insiders said last week they understood Wagner had a job to do, but they complained that he had been trying to grab headlines at their expense with audits that were not always substantive or complete.

"There is a widespread feeling that he's been using his audits of the administration as a springboard for his political ambitions," Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said.

Not so, counters Wagner, who served for a decade in the state Senate representing Pittsburgh. He said all his reviews focused on serious governmental issues and contained valid suggestions on how to improve government efficiency and save taxpayer dollars.

"That's my job. That's what I was elected to do," he said. "I don't know how anyone can have a problem with that."

To be sure, Wagner's job calls for him to be the state's fiscal watchdog, making sure state money is being used wisely and efficiently - and, if it is not, coming up with ways to fix the problem.

Since Wagner took office in 2005, his office has undertaken a number of important audits - Wagner has said some were unprecedented - that have detailed wasteful spending by the state's student-loan agency, shortcomings in enforcement of the state's sex-offender registration program, and suspected fraud in applications for the state's home-heating program for the poor.

Still, few of the reviews took direct aim at the governor and the administration, unlike audits by some of Wagner's predecessors. As auditor general, Bob Casey Jr., now a U.S. senator, routinely released critical audits of Republican Gov. Tom Ridge's administration.

But since January, Wagner has changed his focus.

That month, he released a review that found the administration was doing a poor job of tracking which of its employees were assigned state cars and why, and whether those vehicles were being used and maintained properly.

Another Wagner audit found that the state wasted millions of dollars every year on erroneous Medicaid payments for residents no longer eligible for the benefits.

And Rendell was furious when, in February, one of Wagner's draft audits was leaked - it is unclear by whom - to the Patriot-News of Harrisburg. The preliminary audit indicated Wagner believed the administration was hiding details of roughly $600 million in technology contracts awarded to a New York-based company. The final audit has yet to be released.

Last month, Wagner wrote to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, warning that the state might not be open and accountable enough to handle federal stimulus money. Once more, Rendell's top advisers were highly unhappy Wagner criticized them publicly without having contacted the governor's office about his concerns.

Wagner insisted last week that the letter was just another example of him carrying out his duties. But it again raised questions in political circles about why Wagner appeared to be going after a powerful fellow Democrat.

Larry Ceisler, a political analyst in Philadelphia, said the answer was simple: "Because Rendell is probably not going to help him."

Ceisler and others pointed out that some of Rendell's top advisers and backers appeared to be supporting another possible Democratic candidate for governor, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

Ceisler said Wagner had "zero profile" in the Philadelphia region, which anyone with statewide aspirations needs to win. "One way to raise your profile in Philadelphia is to criticize the governor," he said.

Wagner said his office would continue to conduct audits on issues it believed were important to taxpayers, regardless of what others thought.

"And my suggestion to the administration and every single department is: Read these audits - and take them seriously," he said.