Posthumous elections: family moments and publicizing the results of the state audit State

While awaiting the results of Tuesday’s state attorney general election, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday said in a Facebook post that he was proud to be voting with his family.

“They’ve been a big part of this journey and I couldn’t have come here without them,” Sunday said. “I’m doing this for them and for families across Pennsylvania who deserve the peace of mind and safety of safe streets.”

Sunday defeated Democrat Eugene DePasquale, a former state auditor general with ties to York and Allegheny counties, by about 300,000 votes, according to unofficial data from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Comments were also available the day after the election from other Republican candidates in the state following their victories.

“I am honored that the people of Pennsylvania have shown their confidence in my record by awarding me a second term as your state treasurer,” Stacey Garrity said in a statement from her election night base in Athens, Bradford County. “This victory belongs to every Pennsylvanian who believes in the responsible stewardship of our tax dollars, in transparency and in a bright future for our community.”

Garrity defeated Democratic challenger Erin McClelland by more than 400,000 votes, according to unofficial State Department tallies.

It was a statement of joy mixed with sadness.

“The past month has been tough,” Garrity said. “I stayed close to home when my father’s life came to a peaceful end. At the age of 82, he had been fighting cancer and died early Monday morning. As someone once wrote, “Whether you realize it or not, the universe is unfolding as it is meant to be.”

However, the state treasurer thanked “my family, my friends, my campaign team and every supporter who has been knocking on doors, making phone calls and spreading our message of fiscal responsibility and accountability.”

She also summed up her first four years in office, saying “we have worked together to protect taxpayer dollars, increase transparency in public spending, recover nearly $1 billion in unclaimed property and expand programs that help Pennsylvanians save for college and for retirement”.

Garrity also said there is “more work to do” to “make every dollar count and ensure that your hard-earned money is managed responsibly.”

Incumbent state Auditor General Tim Defour also won his race against state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, by nearly 400,000 statewide votes.

Kenyatta also ran for re-election in the 181st Legislative District, where he was unopposed.

DeFore marked the day after his re-election by releasing audit reports for 55 volunteer fire aid associations in 30 counties, including Armstrong, Indiana and Westmoreland. These reports include:

• During the audit of the Kittanning Volunteer Firemen’s Aid Association for the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023, one fact of late receipt and payment of state aid was discovered.

“The 2021 state aid received from the Borough of Kittanning ($13,671) was not deposited by the aid association until February 8, 2022,” the auditor general’s report states. “Additionally, the 2022 state aid received from the Borough of Kittanning ($16,257) was not deposited by the aid association until February 3, 2023.”

The aid association’s response was: “(Its) management agreed with the conclusion presented at the conference after the audit was completed and indicated that it would take steps to implement the recommendation.”

• An audit of the Indiana Firefighters’ Aid Association for the period January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023 revealed one finding: discretionary benefits offered to its members could not be determined.

“During the current audit period, the relief association paid $1,600 in compensation to officers,” the auditor general’s report said. “Although these expenses were authorized by the (State Volunteer Firemen’s Aid Association) Act, the types, amounts and criteria that must be met before receiving the benefits were not described in the official policy approved by the association’s members.”

Indiana state association management “concurred with the conclusion presented at the conference following the completion of the audit and indicated that it will take steps to implement the recommendations.” The Office of the Auditor General reported that compliance will be verified in the next state audit.

• An audit of the Seward Volunteer Company Relief Association of Seward, PA, for the period January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023, revealed two findings: one for unauthorized expenses, the other for failure to obtain a Sales Tax Exemption Number Pennsylvania.

The “unauthorized expense” was $2,599 for an affiliated fire company’s down payment for their commercial insurance package that was not authorized by the VFRA Act.

“Based on our audit,” the auditor general’s office said, “an affiliated fire company reimbursed the aid association $2,599 for unauthorized expenses on May 15, 2024.”

Regarding the sales tax exemption issue, the report states that “the relief association currently uses the fire department organization’s sales tax exemption number, even though the fire department organization and the relief association are different entities.”

The management of the Seward association “concurred with the conclusion presented at the audit conference and indicated that it will take steps to implement the recommendations.” The Office of the Auditor General reported that compliance will be verified in the next state audit.