Charles Walder in the Republican primary for Geauga County auditor: Endorsement editorial

Charles Walder is the kind of guy you’d hope would work for your town or county. The kind of guy willing to pivot from successful private-sector pursuits — in technology, commercial real estate and vintage sports-car restoration — to make good government even better.

The kind of guy who’d step in after discovery of a nine-year embezzlement costing taxpayers $1.8 million to restore trust to the accounting practices of a well-to-do Ohio county. The kind of guy who, once in office as auditor, would move decisively to make top-down improvements to align the county with generally accepted accounting principles and restore public trust.

The kind of guy who also won’t back down when a county judge bridles at the requested accounting improvements and instead takes the guy to court — bolstered not just by the broad discretion Ohio law and constitutional precedent give to courts to control their own spending but also by a provision slipped into a 2020 law that lets county courts demand payment even if the county auditor questions the validity of an expenditure.

Welcome to Geauga County, otherwise known as Grendell Inc.

Earlier this year, the spending dispute between Geauga County Probate-Juvenile Judge Tim Grendell and Walder seemingly came to an end when Grendell won a 7-0 victory in his mandamus action before the Ohio Supreme Court to force Walder to pay the questioned invoices. (A separate appeal from two employees in Grendell’s court over dismissal of their federal claims against Walder is still pending.)

But in Grendell Inc., aka Geauga County, some disputes never quite end. And now, thanks to the provision slipped into Senate Bill 10 in 2020, all 88 county auditors in Ohio are bound by the new spending discretion given to county courts when a county auditor questions invoices.

Walder, meanwhile, who’s been Geauga County auditor since 2018 and is seeking a second term, finds himself facing a Republican primary challenge from none other than Tim Grendell’s wife — state Rep. Diane V. Grendell.

Rep, Grendell denies that her husband put her up to the electoral battle against Walder, 66.

“I am running for Geauga County Auditor to put an end to the bullying tactics of the current auditor and to protect our tax dollars from the otherwise avoidable litigation that his conduct has invited,” she said in a letter provided to the editorial board in lieu of appearing for the endorsement interview, for which she cited a legislative conflict.

Yet, Grendell, who is in her mid-70s, is also a primary sponsor of House Bill 488, introduced last November. Among other provisions, if enacted, it would let any Common Pleas Court division or judge “employ legal counsel … of its choosing … in any matter of public business coming before the court or in the prosecution or defense of any action or proceeding in which that court’s judge or official is a party or has an interest, in the judge’s or official’s official capacity,” as nonpartisan legislative analysts put it.

Until judicial age limits in Ohio barred her from seeking another term, Diane Grendell was a judge of the 11ith Ohio District Court of Appeals in Warren. In 2019, the Ohio House GOP caucus led by then-Speaker Larry Householder picked her to fill a vacant House seat, even though the Geauga County Republican Party had recommended South Russell Village Councilman Dennis Galicki for the vacancy. Grendell arrived in Columbus just in time to vote for House Bill 6, the scandal-scarred nuclear bailout bill.

For anyone paying attention, there’s no contest here. Walder’s professionalism, work ethic and dedication speak for themselves. With no Democrat seeking this office, the winner of the Republican primary likely will become the next Geauga County auditor.

After Walder took office as auditor, and with the recent embezzlements in mind, he quickly instituted new policies for handling of vouchers and reorganized the data processing unit – where the embezzlement had originated – so it now has checks-and-balances over procurement. Mindful of rising cybersecurity threats, he also is transitioning from on-site servers to cloud technology to bolster security of the county’s data.

Charles Walder’s experience, his focus on accountability and his modernization of his office make him the clearly superior candidate in this contest. Geauga County Republicans should renominate Charles Walder for county auditor in the May 3 primary. Early voting is set to begin April 5.

On March 30, 2022, the editorial board of The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, as part of its endorsement process. interviewed Charles Walder, the incumbent Geauga County auditor, who is running for re-election and seeks the GOP nomination in the May 3 primary.. His primary election opponent, state Rep. Diane V. Grendell, said she was unable to participate because of legislative conflicts and did not respond to an offer from the editorial board to reschedule the meeting. Listen to audio of the March 30 interview below:

About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer — the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization.

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