State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) is running for Alabama State Auditor in the Republican primary runoff on June 21.
“I am running for state auditor because the position is under attack,” Sorrell told 1819 News. “They brought legislation to kill the state auditor last session, but it came 17 votes short of passage.”
“The savings would be minuscule,” Sorrell said of the costs saved by eliminating the auditor’s office. “The people of Alabama want a strong state auditor.”
Sorrell agreed that the legislature was correct in that currently the state auditor “does not do much.”
“[My] solution is the [exact] opposite of what they are proposing,” Sorrell said. “Give the state auditor something to do. The state auditor used to be responsible for examining the books for all the agencies in the state of Alabama. They did that until 1939.”
Sorrell said that instead of trying to abolish the auditor’s position, the Legislature should transfer the Examiner of Public Accounts authority to the state auditor along with their 200 employees.
In 1939, the Alabama Legislature removed the auditing arms of the state and placed them under the Examiner of Public Accounts – an unelected position answerable to only the Legislature. To abolish the auditor would take a statewide constitutional amendment, so the auditor was tasked with keeping an inventory of state property and appointing one-third of the boards of registrars.
“I want to be your state auditor,” Sorrell stated on his campaign website. “I am a social and fiscal conservative, and I believe the experience I have as a State Representative from House District 3 has prepared me for this position. I encourage you to explore the issues section to find out what I stand for and what my voting record has been in Montgomery.”
Sorrell owns both a college textbook supply business in Florence and the pawnshop Gold, Guns, and Guitars. Sorrell was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2018. He has a business management degree from the University of North Alabama.
Sorrell and his wife, Hannah, have one daughter.
Sorrell and Stan Cooke are in the primary runoff on June 21. Former State Sen. Rusty Glover finished third and outside of the runoff.
The eventual winner of the Republican nomination will face Libertarian candidate Leigh Lachine in the Nov. 8 general election. There is no Democratic candidate currently qualified for the position.
Current State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) is term-limited from running again for the post and is instead a candidate for Alabama Secretary of State.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
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