HARRISBURG, Pa. — He's Pennsylvania's fiscal watchdog, in charge of making sure your taxpayer dollars are being spent legally and responsibly, and he grew up hating math.
It didn't take long though for Auditor General Timothy DeFoor to get over an early fear of numbers and enter a career dealing exclusively with millions of them every day.
Defoor, a Republican, was a guest on the FOX43 Capitol Beat on Oct. 26. He is nearly one year into his first term as Pennsylvania's top auditor, and recently has made it a point to explain to people across the Commonwealth what his office actually does.
He believes teaching Pennsylvanians what an auditor general does will help promote financial literacy across the state. When people have a better idea of how and where their money is spent, they'll be set up better for their own financial success, he says.
DeFoor also spoke about the calls from Republicans in the General Assembly to audit the 2020 Presidential Election. He says his office currently does not have any involvement in, but will take part if the legislature follows through on creating an election audit office, as this falls under the Department of the Auditor General umbrella.
DeFoor did say he personally has moved on from disputing any results of the 2020 Election.
Prior to being elected auditor general, the first person of color to hold a statewide row office in Pennsylvania, DeFoor held a similar role as Dauphin County Controller. He investigated government waste and fraud as a special investigator in the inspector general's office before that.
As Pennsylvania Auditor General, DeFoor is required to audit all public school districts, and most recently found the Derry Township School District shortchanged itself more than $65,000 in state funding. His office also audits volunteer fire departments across the Commonwealth.
To hear the full interview, check out the video above.