Minnesota State Auditor
TLDR: Three candidates are running for the open seat: Jay Reeves (Forward Independence), Scott Jensen (Republican) and Zack Filipovich (DFL). State Auditor Julie Blaha (DFL) is not running again. The winner serves a 4-year term, and every Bloomington voter has it on their ballot.
Jay ReevesForward Independence- Work
- Retired U.S. Army major; former data integrity analyst
- Lives in
- Victoria
- Background
- U.S. Army, nearly 17 years, including deployment to Iraq; medically retired in 2023 wdio.com
- Retired Army major kaxe.org
- Master of Health Informatics (data analytics focus), University of Minnesota; Lean Six Sigma Black Belt kaxe.org
- Former data analyst wdio.com
- Born and raised on St. Paul's East Side; now lives in Victoria jayreevesformn.com
- Raised
- $11,303, $1,874 on hand cfb.mn.gov
- Endorsed by
- Independent Veterans of America
Scott JensenRepublican- Work
- Family physician; founder of Catalyst Medical Clinic
- Lives in
- Chaska
- Background
- Minnesota Senate, District 47 (Jan. 2017–Jan. 2021); did not seek re-election in 2020 lrl.mn.gov
- Republican nominee for governor, 2022 (lost to Tim Walz) mprnews.org
- Physician, Catalyst Medical Clinic; B.A. in physiology (1978) and M.D. (1981), University of Minnesota lrl.mn.gov
- Former Waconia School Board member lrl.mn.gov
- Says he was audit chair for a $1 billion financial institution for more than a decade (Citizens' Alliance Bank, per his campaign site) kaxe.org
- Raised
- $280,830, $169,231 on hand cfb.mn.gov
- Endorsed by
- Republican Party of Minnesota (ba…
Zack FilipovichDemocratic-Farmer-Labor- Work
- Finance manager at Northspan, a regional economic development nonprofit; Certified Management Accountant
- Lives in
- Duluth
- Background
- Duluth City Council, at-large, two four-year terms (first elected 2013) duluthnewstribune.com
- Former Duluth City Council president dfl.org
- Business consultant and finance manager, Northspan (regional economic development nonprofit) duluthnewstribune.com
- Certified Management Accountant; MBA, University of Minnesota Duluth (2024) wdio.com
- Former AFSCME Local 66 member edmnvotes.org
- Raised
- $147,998, $67,429 on hand cfb.mn.gov
Q: Where do they stand on fraud, waste and abuse?
Reeves: Wants a "data-driven, near real-time approach to detecting waste, fraud, and abuse," using analytics and dashboards to track trends. michaelbrodkorb.substack.com
Reeves: Says internal controls "should be built into programs before they are approved" and that oversight "should not begin after the damage is done." jayreevesformn.com
Jensen: Says he will "declare war on waste, fraud, and abuse" and act as a "watchdog" for taxpayers. drscottjensen.com
Jensen: Proposes whistleblower protections and a statewide fraud-reporting initiative. kaxe.org
Filipovich: Favors a "pro-active" approach: helping local finance officials find weak points in their processes so it is "harder for bad actors to get their hands on local tax dollars." edmnvotes.org
Q: Where do they stand on scope of the office?
Reeves: Says the State Auditor "should not be telling local elected officials what their priorities should be"; sees the job as checking that money is managed properly and laws and policies are followed. communityreporter.substack.com
Jensen: Wants to work across branches of government on "a clearly defined system of fiscal accountability without gaps." kaxe.org
Filipovich: Says the office should stay focused on auditing local governments rather than using staff to audit state and federal programs, which he says would duplicate the Legislative Auditor's work. edmnvotes.org
Q: Where do they stand on help for local governments?
Reeves: Wants streamlined, simpler financial reporting for local governments. kaxe.org
Jensen: Wants to "dramatically reduce" unfunded state mandates on counties, cities, towns and school districts. kaxe.org
Filipovich: Wants to give cities, townships, counties and school boards "the tools, data and support they need," including shared resources to address a shortage of finance professionals in greater Minnesota. edmnvotes.org
Q: Where do they stand on transparency?
Reeves: Proposes an interactive, easy-to-use office website so taxpayers, local officials and journalists can understand audit information. kaxe.org
Jensen: Wants the office to "publicly shine a spotlight on emerging issues of concern" and act as the citizens' watchdog so "taxpayer dollars are used lawfully, efficiently, and transparently." kaxe.org
Filipovich: Pledges open houses and public forums, including an open forum in every county within his first year. edmnvotes.org
Q: Where do they stand on qualifications?
Reeves: Cites nearly 17 years of Army leadership (retired major), a University of Minnesota master's in health informatics focused on data analytics, and leading a team that built a worldwide data dashboard used by the Defense Health Agency and the Pentagon. kaxe.org
Jensen: Sees the job as leadership rather than technical work: "This is not a technical position. This is a leadership position." mprnews.org
Filipovich: Says he is the only accountant in the race and would be "the first accountant in this role in 50 years." duluthnewstribune.com
