Hello, I’m Toni Smart and I’m running to be your next Orange County Auditor-Controller. 

I am a proud working mother of two.  I have a son who is a junior at Tustin High School and a daughter who is also a CPA. My family has made Accounting their life. My grandfather was an accountant for a manufacturing company and my sister is an accountant for a network of dentists. My daughter is working for a local firm where she does forensic accounting and business valuations testifying as an expert witness in court. I am also a graduate of Cal State University Fullerton and a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, and a long-time resident of Tustin.  

Many people do not know that the office of Auditor-Controller has many important support functions to the community.  Some of the key responsibilities include:

·         ensuring that community programs and vendors are paid on time,

·         processing a payroll for over 16,000 County employees,

·         allocating property tax dollars to cities and schools (meaning our children’s school districts),

·         and preparing financial statements and federal grant reports.

I have over 22 years of experience as both an Internal Auditor and Accountant in the County of Orange and City government and for the last several years I’ve held the title of Director of the Auditor-Controller Internal Audit Division where I built a team of 17 auditors that performed critical reviews of the County’s information technology systems, internal controls, fiscal monitoring, and County contracts. 

It was during one those audits that my team and I identified over $300,000 in vendor fraud and millions due by third parties to the County.  That was your tax money that was being misused!

I am running for Auditor-Controller to restore the financial leadership role within this office. This office should and needs to operate lean & efficiently so that YOUR taxpayer dollars are going towards critical services and to its constituents to provide safety protection, homelessness, infrastructure, animal care services, and public health that support women and children.

Once elected I pledge to serve the County citizens and ensure there is a proper system of checks and balances over the billions that pass through the various County programs and systems.

Again, I’m Toni Smart and I ask you to VOTE SMART this upcoming June and vote for me to be your next Orange County Auditor-Controller. 

Eric Woolery was elected County Auditor-Controller in June of 2014 by a historic margin of 57% in a field of five candidates and was sworn into office in January 2015. Prior to being elected Auditor-Controller, Woolery was a CPA in private practice for over 20 years. He also served as the Deputy Director of Administration for the Riverside County District Attorney's office, as elected member of the Orange County Board of Education, and as the Orange City Treasurer. Woolery also currently sits on the Audit Oversight Committee, the Treasury Oversight Committee, the Public Finance Advisory Committee, OCTA’s Taxpayer oversight committee just to name a few.

As your Auditor-Controller, I oversee Orange County’s finances. I’m a CPA, who spent most of my career in the private sector, where I successfully owned and managed several businesses through fiscal prudence and responsibility.

Since you first elected me as your Auditor-Controller four years ago:

• We finally paid off the last of the bonds from the 1994 Orange County bankruptcy.
• I restored independent oversight of county government by bringing the internal audit function back to my office.
• We ensured that voters will always know the costs of Orange County ballot measures before voting on them.

As Orange County’s Taxpayer Watchdog, I:

• Successfully fought Sacramento efforts to take millions of dollars away from Orange County taxpayers.
• Found a $354,000 fraud committed by a drug rehab center and turned it over to the District Attorney for prosecution.
• Exposed pension shenanigans and taxpayer-funded political mailers.
• Discovered potentially illegal activities by County employees and helped put a stop to it.

I grew up in Orange County, graduated from Cal State Fullerton, and married my high school sweetheart. We live in Orange with our two children, who attend local public schools.

I would be honored to have your vote for another term as Orange County Auditor-Controller.