Democrat making Ohio auditor bid says he’ll fight corruption

NELSONVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Democrat Taylor Sappington, a little-known city auditor from southeast Ohio, announced his bid for state auditor on Monday, promising to root out corruption in Columbus.

Sappington, 30, figures to be the party’s nominee to take on Republican state Auditor Keith Faber in the November election.

His experience has been mostly in local politics, serving four years on Nelsonville’s council and the past two years as the city’s auditor.

Ohio Democrats, who haven’t had a candidate elected to statewide executive office since 2006, have struggled to attract high-profile candidates to fill out their statewide slate this year.

Sappington said Republicans in charge of the state have created a culture of corruption that was exposed by the federal indictment of former GOP Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who was indicted in what then-U.S. Attorney David DeVillers described as the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history.

“How many times do we need to see politicians led out in handcuffs before we understand something is wrong,” Sappington said.

He said the auditor’s office should conduct a special investigation into the alleged $60 million bribery scheme.