LONG BEACH : Candidate for Auditor Faces Legal Obstacle

The lone challenger in April’s city auditor election, Willie Molnar, is facing a legal challenge to force him off the ballot.

A lawsuit filed last week in Superior Court by former auditor Robert Fronke contends that Molnar doesn’t have enough experience as a certified public accountant to hold the job. The city charter requires the auditor to have at least five years of experience as a CPA, a requirement that Fronke himself proposed before retiring in the fall of 1992.

According to the lawsuit, Molnar became a CPA in Michigan in September, 1987, but gave up his license when moving to California in 1989 and didn’t get a similar certificate here until December. Molnar said his jobs in the tax department of Hilton Hotels and teaching accounting courses here did not require a CPA certificate.

He said he applied for a California CPA certificate while preparing to run for auditor, but argues that since he first became a certified public accountant more than six years ago, he’s qualified. “Once you’ve earned that certificate, not even the devil can take it away from you,” Molnar said.

He faces incumbent Gary Burroughs, who succeeded Fronke and is seeking his first full term. Fronke supports Burroughs. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge set a hearing Feb. 16.