Rival’s Complaint Targets Incumbent

A rival candidate has filed a complaint against Ventura County’s appointed incumbent Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon, questioning Mahon’s authority to sign county audit reports.

Scott A. Weiss, a Ventura resident and certified public accountant, filed the complaint last week with the state Board of Accountancy. He alleges that Mahon cannot legally sign his name to county-performed audits because he is not a certified public accountant.

Along with his complaint, Weiss submitted a copy of a 1993 audit of the county’s treasury office that includes Mahon’s signature.

“He doesn’t have the legal authority to issue an audit,” said Weiss, one of four candidates challenging Mahon for the auditor’s job in Tuesday’s election.

Mahon, who was appointed auditor last year by the Board of Supervisors after serving 20 years as assistant auditor, said that while he is not a certified public accountant, regulations outlined in the state government code permit him to sign off on all county audits.

“I guess when you’re desperate, you’ll grab at anything,” Mahon said of Weiss.

Larry Knapp, an official with the state Board of Accountancy, said he could not comment on the case. He said he did not know when his office would be able to finish its investigation into Weiss’ complaint.

Although Mahon is not a certified public accountant, he meets the legal requirements of the job because he has served as assistant auditor for more than three years.

Mahon said that if a problem arises with his signing of department audits, he would simply have someone else in his office sign them.

Weiss said he believes that the auditor-controller should be required by law to be a certified public accountant.