Jim Petro

Now serving in his second term as Auditor of State, Jim Petro is responsible for overseeing the financial condition and legal compliance of all 4,600 units of government in Ohio. His office has the broadest scope of responsibilities of any agency of its type in the country.

Jim Petro is a strong advocate of accountability with tax dollars. He has worked to uncover instances of fraud, waste and abuse in government, identifying millions of dollars in misspent public funds.

Under Jim Petro’s leadership, his office has gained international recognition as a professional service organization providing valuable performance measures—especially for Ohio’s schools. This year, the Association of Government Accountants presented Jim with its most prestigious international honor, the Achievement of the Year Award.

At the close of 1999, Columbus Dispatch Politics Editor Joe Hallett identified the Best and Worst he had observed in Ohio State Government over the past 15 years. In calling Jim Petro his selection as “Best Elected Official” Hallett said, “Petro has restored high morale and professionalism to the office. Ohioans now have an impartial and ethical government watchdog in the auditor’s office.”

Jim has served Ohio in both the public and private sectors. His legal experience spans more than 25 years as a practicing attorney, law partner, city law director and criminal prosecutor. He served eight years in the Ohio House of Representatives as ranking member of the House Ethics Committee, and served four years as a Cuyahoga County Commissioner, service which included one term as president of the Commission.

Jim resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Nancy, a publisher and graphic artist. Their daughter, Cory, is a senior at Yale University, and their son, John, graduated from Denison University and is pursuing a career in film production in Los Angeles.