Wyoming Lawmaker, Auditor Clash On Transparency [Video]
A state senator from Cheyenne and Wyoming Auditor Cynthia Cloud got into a heated debate Thursday morning on KGAB AM, over the issue of transparency in the Auditor's office.
Senator Anthony Bouchard (R-Laramie County) accused Cloud of trying to use a "smokescreen" to hide a lack of transparency. "She made all kinds of excuses why we can't do it," Bouchard said of Cloud's appearance on KGAB on Wednesday. "Pointing to the legislature, pointing to redaction...this is a database. It's garbage in, garbage out. If that's what's going on, we have a bigger problem."
The auditor called into the program to defend her office's transparency efforts, saying, among other things, that while her computer system is modern, the state has not given her the funding needed to assure state residents transparency. "The taxpayers deserve a modern platform so that we can have clickable and downloadable keywords and searches," Cloud said. But, she went on to say a lack of funding from the state legislature has so far hindered those abilities.
Cloud, also, at one point, apparently sarcastically, urged Bouchard to run for auditor in the future, adding "I think that would be an excellent idea."
Cloud, who is a Republican, is wrapping up two terms as Wyoming Auditor. She is not a candidate for a third term.