Pinsley to run for state auditor general
The Democrat was reelected as Lehigh County controller in November
Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley, who easily won reelection last month, has announced his candidacy for state auditor general in 2024, saying he is the only candidate who can flip the office back to the Democratic Party.
“Tim DeFoor, the incumbent Auditor General, is backed by powerful special interests looking to privatize education who will stop at nothing to hold this seat,” Pinsley said in a press release issued Friday.
“It’s imperative our nominee be best suited to be able to take on DeFoor. I’m a veteran, small business owner, and incumbent controller in PA’s 10th largest county with a real record of results. Only I can stand on that stage and make the case against DeFoor,” he said.
Pinsley, 53, is the third Democrat to announce plans to run for the position that is charged with ensuring that all state money is spent legally and properly.
Pinsely joins state representatives Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and Mark Rozzi of Berks County in seeking the Democratic nomination.
Pinsley has been aggressive in his pursuit of audits, which, at times, has led to criticism for venturing outside his scope of duties.
Pinsley’s audit of 2019 prescription drug costs purchased through a contract with Highmark Blue Cross showed the county, which is self-insured for employee health care, could have saved $1.4 million, if, among other measures, drugs were purchased through the coupon site GoodRX.com.
Pinsley’s January 2021 report on the 2019 audit was criticized by Highmark, which, among other points, said the report did not indicate any overpayments or billing mistakes by Highmark or failure to perform its obligations.
In a Feb. 18, 2020, audit, Pinsley said the county would likely have to write off $450,000 in unpaid private pay billings from prior years at Cedarbrook, the county’s senior care facility. He recommended procedures for improving the receipt of payments.
He most recently released a report on misdiagnosed cases of child medical abuse and its impact on county services, which drew parents of misdiagnosed children and others to meetings of the boards of commissioners in Lehigh and Northampton counties pressing for investigations into the findings.
“We expect our Attorneys General to have law degrees; we should expect our Auditor Generals to have relevant financial experience. I am the only candidate running with private sector executive experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets and public sector experience where I’ve done the work, saved taxpayers’ money, and used the office to advocate for change. My audits translate to impact,” said Pinsley.
Pinsley grew up in grew up in Montgomery County. He earned a finance degree in 1996 from Northeastern University, a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University in 2002 and a certificate in ethics from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in 2021. He was an Army reservists for six years, serving as an aircraft structural repairer.
Pinsley is a co-founder of DermaMed Solutions, a supplier of microdermabrasion and other aesthetic equipment, but is not involved in day-to-day operations of the company.
He began his political career when he was elected to the South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners in 2017. Two years later, he defeated two-term Republican incumbent Glenn Eckhart as controller with 50.99% of the vote.
Pinsley was elected on Nov. 7 to a second term as the county’s fiscal watchdog, defeating Republican Robert E. Smith Jr., 39,735 votes to Smith’s 33,531.
Both had sought and lost state races. Pinsley ran for the state senate in the 16th district, losing to then incumbent Republican Pat Browne in 2018 and current incumbent Republican Jarrett Coleman in 2022. Smith, a former Allentown School Board member, lost to Democrat Joshua Siegel for the 22nd House District seat in 2022.
As part of his campaign, Smith charged that Pinsley was using the controller seat to jump to higher positions.
“I think you need someone who is not going to politicize the office,” Smith told Armchair Lehigh Valley.
In response Pinsley said, "... my primary motivation for running [for county controller] is to serve the people of this county to the best of my ability. If I do my job well and the people see fit to offer me greater responsibilities, I'll consider it an honor.”
If elected, Pinsley said his priorities include:
Evaluating the financial and human costs of crisis pregnancy centers and their impact on state spending and women’s health. Pinsley wants “to protect women from these dangerous, extremist organizations that spread falsehoods and medically inaccurate information and encourage more state spending on family planning and contraceptive services to reduce social service costs.”
Conducting a socio-economic audit to get a perspective the cost of underfunding schools that quantifies the impact on wages, public health, competitiveness, social development and public safety. He said he wants to support education litigants in pushing the state to act.
Auditing state support of county election offices and the state of county election departments, which he describes as the backbone of democracy in a critical period.
Evaluating Pennsylvania’s economic development programs compared to other states to improve economic competitiveness and emphasize the importance of economic development tied to labor support, including connecting state dollars to project labor agreements and responsible contractor ordinances.
Evaluating state support for county children and youth services to ensure adequate staffing, ensure systems give families due process, and protect and promote child welfare through fair, efficient, and thorough processes.