St. Cloud Rep. Dan Wolgamott Launches Campaign for State Auditor, Vows to Cut Fraud and Waste

(KNSI) – St. Cloud lawmaker Dan Wolgamott is throwing his hat in the ring for Minnesota State Auditor following Thursday’s announcement that Julie Blaha will not seek another term.

Wolgamott, in his fourth term representing the area in St. Paul, wants to transition to a government watchdog. He has chaired the finance committee and served on the pension committee, where he spent endless hours digging into budgets, going line by line.

Wolgamott told KNSI News that his time on those committees and the seemingly endless stream of theft from funds for social services programs forced him to jump in. “I think now more than ever, we need someone with that state experience. I’ve just been really, time after time after time, shocked and disgusted to see examples of waste and fraud and abuse in our state spending on programs that are meant to help people.”

The Feeding our Future scandal, the Department of Human Services’ home scam, and a plot to overbill the state for autism services never performed have cost taxpayers an estimated billion dollars or more. Blaha had been under heavy criticism since the fraud occurred on her watch, which ends in January 2027.

Wolgamott explained that one way to cut through all the scams is to give the auditor’s office more power, which is something he supports. “We need to enhance the auditor’s office by granting it the authority to conduct audits, do inspections, evaluations, and investigations of state agencies and programs.”

He would also like the office to be authorized to issue subpoenas, refer matters for civil or criminal action, and issue detailed reports to the governor, the Legislature, and the public. Wolgamott would also like to establish an anonymous tip line where taxpayers can call in if they feel something is fishy.

The auditor’s job is to act as the state’s watchdog for more than 3,000 cities, towns, school districts, special purpose districts, and metropolitan agencies.

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