A Berks County lawmaker is setting his sights on a high-profile statewide position.
State Rep. Mark Rozzi announced Saturday that he is launching a campaign to become the leader of Pennsylvania’s fiscal watchdog agency. Rozzi, who has served in the House since 2013, said during an event at the Berks County Democratic Committee headquarters in Reading that he will seek his party’s nomination for state auditor general in the 2024 primary election.
As part of his run, the 52-year-old Muhlenberg Township resident said he will not seek reelection for his House seat in the 126th District in next year’s election. The district covers Lower Alsace and Muhlenberg townships, Laureldale, Mount Penn and St. Lawrence, and parts of Exeter Township and Reading.
“I want people to know that I’m all in on running for auditor general,” he said.
In an interview Friday, Rozzi said he sees his decision to run as answering a calling. He compared it to other decisions he has made in his life, saying he had the same feeling when he first ran for the House more than a decade ago.
“When I ran for state representative it was calling for me because there was a problem with the protection of children statutes,” said Rozzi, who has fought tirelessly to retroactively extend the timeline childhood sexual abuse survivors have to file civil action against their abusers. “I saw a problem and I needed to fix it.”
Rozzi said he was also answering a calling earlier this year when he briefly took the gavel as speaker of the House. In his eyes, taking on that role prevented the job going to the “wrong person” who would have pushed for the passage of potentially damaging constitutional amendments.
And now, he’s doing it again.
“This is another calling for me,” he said. “And I feel like the auditor general is the perfect fit for me because it gives me the ability to go in there and make sure that good government is working at all levels.”
Rozzi said he wants to protect taxpayer money.
The auditor general is in charge of making sure state money is spent properly, overseeing the accounting and financial functions of the state. The position also serves as a watchdog by performing internal government audits of state agencies and by investigating fraud allegations.
“My whole career has been about trying to protect people,” he said. “I think this is a good opportunity for me to take that to the next level.”
There’s something else driving Rozzi to run for the post. He said the fact that no one from Berks has ever been elected to a statewide office is a motivating factor in his decision.
“I’m tired of Berks being left out of the conversation and looked over for everything,” he said. “I want to show people that we can have a bigger role in state government.”
Rozzi said his reputation for working across the aisle to tackle important issues will serve him well as auditor general, a position that requires political independence.
“I feel like I’ve been a person who has seen problems and come up with solutions to figure out those problems,” he said. “And the one thing people know about me is that I’m not afraid to take on any institution — whether it’s public or private.”
Session after session, Rozzi had championed legislation that would retroactively extend the timeline survivors have to file civil action against their abusers. For him it has been a chance to channel his struggle with the memory of being raped by a priest as a teen into fighting for his fellow victims.
Rozzi said he would continue that fight in new ways if elected to general auditor.
He said he would investigate the state’s unemployment program, following up on problems that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic but persist. He would also investigate the handling of possible child abuse tips and information through the state’s ChildLine system to ensure that every call is answered and directed to the proper authorities.
Rozzi said he would also push for the General Assembly to give the office subpoena power, saying he has heard about previous audits where the office couldn’t get all the information requested or received redacted documents. Issuing a subpoena could compel organizations to provide that information.
The auditor general post is held by Republican Tim DeFoor, who has not publicly announced whether he will seek reelection to another four-year term.
But first Rozzi will have to take on a fellow Democrat for the seat. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia announced in March that he would run for the nomination for the seat.
Rozzi said he believes he’s a better choice for Democrats than Kenyatta.
“I don’t think Malcolm Kenyatta can win a general election in Pennsylvania,” he said. “He has run for many other positions, along with his House seat. I just think he wants any position other than the one he has.”
As for using the office as a springboard to another office, Rozzi said that is not the case for him.
“I have no intention of using this office as a springboard,” he said. “I’m all in for this office and if I don’t make it through, I’m walking away from politics. There’s no going back.”
