Democrats pick Moritz for auditor: County supervisor to do battle with former colleague

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By David Heitz | Sunday, June 22, 2008 |

Roxanna Moritz emerged victorious Saturday from a reconvened Scott County Democratic Convention called to choose that party’s candidate for county auditor in the fall election.

Moritz, a county supervisor and former Davenport alderman, received 96 delegate votes to Karl Rhomberg’s 60 votes. In an earlier vote during the more than three-hour-long convention, candidate Lisa Lewis was eliminated from the competition.

County party officials did not announce the results of the first vote. Chairman Susan Frembgen said there is no party rule that requires them to do so.

A second vote was required because a candidate must receive a simple majority of all votes cast to win the nomination.

Moritz touted her ability to conduct a well-run campaign as well as countywide name recognition as reasons for her victory. She called for making sure “every vote counts” and engaging minority and disenfranchised voters.

“It’s about getting the constituency to understand the process and utilize the technology,” she said. Some people do not know they can register to vote online, she added.

Former County Auditor Karen Fitzsimmons died in April following a brief illness and complications from pneumonia. She served as auditor for more than 30 years. Wes Rostenbach, a 17-year veteran of the auditor’s office, was appointed to the post after her death but said he does not intend to run for election.

Moritz will take on Republican Steve Ahrens, who was nominated at a county Republican convention last month. Ahrens also is a former Davenport alderman who works for the city’s Levee Improvement Commission.

“Steve Ahrens is beatable,” Moritz said. “I think I strengthen the ticket from the top down and the bottom up.”

Ahrens said Saturday he wishes Moritz well in her campaign, but added, “I don’t understand why she’s running for a different county job just two years into a four-year term on the county board.”

Like Moritz, Ahrens said he wants to reach out to voters. “I think it requires energy and I have that to offer.”

Aubrey Jordan of Davenport, a delegate at Saturday’s convention, said he voted for Moritz because she has the best likelihood of being elected. “She has the experience of being a winner.”

Before the vote, Rhomberg said the election is “as much about stewardship as it is about leadership.” He said he wanted to make Scott County “the votingest county in our state” and vowed to fan out across the county to sign up voters.

He also said that if Moritz is elected, Democrats could risk losing their party advantage on the Board of Supervisors when an election is held to replace her. “Democrats have never, ever won a county special election.”

Moritz’s husband, Tom Moritz, said that should not have been a factor in deciding who to choose to square off against Ahrens. He said it’s not part of the party’s ideals to “hold somebody back when they want to step up.”

The County Board could appoint someone to replace Moritz if she wins the auditor’s post, but Republicans could get a petition together and challenge that appointment, said Frembgen. She was not sure how many signatures would be needed to force the election.

Frembgen remains confident that if a special election is held, a Democrat could win. “We feel very confident that this year is going to drive many new and inspired voters. We certainly draw from those excited voters,” Frembgen said.

She said Moritz “knows how to run a campaign. This is a formidable candidate.”

Lewis, who narrowly lost a bid for a Davenport City Council seat in November to longtime incumbent Ray Ambrose, distinguished herself from Moritz and Rhomberg by emphasizing that change is inevitable at the auditor’s office. “The way we vote, how we vote, is going to change radically in the next decade,” she said. She envisions people voting on the Internet, for example. “The next auditor needs to be technically savvy and have an open mind.”

But later, Rhomberg said the best way to ensure an audit trail after an election is “paper ballots, paper ballots, paper ballots, paper ballots” as the delegates erupted in applause.

David Heitz can be contacted at (563) 383-2202 or dheitz@qctimes.com.