Tim Ashe, deputy state auditor and former president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate, announced on Friday that he will run for state auditor.
“Vermonters deserve excellence from their state government,” Ashe wrote in a press release. “I intend to use the tools of the Auditor’s office to help make sure they get it, by ensuring taxpayer-funded departments and programs deliver results.”
Ashe, 49, enters an open race created by the anticipated retirement of State Auditor Doug Hoffer, who has held the office since 2012. Ashe joined the auditor’s office when Hoffer hired him as deputy in 2021. Both Hoffer and Ashe are Democrats/Progressives.
The auditor is a statewide, independent position tasked with uncovering waste, fraud and abuse and assessing how effectively public money is spent. The office has broad authority to scrutinize state spending and operations.
Ashe said his nearly five years as deputy auditor have given him insight into the impact that the office can have across the state, including among policy makers in Montpelier.
Ashe is positioning himself for a return to statewide elective office. Prior to his time as a state employee, Ashe served on the Burlington City Council. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2008. He led the chamber as president pro tempore from 2017 to 2020, when he decided to leave the legislature and run for lieutenant governor.
Ashe lost in the Democratic primary to then-political newcomer Molly Gray. She went on to win the seat and served as LG before an unsuccessful bid for Congress. She told Seven Days in November that she plans to run for lieutenant governor again in 2026.
This election cycle, Ashe said he hopes to redouble the state auditor’s focus on issues related to health care, affordable housing and weather-related emergencies.
“The idea of evolving isn’t a criticism, but rather just a recognition that we can keep thinking in new ways,” he said.
Ashe said he will spend time in the coming months talking with Vermonters across the state about what they want to see from the state auditor’s office. A campaign kickoff is planned for later this winter.
Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days cofounder, publisher and editor-in-chief Paula Routly. In keeping with Seven Days’ conflict-of-interest policy, Routly is neither assigning nor editing stories about this race or about the auditor’s office. Any questions about the policy can be directed to news editor Matthew Roy at matthew@sevendaysvt.com.
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