Current Auditor Greg Kimsey and auditor candidate Mitchell Kelly offer explanations on ‘deputy county auditor’ title used in campaign

Ken Vance, editor

Clark County Today

An opinion written by Reform Clark County Founder Rob Anderson and published this week by Clark County Today raised questions regarding the recent change in job title of Mitchell Kelly, a current candidate for county auditor.

Kelly and Eileen Quiring O’Brien are the two candidates who advanced from the Aug. 4 primary election. They will square off in the November general election to determine who will replace long-time County Auditor Greg Kimsey, who did not seek re-election.

In the August primary election voters’ pamphlet, Kelly described himself as deputy county auditor under his professional experience. Anderson questioned what role that title played in allowing Kelly to outdistance current Vancouver City Councilor Ty Stober and State Rep. Sharon Wylie in the primary election.

“How did Mitchell Kelly, a relatively unknown county staffer, defeat two well-known political candidates like Ty Stober and Sharon Wylie in the August primary for Clark County Auditor? The answer could be as simple as three magic words: deputy county auditor,’’ Anderson wrote. “Kelly repeatedly presents that title to voters as evidence that he is uniquely qualified to become the next Clark County auditor. It appears on his campaign website, in the voters’ pamphlet, in campaign materials and at candidate forums. But what exactly does ‘deputy county auditor’ mean?’’

Anderson pointed out that at a League of Women Voters candidate forum held in July, Kelly said: “I have currently worked in the office under Greg Kimsey for the past ten years as deputy county auditor and reporting and analysis manager.”

On Feb. 3, Kelly issued a news release stating his candidacy for county auditor. In that news release, he did not use the title deputy county auditor even though he later stated at the candidate forum that he had served that role “for the past ten years.’’

Anderson shared an Oath of Office signed by Kelly and Kimsey and dated on Feb. 9, 2026 stating that Kelly would “perform the duties of the office of Deputy County Auditor.’’

As a result of the apparent conflict between Kelly’s statement at the candidate forum and the Oath of Office signed just six months prior to the primary election, Clark County Today reached out to Kimsey and Kelly for clarification on the issue.

“Mitchell Kelly’s job title has not changed,’’ Kimsey wrote to Clark County Today via email. “He is a Deputy County Auditor. There are currently approximately 40 county employees with a variety of job titles who also serve as a Deputy County Auditor. A person becomes a Deputy County Auditor when I administer the oath of office to them. The county’s HR department is not involved in this.’’

According to a response Anderson shared with Clark County Today from the county’s Human Resources Department, Kelly has been employed at the county since 2016. He has held three roles; management analyst in 2016; policy analyst in 2018; and administrative service manager 3 since 2019.

“I currently have no records showing any changes in job title since 2019 or records indicating a transition to Deputy Auditor,’’ the county HR representative reported to Anderson.

So, why the need for Kimsey to institute the Oath of Office in February?

“I deputize employees as Deputy County auditors so that (they) may carry out county auditor responsibilities when I’m not available,’’ Kimsey told Clark County Today Tuesday. “Another one of the senior managers in the Financial Services Department, who also serves as a Deputy County Auditor, had scheduled travel plans and I deputized Mitchell Kelly as a Deputy County Auditor to ensure there would be adequate coverage.’’

Kimsey was then reminded that he said there were “approximately 40 county employees’’ who also serve as deputy county auditor. Then what was the urgency for Kelly’s February Oath of Office if there were approximately 40 other county employees who could “provide adequate coverage’’ for a single employee on vacation?

“There are four departments in the auditor’s office, we have Deputy Auditors in each of them,’’ Kimsey replied. “These departments are in different locations and one is in a different building.’’

Clark County Today also contacted Kelly for clarification on the issue. The candidate provided a response via email Tuesday night.

“It was never my intention to mislead anyone about my experience or my current responsibilities,’’ Kelly wrote. “At the League of Women Voters forum, I introduced myself by saying, ‘I have currently worked in the office under Greg Kimsey for the past ten years as deputy county auditor and Reporting and Analysis Manager.’ I could have stated that more clearly. What I intended to say was, ‘’I have worked in the office under Greg Kimsey for the past ten years, and I currently serve as a deputy county auditor and Reporting and Analysis Manager.’’’

Kelly was asked if the use of the title deputy county auditor could mislead voters, who might assume he is the only person filling that role rather than the approximately 40 employees who are as Kimsey mentioned.

“Reporting and Analysis Manager is my working title,” Kelly wrote. “Deputy county auditor is a separate designation made by the elected Auditor and does not represent a separate HR classification. That is why it would not appear as a change in my HR job title. As Greg stated, the elected Auditor can designate multiple employees as deputies, and I am one of those employees. I have used the designation because it is a role I currently hold, not to imply that I am the sole deputy.

“Transparency and accuracy are very important to me, both in my work and as a candidate for County Auditor,’’ Kelly stated.