Sokola told WDEL he’s working with advocates from the Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG) on the issue.

“I think it would be a good first step,” said Sokola. “Many states have these, and they seem to have pretty good track record in most states.”DelCOG President Nick Wasileski said the Office of an Inspector General (IG) is needed to eliminate partisan politics and special interest influence. He pointed to the dismantling of the Rodney Square bus hub and the demolition of the General Motors plant on Boxwood Road, which has since become a massive Amazon fulfillment center.

“It seems like every few months, some issue comes up that really begs the question why isn’t somebody digging into this, looking into this, and for whatever reason it is not, and whether it’s the [state] agency failing to act, to look at a complaint about its own operation…or whether it’s some other issue that’s come up that people feel like the only real way to do it is to have an independent organization look at it, and that’s what an IG is, essentially, when structures right…they would be able to go in and have the authority to look at it, and nobody could really stop it from being examined, investigated,” said DelCOG Vice President Keith Steck.

The indictment of Auditor Kathy McGuiness on felony charges of witness intimidation, theft, and official misconduct has renewed the group’s charge, DelCOG said. Read more.