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Sawyer resigns as state auditor

State of Indiana

Indiana State Auditor Dwayne Sawyer will step down just four months after taking the job. 

Governor Mike Pence appointed Sawyer in August, replacing now-State Republican Party Chair Tim Berry. 

Sawyer was the first African-American Republican to hold statewide office.  The Brownsburg native submitted his letter of resignation to Pence Monday.  In it, Sawyer cites personal and family concerns as the reason for his departure. 

Pence says he wants to assure Hoosiers that Sawyer’s job performance had nothing to do with his resignation.

“Mr. Sawyer made his decision for personal and family reasons and let me say that I respect his decision and I’m also going to respect his privacy.”

In a statement, Indiana Democratic Party Chair John Zody called on the governor to act quickly in appointing Sawyer’s successor.  Pence says he hopes to name a new State Auditor before Sawyer officially leaves office on December 15.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.