On Tuesday, State Auditor Andrew Sorrell announced that he has appointed Hope Scarborough as his Chief of Staff, effective February 1.
“Immediately after I won my Primary in 2022, people began recommending that I keep Hope Scarborough on staff,” Sorrell said in a statement. “I heard this everywhere I went- from Registrars, elected officials, lobbyists, and other government employees in Montgomery.”
Scarborough most recently worked as Executive Assistant to former State Auditor Jim Ziegler. She also previously held the executive assistant’s role for then Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn.
“I needed someone with familiarity to the duties of the Auditor’s office who also shared my vision for strengthening the office legislatively by requesting additional duties and responsibilities,” Sorrell said. “Hope Scarborough was the most qualified person for the position and will do an excellent job leading our staff for the next four years,”
Scarborough is a native of Union Springs, the ‘Field Trial Capital of the World,’ in Bullock County Scarborough has a great love and appreciation for dogs and horses. She lives in Auburn with her husband, Scott. They have three children. Hope is an active member of Opelika First United Methodist Church.
Scarborough has a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) and is a graduate of AUM’s Certified Public Manager program. Scarborough was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley (R) to serve as a Board of Trustee for the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind and served from 2014 to 2021. Scarborough is a longtime member of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Managers, where she has served as President and Board member.
State Auditor is a constitutional officer created by the historic Alabama Constitution of 1901. In 1939 the Alabama legislature undermined the office by taking away its auditing powers. Since the 1940s, the Auditor has been tasked with only maintaining state property inventories. Sorrell ran for the office in 2022, campaigning for the office’s historic powers to be restored so that the office can guard against misuse of state funds – similar to the role that the State Auditor plays in Mississippi.
Passing that government accountability legislation could be difficult in the Alabama Legislature. In the 2022 Alabama Regular Legislative session, a group of legislators actually pushed a controversial proposed state constitutional amendment that would have abolished the office of State Auditor.
Sorrell defeated a Libertarian in the 2022 general election for the open Auditor’s position. Sorrell served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. Sorrell is a small businessman, who has owned an online textbook store, a pawn shop that specialized in selling guns and guitars, and a real estate company. He is a graduate of the University of North Alabama.
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