Karen Paz Dominguez holds rally for reelection despite controversy following her

EUREKA, Calif.(KIEM)- Humboldt County auditor-controller Karen Paz Dominguez spoke out publicly for the first time.

As County supervisors met behind closed doors today to discuss issues with the Auditor Controller’s office, Paz Dominguez staged a rally with her supporters outside the courthouse.

She has been under fire for repeatedly failing to meet deadlines for financial reports. At the same time, she’s accused other county departments of fraud.

She also has a deadline looming tomorrow to submit overdue financial materials to the state, or the attorney general has said she could face thousands of dollars in fines.

“That is where the conflict is. I take my role very seriously. I don’t want to put my signature to anything that I don’t know is true because my signature in these forms doesn’t even mean me. It means the office, and it means the public’s elected officials. What I understand now, and having communicated with the State controllers Office about the challenge in gathering the information, is that they are happy to accept the information that we have available to us now. Later, when we have complete information, or when our external auditors published their report, they will allow us to amend that report that we submit,” said Karen Paz Dominguez, Humboldt County Auditor-Controller.