Partisan politics arise in auditor’s race

Several years ago voters approved a change to Pierce County Charter to make the auditor a non-partisan position. But that has not removed partisan politics from this year’s campaign.

Jan Shabro, a Republican, was appointed by the council in January. She replaced Pat McCarthy, who vacated the office after being elected county executive. Democrats provided a list of three people they favored to replace McCarthy, a Democrat. One was Tacoma City Councilmember Julie Anderson. Local Democrats took action against the council, which has a 5-2 Republican majority, to force it to replace McCarthy with a fellow Democrat.

Shabro was appointed under the stipulation she would have to run for office this fall. She served two terms as a state representative and eight years on Pierce County Council, representing the Sumner/Bonney Lake area. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from Pacific Lutheran University. She has served as chair of Tacoma/Pierce County Board of Health, was president of Economic Development Corporation of Pierce County and has been a member of Pierce County Regional Council.

Her community involvement includes Save Lake Tapps Task Force and attending Creator Lutheran Church.

She faces Anderson, in her sixth year in an at-large position on Tacoma City Council. She represents the city on the Sound Transit Board.

Anderson holds a bachelor of arts degree from Evergreen State College and a master’s of science degree from Northeastern University. She recently stepped down from her full-time job with the state Department of Commerce to focus on this campaign. She has worked as executive director of YWCA of Pierce County.

Her community involvement includes League of Women Voters and City Club of Tacoma.

The third person in the race is Tacoma resident Will Baker, a perennial candidate who has run for offices ranging from mayor of Tacoma to governor. His primary issue in the campaign has been Shabro’s decision to cut candidate statements in the voters guide from 200 words to 150.

The auditor’s office, like much of county government, is expected to cut its budget in the midst of the ongoing recession. If elected, Anderson said she would cut printing and postage costs in the elections division by making absentee ballots smaller. Closing polling places would save significant money, she noted, although the county council would make the final call on that.

Anderson said many provisional ballots are distributed at polls because people go to the wrong poll site. She noted the election center can distribute these. She favors opening temporary satellite offices around the county during the election period.

Since the auditor’s office now handles animal licensing, Anderson sees a way to boost revenue. She said that adjusted for population growth, the county is only licensing half the number of pets as in 1996, when the Humane Society was responsible for this service.

Every stray dog or cat that is impounded costs the county $86. She has been the city government’s strongest advocate for getting more dogs and cats altered to reduce the population of unwanted pets.

The county needs to seek ways to offer more services at the satellite offices that handle licensing, she added. “These are all things to explore.”

Shabro has made three rounds of budget cuts. Some positions were left unfilled. Printing two editions of the voter guide, rather than four, and formatting changes saved about $78,000. Training and travel have been slashed. Instead of hiring temporary staff this summer, she reached out to local colleges for interns. “We have saved money everywhere we can,” she said. “We have cut things to the barest minimum while still maintaining good service.”

Next year it is possible staff may take six furlough days, without pay. This still needs to be negotiated with the union, Shabro noted.

“I think Pierce County has a great reputation for managing elections with integrity,” Anderson said. However, she does feel the office “has been used for the political advancement of the people who become auditor.” This includes misuse of resources.

She said McCarthy ended the practice of the auditor’s name appearing on the outside of envelopes for absentee ballots and is critical of Shabro for putting her name on the envelopes this year. Anderson feels this is the same as campaigning outside a polling place and vows not to have her name on ballot material, unless she is listed among the candidates running.

She also criticized Shabro for not providing public notice of ballot titles for three charter amendments.

Shabro said she has done nothing that predecessors have not done.

Anderson is critical of Shabro’s decision to hire Deryl McCarty, who was chair of the county Republican Party at the time, as her deputy auditor. She claims Shabro has allowed him to form a political action committee within the office that has a mission of getting Republicans elected.

Shabro said claims she is using the office to promote a GOP agenda “are absolutely false.” McCarty, a retired Air Force colonel, was hired because of the skills his military background brings to the office, including personnel, system management and contracts. He discovered that some annual job reviews had not been done for five years. “He has been invaluable, honorable and trustworthy.”

“I have proven I can do the job,” Shabro said. She points to her efforts to implement a disaster preparedness plan, something the office lacked when she took over. Annual job reviews, which had not been done in some time, were reinstituted. She has cut the budget by nearly $1 million in nine months. “I think that is what people are looking for in an elected official.”

Anderson said she is the best candidate because of her executive management experience and her enthusiasm, energy and motivation. “I have a reputation for fairness and independence. I am the one who can lead this office through transition and change.”

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