Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag started off his address at Thursday morning’s public affairs forum at Cottesmore of Life Care in Gig Harbor by saying he was confused.

That is, confused about the legislative special session that began Nov. 28 to deal with a $1.4 billion gap between revenue and lawmakers’ spending desires.

The specific source of his confusion, he said, was the fact that state revenue is actually up slightly, but because legislators want to spend even more money on top of that, this has created the so-called budget crisis and ensuing special session.

Politicians are “trimming” the budget, he explained, and  “cutting around the edges.”

State government needs to be resized and reshaped, Sonntag said, noting that people in government are hired to make those tough decisions.

“Government has to be part of that and reflect that as well,” he added.

It’s that kind of blunt talk, as well his advocacy of government transparency and accountability, that has made Sonntag, a Democrat, something of a bipartisan favorite in Washington state.

He briefly considered running for governor in 2012, but in July decided not to run.

Sonntag, who isn’t running for re-election next fall, ending a 20-year stint in the state Auditor’s Office, is perhaps best known for his office’s performance audits, some of which have made major news.

An audit report released last month found Washington is wasting money on 2,000 idle state employee cell phones. The report found the state paid more than $500,000 a year on phones that weren’t being used. Some 6,679 phones, accounting for $1.8 million in costs, were identified as being used minimally or not used at all. And many phones were locked into inefficient plans, Sonntag said.

In March, Maria Goodloe-Johnson was dismissed as Seattle Public Schools superintendent after a state audit requested by the school system found up to $1.8 million in questionable spending in minority-contracting programs.

A 2007 performance audit of the Port of Seattle found that contracting practices were lax and open for fraud and abuse. The audit prompted a federal investigation.

Ultimately, a Port of Seattle-funded probe identified 10 cases of fraud.

 “Anyone who spends public money comes under our purview,” Sonntag said, including all 2,700 units of government ­— state, county and local.

Initiative 900, approved by voters in 2005, expanded the scope of the state auditor’s office by authorizing Sonntag to conduct performance audits. In addition to tracking the spending of public funds, audits also identify any potential cost savings and determine how transparent government agencies have been.

Sometimes results are even better than expected.

For example, a performance audit-inspired idea for a tax amnesty program for delinquent businesses was projected to bring in $25 million, Sonntag said. It actually brought in $343 million this year.

“Well, those are the kind of things our office can do,” Sonntag said.

In total, performance audits have reported $1 billion in costs savings and spending, Sonntag said, and made 1,300 recommendations on improving government services and spending more efficiently.

Sonntag also is known as a foe of government secrecy, which, he said, breeds distrust.

“When in doubt, open the door and let people in, and let them participate in public business,” he said. “I’ve been an unabashed proponent of open government.”

That applies to Sonntag’s own job as well.

“Doing your job is the best politics you’ve got,” he said.

Some of Sonntag’s comments on other issues of the day:

* On the state's underfunded pension and disability systems, which many have called a ticking time bomb: “They’re still ticking,” he said.

* On Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement, a $2 billion, 1.7-mile, 56-foot-wide, deep-bore highway tunnel that opponents derisively call Seattle’s “Big Dig,” after the infamous Boston highway tunnel project that came in over budget, took years longer to complete than expected and was mired in fraud and mismanagement: “Actually, it’s why I’m leaving,” Sonntag joked.

Citizens need to stay vigilant, he said, citing concerns over who will ultimately pay for any project cost overruns.

* On the many new rules and regulations imposed by the Government Accounting Standards Board, the source of generally accepted accounting principles used by state and local governments, which Sonntag said is creating a strain in the City of Gig Harbor’s finances: “It became one-size-fits-all.”