For an office that’s supposed to be nonpartisan, the Pierce County auditor’s job has seen more than its share of political skirmishes this year.

The Republican-led County Council appointed Jan Shabro to the post in January over the objections of local Democrats, sparking two unsuccessful lawsuits.

Now Shabro is seeking election to the office, and partisan politics again is an issue.

Shabro’s opponent, Tacoma City Councilwoman Julie Anderson, has suggested that Shabro, a former Republican state representative, retains “tight partisan allegiances” and has used the office to boost her own political fortunes.

Shabro says Anderson – a Democrat – is not as independent as she claims.

Shabro and Anderson are running to fill the unexpired term of former Auditor Pat McCarthy, who was elected county executive last year.

Also running is Will Baker, a perennial candidate who has unsuccessfully run for offices ranging from governor and state auditor to Tacoma mayor. He has been arrested numerous times for disrupting public meetings and recently ran afoul of state law for failing to file required paperwork for his auditor campaign.

Baker did not return phone calls seeking comment about his candidacy.

Whoever wins the auditor’s job will be up for election to a full four-year term next year.

The auditor administers county elections, licensing and animal control. Anderson and Shabro both say they’re the best qualified for the job.

Anderson cites her government and nonprofit experience. She has spent five years on the Tacoma council and has served as chief executive of the YWCA of Pierce County and of Episcopal Services for Youth.

Until recently, she worked as a senior policy adviser for the state Department of Commerce. She said she left the job to run for auditor.

Anderson, a Tacoma resident, said her experience as a legislator, executive and employee has given her a “360-degree” view of organizations that would serve her well as auditor.

Anderson’s résumé indicates she has changed jobs several times. She said that’s typical for people of her generation (she’s 45), and evidence that she’s not afraid of change.

Shabro, 69, a Bonney Lake resident, served four years in the Legislature and eight on the County Council. She also has been a teacher and office manager.

Shabro said her political experience has prepared her to represent voters as auditor.

“I know who to go to and how to get things done,” she said.

Since taking office in January, Shabro said she has demonstrated the kind of leadership needed. She has been forced to cut her budget three times this year and is making more cuts for 2010.

“I’ve proven I can do the job, no doubt about it, in the most difficult times,” Shabro said.

Voters elected to make the auditor’s job nonpartisan in 2007. The idea was to remove an essentially administrative job from the realm of politics.

But keeping politics out of an elected office that oversees elections has worked better in theory than in practice. And auditors have often been accused of using the office to promote themselves.

Former Auditor Cathy Pearsall-Stipek drew criticism for posting her name and photograph on elections materials. Last year, McCarthy caught flak for signing her name to a voter survey that accompanied absentee ballots.

Anderson claims Shabro is continuing that practice by including her name on the return envelope voters use to mail ballots.

If elected, Anderson said she would not put her name on any ballot materials, except to list herself on the actual ballot with the other candidates.

“There should be no electioneering, no branding of names and no campaigning in those materials,” she said.

Anderson also cited Shabro’s decision to hire Deryl McCarty – then the chairman of the local Republican Party – as deputy auditor.

Anderson said McCarty might be qualified, but she thinks the duties of the deputy have not been sufficiently defined. And she said Shabro has been “tone deaf” to voter concerns about politicizing the auditor’s office.

Anderson said that if elected she will not endorse candidates or make campaign contributions. And she said she would better define the deputy auditor’s duties and hire someone suited for those duties.

Shabro doesn’t buy Anderson’s claim to be nonpartisan. She noted that Anderson is a Democrat. Among Anderson’s top contributors are the 25th Legislative District Democratic Party Victory Fund, the 26th Legislative Democrats, the Pierce County Democrats and several labor unions.

Anderson’s campaign backers include Democratic Party groups and elected officials and traditional Democratic allies such as public employee unions. As of Wednesday, Anderson had reported raising $64,246 to Shabro’s $32,244, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission Web site.

“Most of her contributions are from one political party,” Shabro said. “It’s simply not true (that Anderson is nonpartisan).”

Shabro said placing her name on office materials lets voters know “where the buck stops.” She’s said she’d done it no more than her predecessors. And she questioned whether Anderson would follow through on a pledge to keep her name off election materials.

“It will be interesting to see,” Shabro said.

She said McCarty is a retired Air Force colonel with expertise in personnel, systems management and contracts and well-qualified to be her deputy. Shabro said she has not run the office in a partisan fashion.

“We don’t ask people what party they are when we pick up their animals or (they) pay their license tab fees or record a document or vote,” Shabro said. “It isn’t discussed.”

David Wickert: 253-274-7341

david.wickert@thenewstribune.com

blogs.thenewstribune.com/politics

Ranked choice voting gives three choices

Wondering why there are three people running for Pierce County auditor in next month’s general election? It’s ranked choice voting, Part 2.

Under ranked choice voting, there is no primary election, and all candidates for an office advance to the general election.

Voters rank the candidates in order of preference. If you love Candidate A, like Candidate B and can live with Candidate C, you’d rank them in that order.

If one candidate gets a majority of votes on the first count, they win. If not, the winner is determined through a process of elimination.

The candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. If you ranked that candidate first, your vote goes to your second choice. The votes are recounted and whoever gets the majority of votes wins.

Pierce County voters used ranked choice voting for the first time last November. This year’s county auditor’s race gives voters a second look at the system, even as they decide on Prop. 3, a measure that would repeal ranked choice voting.

For more information on ranked choice voting, look for an article in Monday’s News Tribune or visit the county auditor’s web site: www.piercecountywa.org/auditor.