Pierce County’s Julie Anderson wants to be Secretary of State - party politics be damned
If there’s one thing Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson takes seriously, it’s her political independence.
That’s one reason why her just-announced candidacy for the 2022 Secretary of State race — as a nonpartisan — makes so much sense.
Particularly in this day and age, the primary obligation of the office is to uphold the sanctity of state elections, and Anderson’s unflappable, stringent devotion to the cause is the stuff of local legend. Frankly, it can seem excessive sometimes, but in a good way, like whip cream on hot chocolate.
If elected — and there’s little doubt the field next year will be crowded after Governor Jay Inslee’s curve-ball appointment of Democrat Steve Hobbs — Anderson would be the first Secretary of State from Pierce County since Republican Captain Ithamar Howell, who was appointed to the position in 1909. But — more importantly — Anderson would be the first Secretary of State without a D or an R next to their name, outside of Will Jenkins, who was populist, according to office archives.
After spending more than a decade overseeing elections in Pierce County, Anderson has the experience it takes to be successful, according to Dave Ammons, who spent a lifetime covering Olympia as a reporter for the Associated Press before becoming Director of Communications for Sam Reed and later Kim Wyman.
“Having watched the office from inside for nine years and reporting on it for 37 years before that, it seems one of the most important skill sets is actually running elections and an office that has multiple functions and sizable staff,” said Ammons, who retired in 2016. “To me, an auditor’s office is an ideal training ground.”
Will that resume matter to voters, and will a true nonpartisan be able to break through the entrenched two-party machine and make a mark? I haven’t the foggiest. Locally, Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett pulled it off, but running as a nonpartisan for a statewide race is another matter.
Whatever happens, I have no doubt Anderson will hold firm to her beliefs, which is nothing to scoff at.
Shortly after embarking on my tenure at The News Tribune — not long after relearning how to tie a tie and getting a Beaver Cleaver haircut — I wrote one of my first columns about Anderson. I can’t remember the specifics, but I can recall the 6 a.m. voicemail I received from her shortly after the paper hit people’s doorsteps (which goes to show how long ago this was).
I’d committed one of the cardinal sins — making an assumption — and referred to Anderson as a Democrat. It was a sloppy mistake, and one I instantly regretted. There’s a well-known warning about the dangers of assumptions, after all, and I’d failed to heed it. A correction quickly followed.
Almost seven years later, it’s an exchange I still think about sometimes — and one I’ve often recalled while reporting and writing all the elections related columns that have followed.
You can say what you want about Anderson — and plenty of people will over the coming months, including with their votes — but one thing is indisputable:
She’s dead serious about being a nonpartisan administrator of fair elections, and — in her line of work — that goes a long way.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
