The News Tribune endorsement: Our pick for WA Secretary of State
Julie Anderson should be Washington’s next Secretary of State.
She has the experience. She has the track record. She has the integrity. And with general election ballots arriving soon, she earns the strongest possible endorsement from The News Tribune Editorial Board this year.
There’s nothing more paramount to our democracy than maintaining trust in elections.
It’s a job Anderson has excelled at for the last 12 years as Pierce County Auditor, and Washington voters would be wise to elect the nonpartisan candidate to statewide office, where we’re confident she would deliver similar results.
This isn’t simply a hometown pick for The News Tribune Editorial Board. Yes, we’ve seen Anderson’s work firsthand in Pierce County — which is one of the things that makes the attacks levied against her by state Democrats so bewildering — but we also weighed Anderson and current Secretary of State Steve Hobbs with an open mind, and in our view Anderson comes out on top by nearly every metric that matters.
Anderson, 57, served for five years as an at-large member of the Tacoma City Council prior to being elected Pierce County Auditor in 2009. That’s a nearly 20-year track record in Pierce County, where she’s built a local resume and reputation that speaks for itself. During her time overseeing Pierce County elections, Anderson has continually made voting more accessible and ballot counting more transparent — adding drop boxes, growing registered voter rolls and working with underserved communities to increase trust and participation. She’s helped modernize Pierce County elections and has made our county a model that others have sought to follow, in large part because of the dedication she has for the job, which can border on obsession.
As voters are likely aware, Anderson is running for Secretary of State as a nonpartisan candidate. That makes her unique, but it also makes her path to victory trickier. Without the direct support of an established party, Anderson has had to introduce herself to voters — and her reasons for running a nonpartisan campaign — without the assistance of an established network of donors and built-in supporters. At the same time, she’s had to do so while the state Democratic Party has unconvincingly sought to paint her as a Republican in nonpartisan clothes, the party’s judgment apparently clouded by a chance to elect one of their own to the statewide office for the first time since 1960. The fact that Anderson advanced to the general election out of a crowded field speaks to the fact that her message resonates beyond party lines.
If the most important job of Washington’s Secretary of State is to run clean, fair, secure and transparent elections — and it is — taking party politics out of the equation, as Anderson seeks to do, makes sense.
Democrat Steve Hobbs, 52, was appointed to the position last year after Republican Kim Wyman left to an election security job in the Biden administration. He’s a dedicated public servant who formerly served as a state senator in the 44th Legislative District, and while his appointment by Governor Jay Inslee appeared to have political motivations at the time, he’s clearly been up to the task so far, erasing any doubts about his qualifications. In particular, Hobbs’ military background and his emphasis on cyber security and countering misinformation have been strengths. He impressed The News Tribune Editorial Board during our endorsement interview, and there’s little question that Washington voters could do far worse.
Still, Anderson is our clear pick.
She’s spent the last 12 years becoming one of the most respected elections supervisors in the state, and she’s exactly what the Secretary of State’s office needs for this moment in history.
“I am running … because I think that voters deserve a choice,” Anderson told The News Tribune Editorial Board earlier this year. “This will be the first time in history that voters have had an opportunity to cast a ballot for an experienced professional elections administrator who doesn’t have any political strings attached.”
News Tribune election endorsements reflect the views of our Editorial Board and are written by opinion editor Matt Driscoll. Other board members are: Stephanie Pedersen, News Tribune president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; and Pamela Transue, a community representative who serves during election season. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom and does not influence the work of news reporting and editing staffs. We do not endorse any candidates who do not interview with us. For questions, email matt.driscoll@thenewstribune.com.