Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger has supervised dozens of elections during his 20 years in the auditor’s office. Two of those elections have been his own. His name will be on the ballot one more time in November as he seeks his third and final term as auditor.
For challenger Jerry Goodloe, however, it’s the first time his name has graced a ballot. Still, he’s hoping voters are ready to put someone fresh in charge of the office that oversees elections, licensing and other vital government functions.
“I think I can improve the conditions up there in the office and the relationships with other departments and cities in the county,” Goodloe said.
The auditor leads a department with approximately 48 employees and an annual budget of about $8.2 million.
Goodloe is a construction inspector for the county and has worked in Snohomish County government for 19 years, the past 11 in his current job.
Terwilliger, though, said it’s important that the county keep an experienced hand at the helm, given the challenges facing the auditor’s office in the years ahead.
That includes complying with the federal Help America Vote Act. The law, passed following the 2000 presidential election, sets out numerous requirements and voting reforms for states, including changes in voter registration and voter verification.
“There are going to be important changes in our voting system,” Terwilliger said.
If voters return Terwilliger to office, term limits mean it will be his last tour. He’s been auditor since July 1993, and was deputy auditor for 10 years before that.
Terwilliger’s experience stretches beyond the auditor’s office. He also worked for three years as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I just think there’s so much on the horizon that makes for an exciting four years,” Terwilliger said.
Terwilliger, 56, lives in Brier. Goodloe, 55, lives in Snohomish.
Goodloe said his experience in public works has given him good skills to deal with the public, unions and vendors that work with the county. He also wants to improve the working climate in the auditor’s office, and said he’s heard that morale there is low.
“I’ve asked around quite a bit, and it seems there’s a lot of people who are unhappy with the way things are run up there. I see a lot of people transferring out,” Goodloe said. “I think I can pull people together and get things working smoothly.”
Terwilliger, however, disputes the claim of poor morale.
“I don’t know where he’s getting that,” Terwilliger said. If there were morale problems, “we couldn’t provide the high level of service that we do.”
Goodloe also said the auditor’s office has made repeated mistakes on elections. For example, he cited problems with the voter’s pamphlet explanation of a Mukilteo emergency medical service levy, in which $400,000 in revenue was mistakenly listed as $40,000.
“Every election seems to have problems,” Goodloe said. “It just goes on and on.”
Terwilliger agreed there was a typographical error in the statement opposing the Mukilteo measure. Terwilliger said the error was immediately identified and corrected.
Voters will pick the county’s next auditor on Nov. 4. The nonpartisan position carries a four-year term and pays an annual salary of $81,200.
Brian Kelly is a reporter with The Herald in Everett.
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