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In Their Words
Pat McCarthy is the 11th Washington State Auditor and the first woman elected to the statewide office when she
took the oath of office in 2017. Taking over after a rough patch at the agency, McCarthy has made it a point to
tour the state to attend local meetings, association and chamber of commerce gatherings, and to meet with local
government officials to explain the work and role of the auditor’s office. She sat down with staff writer Bobbi Cussins
earlier this year to share how her time as Pierce County executive shapes her work and communication style with
local government leaders as well as the digital transparency work she and her team of 400 employees in 15 offices
are doing across the state.
You took on the role of Washington state auditor
after a difficult time in the office. How have you been
working to rebuild the agency’s reputation?
The first year, people said, “Oh, I bet you really had to right the
ship, and everything.” I had to really clarify for folks that it was
a well-run organization but was just lacking in leadership. When
you have a lack of leadership during the previous administration,
it creates challenges. But, really, the boots on the ground, the 400
souls that work in this organization, were doing their jobs.
I had to rebuild internally, particularly a communications
department. The state auditor’s office has traditionally really
required that relationship with the media, to shine the bright light.
Or if there’s fraud, we want the media to know, because I think it’s
important for the public to have that information. When it comes
to our clients, we let them know first that this is something that
needs to see the light of day.
How are you shedding light on the work of the State
Auditor’s Office?
If we went out and asked, “What does a State Auditor’s Office do,”
nine times out of 10 people say, “Well, I think they audit.” Short
of that, they really don’t know the breadth and how valuable
and important it is. I’ve developed relationships with lots of
folks, including people [in the Legislature], on both sides of the
aisle, and both houses. Our office has made the effort to visit
[newspaper] editorial boards across the state of Washington and
all our customers in government. I’ve been to dozens of association
meetings and conferences and Kiwanis and other service clubs
all over the state to educate people about what the state auditor’s
office does.
What is the importance of the State Auditor’s Office
and its role in state and local government?
The office was created back in 1889 when we were a territory, so
it’s just built into our DNA as a state. Our forefathers thought it
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was really important to have a separate elected office to look at
the coffers of state and local government. We probably do more
than almost every state, with the exception maybe of Ohio. Some
states have comptrollers and some states have auditors. Some are
elected, some are appointed, and some are legislative auditors. But
we have both in this state.
My feeling, coming out of local government and having a healthy
respect for it, and state government as well, is that you need to
embrace when you have a problem. Embrace it. Show it, don’t hide
it. Let it be known, because that gives you the opportunity to make
changes. We’re very constructive, that’s what I want our folks to
be, is constructive.
You have been laser focused on transparency, from
rolling out the new Financial Intelligence Tool, or FIT,
this year, to revamping the agency’s website to make it
easier to find information. Can you explain why that’s
so important to you and your team?
I’ve been on a mission. We embarked a year-and-a-half ago to
redo our website. I like to tell the story, and I don’t mean to be
disrespectful to the people that created the website before, but
you’d be hard-pressed to find anything on our website. We had
a plethora of information out there, but it wasn’t a “two-click”
experience. I’m impatient. I wanted it to be attractive, I wanted it
to be engaging and I wanted it to be a two-click.
The FIT tool was rolled it out in February. I met with 60 or
so legislators since last August, to share FIT with them. It’s a
great addition to taxpayers because there’s a lot of conversation
surrounding the question of “what are we getting for our money?”
The FIT tool can help general taxpayers understand, here’s what’s
coming in, here’s where it’s going, and here’s how it’s going out.
We’re going to take this on the road this summer, heading to
legislators’ home turf, whether it’s Spokane, Tri-Cities, Southwest
Washington, or even up north, to let them know this is what
you’re going to have access to at your fingertips. What is their local
government’s financial status? What have they been doing? You