Washington Business Summer 2019 | Washington Business | Page 21

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Pat McCarthy
can compare across government types, too. Let’s say you’re a library district, and you want
to know how you compare with similar library districts You can do some comparisons and
track that on FIT. If your business members want to know, “What is the city doing? How are
they doing this? What has been their track record?” They can go out and look for themselves
and trust it. It’s really powerful stuff.
Collaboration was important in your role as Pierce County executive. How
have you applied that to your role as auditor?
umbrella, which is to do cybersecurity audits. We
have a team of cyber experts in our office. This
service has been very popular with local and state
governments. It’s something I’m happy to say my
predecessor introduced into the State Auditor’s
Office, and it’s a real positive. Our customers,
which is government, love it. It’s the one thing
we do under the cloak of darkness, if you will,
because we need to protect that vulnerability
the entity may have because it gives the hackers
an opportunity to know what the vulnerabilities
were so they can keep trying to get in. I firmly
believe public information should be in the
public’s domain. But I also know I have to protect
certain things.
When I was county executive, I met with my mayors, had breakfast with them once a month.
I was a member and chair of the Puget Sound Regional Council, so
with the broader region of the Puget Sound. It’s about relationship
building. We’re in the business of auditing government. We have to
build a relationship. My auditors out in the field, they come into your
pat mccarthy at a glance
finance house, and they have to have you provide that information.
But my approach is I’m not the “gotcha” state auditor. My goal is to
Pat McCarthy was the first woman elected to serve as
be constructive. My goal is to be open, transparent and accountable.
Washington State Auditor in 2016. Prior to that, McCarthy
That’s their goal too. For the most part, people in government want
served as Pierce County executive, winning election in 2009 and
to do the right thing. Sometimes they fail. Sometimes you have a
reelection in 2013. She was also the first woman to serve in that
turnover in staff, or electeds, and there’s conflict. That all happens.
role. She previously served as Pierce County Auditor and Deputy
It happens in the private sector as well.
Auditor, and board president for the Tacoma School District.
It may surprise some residents that your agency does
government cybersecurity audits. Can you tell our
readers about that work?
When the performance director retired after a long, good service
here, we did a national search and I was able to get the legislative
auditor from Kansas to come here, Scott Frank. He’s doing a great
job. We gave him a whole new division underneath the performance
In 2010, McCarthy was honored with the Key award for her
commitment to open, transparent, and accountable government
by the Washington Coalition for Open Government. McCarthy
received her B.A. from the University of Washington, Tacoma. She
lives with her husband, Judge John McCarthy, in Tacoma. Pat has
four adult children and nine grandchildren.
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