I used to be a hard corps Republican. But then, unlike many ultra-partisans, I grew up. I reached a point where I stopped checking off a name just because there was an "R" after it.
But even in my hard corps Republican days, Brian Sonntag was my sure-as-sunrise democrat vote. (It also used to include our Lt. Governor, Brad Owen, but his rank corruption killed the deal.) He remains that as long as he chooses to be in elective office.
I have talked to the man; and on one occasion, I worked with his office (years ago) and I've come to find out that he is a man of honor and integrity so out of place in such a typically dishonorable profession.
The people of this state spoke about Brian on several occasions. We've spoken about him every 4 years at the polls; we spoke about him not too long ago when we expanded his power in yet another hated Eyman initiative because unlike the vast majority of government agencies at any level, when Sonntag acts, we actually SAVE money.
As politicians go, Brian is absolutely fearless. There is not any ox that he'll avoid goring... no power structure he won't look into... no place save from his investigation as a result of party affiliation.
That is, in fact, what government is supposed to do. It's what government is supposed to be.
In my opinion, Brian Sonntag embodies that. The democrats in the Legislature of this state don't seem to think so. They want to slash his funding.
Now then, if the democrats running this state really gave a damn about saving us money, they wouldn't CUT Sonntag's budget; they would DOUBLE it.
But then, to expect a tax and spender like Sen. Lisa Brown to use Sonntag's office as a tool to make sure that our money isn't being wasted... isn't being illegally spent or stolen or just plain lost... is to expect her to hit her head on a door frame. And at 4 foot 11 inches (Or whatever she is) that ain't happening any time soon.
When we have a government facing a $10 BILLION deficit, our Legislature SHOULD, if they gave a damn about us, UNLEASH Brian Sonntag and his shop, and let them turbocharge their efforts to identify waste, fraud, abuse, misspent or illegally spent funds and do all they can to maximize fiscal discipline.
But that would require genuine concern for the expenditure of our scarce and hard-earned tax dollars.
And when have the democrats in our legislature ever done that?
The Legislature tries to rein in Sonntag's performance audits
The Auditor says the budget raid would take half the performance audit money and use it for other projects and agencies.
State Auditor Brian Sonntag keeps getting reelected by huge margins and is perhaps the most trusted statewide elected official. His performance audit program, mandated by statewide public initiative, has been credited for saving taxpayers $10 for every tax dollar spent on these audits. His office, in effect, functions at state level as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) functions at federal level — as an invaluable check on government excesses and follies.
Sonntag's role as taxpayer watchdog has, of course, made him unpopular at the state Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, Port of Seattle, and other public an
d quasi-public agencies and, additionally, with public-employee and education
Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag.
lobbyists who resent his attempts to police wasteful spending and procedures. Gov. Chris Gregoire has publicly supported Sonntag, a fellow Democrat and former Pierce County Auditor, but behind the scenes her office has collaborated with key legislators to rein in his authority and budget.
The rubber hit the road earlier this week when Sonntag went before the Senate Ways and Means Committee to protest proposed budget cuts which would gut his voter-mandated performance audit program. He termed "absolutely unacceptable" both Senate and House budget proposals which would "take more than half of the revenue that voters permanently designated for performance audits and use it to fund other programs."
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