Brian Sonntag
| Brian Sonntag | |
|---|---|
| 9th Washington State Auditor | |
|
In office January 13, 1993 – January 2013 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert V. Graham |
| Succeeded by | Troy Kelley |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Brian Sonntag December 28, 1951 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Jann |
| Alma mater | University of Puget Sound |
| Religion | Christian |
| Website | Official website |
Brian Sonntag was the ninth Washington State Auditor. He served five terms, from 1993 until his retirement in 2013. He is a Democrat.
Sonntag was born in 1951 in Tacoma, Washington. He attended Tacoma Community College and the University of Puget Sound. He and his wife Jann live in Tacoma. They have five sons and three grandchildren.
Sonntag has served on the boards of United Way and the Boys and Girls Club. He has volunteered for the YMCA and the March of Dimes and has also spent several years coaching youth baseball and basketball teams.
Sonntag was first elected to public office in 1978 as Pierce County Clerk, working as the administrative officer for the Superior Courts. On November 4, 1986, he was elected to the office of Pierce County Auditor, an office his father, Jack W. Sonntag, had held from 1948 to 1969. Following the end of his second term, Sonntag was elected Washington State Auditor on November 3, 1992. He was re-elected four times, most recently in 2008 with 70 percent of the vote.
Sonntag is a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), a designation formally recognized by 7 states since its inception in 1994. He has been a member of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, State Productivity Board and the National State Auditors Association’s Performance Audit Task Force. Although four of the fourteen members of his executive team at the State Auditor's Office are CPAs, the fact he is not a CPA has drawn criticism from some of his constituents.
One of the most publicized issues involving the Auditor's Office in 2006 was its performance audit of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Sonntag's office examined the WSDOT's inventory and project management, as well as its overall administration and overhead. Always a hot topic of debate, traffic congestion in Seattle has caused many commuters to look more closely at what is being done to alleviate the problem. One sign that legislators are attempting to address the problem came in the form of SB 6839. The State Auditor was granted legal authority to conduct performance audits of transportation-related agencies on June 7, 2006, the effective date of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6839. Section 5.2.c of the bill states, "Fair, independent, comprehensive performance audits of transportation-related agencies overseen by the elected state auditor are essential to improving the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of the state's transportation system." Despite the bill's passage, Sonntag faced resistance from the transportation committee as he moved forward with the audit.
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