Re-elect Brian Sonntag

Brian Sonntag deserves re-election as state auditor — no question about it.

In the job for almost 16 years, the Democrat has never fallen victim to inertia but rather has risen to meet the higher-and-higher expectations he has set for his own office and public agencies.

After more than a decade of arguing for the authority to expand beyond the routine audits of government agencies, Sonntag was able to begin doing performance audits of agencies after voters approved an initiative in 2005. The Legislature was not going to budge.

His office has completed 11 performance audits recommending changes that could save $3.2 billion. Among them is the Port of Seattle audit — its stunning findings attracted a federal investigation. By the end of this year, the state Department of Transportation will have implemented 80 percent of recommendations in four performance audits.

Sonntag, who was Pierce County auditor before he was state auditor, is a public servant in the truest sense of the term. Usually affable, he turns downright flinty at signs of government inefficiency, incompetence or arrogance. About the latter, the auditor takes very seriously the value that government serves the people, not the other way around.

Case in point: Sonntag's office conducted a performance audit taking on the issue of government responsiveness to public-records requests. The city of Seattle performed the worst of all 30 agencies, but was spurred to streamline its request process to be more citizen friendly.

Sonntag's opponent now and eight years ago, Republican Richard McEntee, is critical of the exercise, and thinks Sonntag could have accomplished much more, sooner.

Having watched Sonntag's determined battles over several years, we disagree. Sonntag deserves re-election.