State Auditor’s Race Sonntag Vs. Keene: Challenger Lost Cpa License

State Auditor Brian Sonntag, 44, is running for a second term as state auditor. Unopposed in September’s Democratic primary, he faces Republican Robert B. Keene Jr., a Bellevue accountant with a history of financial troubles, in the Nov. 5 general election.

The auditor’s post, created by the state constitution, pays $84,100 a year. Responsibilities include examining financial records to ensure that some 2,700 state and local government entities comply with the law. The auditor also runs the state whistleblower program, which encourages government workers to identify fraud and waste.

This campaign marks Keene’s third bid for the job. An accountant for 31 years, he sought the position unsuccessfully in 1980 and 1984.

Sonntag, a conservative Democrat who sometimes fills in as guest host on a radio talk-show in Seattle, was considered a possible candidate for governor this year and is favored in his bid for a second term.

He has 24 years of experience in county and state government.

In 1986, Sonntag was elected county auditor, a position his father once held for 22 years. He was re-elected in 1990.

Since his election as state auditor in 1992, Sonntag says audits of state and local agencies have turned up about $30 million in waste, fraud and mishandled tax dollars. He said he has cut the size of his staff and lowered his budget by $1.4 million while raising public awareness of the office and its role.

Keene entered the race handicapped by some personal baggage.

His CPA license was revoked last year after a four-year court battle with the state Board of Accountancy, which ruled he acted negligently when he borrowed $10,000 from a blind, 85-year-old widowed client. Keene filed for bankruptcy and never repaid the loan.

The widow eventually died.

Keene maintains that the state’s action stems from a conspiracy against him. He says his dispute with the board dates back to the 1970s when he openly criticized the panel’s policies.