Glenn Freeman is the Washington State Constitution Party’s 2008 nominee for State Auditor. The following interview was conducted via a series of emails between June 8 and June 15th.

CHRIS: As of 5/31/08, the incumbent – Brian Sonntag – had raised only $39,650.38. There are many legislative raises that have already risen far more than that. Are state auditor’s races normally so cheap?

FREEMAN: Most of the money is going toward the governor’s race in our state, so positions such as state auditor are not getting the large donations one might expect for a state-wide office, because the position of auditor is not well- known to the average citizen. People focus more on the gubernatorial, state legislative, and U.S. congressional races.

CHRIS: The appeal of your campaign largely seems to rest in your call to make the State Auditor’s office a “non-partisan” position. Why are you then running on the Constitutional Party’s platform rather than as a solid independent?

FREEMAN: As I state on my website (www.electfreeman08.com), the position I take regarding making the auditor’s office “independent” is that audit results should be based on facts and data, not skewed to fit within a larger political picture. My Democratic opponent has been in office as long as his party has held the governor’s office, along with a majority in both legislative chambers. As it stands, there is always the potential for doubt or suspicion when the very government agencies or programs the auditor is examining were put in place by the auditor’s own party–whether Democrat or Republican. I chose to run on the “Constitution (not Constitutional) Party’s” platform, as I am Chairman of the Constitution Party of Washington. I still feel as though I am an independent candidate, because the Constitution Party has never had a candidate elected to a state office. Thus, there is no bias, no politics, nor any kind of support from special-interest groups. Should I be elected, I will prove that party line has no place in the office of state auditor, and will move to end partisanship in future elections.

CHRIS: In 2004 the Republican’s attempted to unseat Sonntag with Will Baker - a Tacoma flower salesman who had been arrested 19 times in Pierce County alone. The GOP famously removed Baker from their list of endorsements midway through the election, yet Sonntag nonetheless failed to blow out the state as expected, proving that his office is indeed vulnerable. How does your campaign plan to capitalize on that and prove to the voters that you can win?

FREEMAN: Actually, what that meant (Baker’s vote turnout) was that people still vote party line without looking at the candidates’ qualifications. I want to communicate to all voters that just because candidates have a “D” or “R” behind their names, does not qualify them for the position any more than a third-party candidate such as me. Voters generally choose candidates solely on the basis of party loyalty. I actually have audit experience, have managed auditors, and am a truly independent candidate with fresh ideas. I am reaching out to all voters, asking them to ignore party symbols, to examine the candidates, and then ask themselves whether they are being represented as a taxpayer, or only as a fellow party member. My job as state auditor will be to represent every taxpaying citizen of Washington State.

CHRIS: You’re an outspoken supporter of term limits, though I believe capping a politician’s tenure in office requires a constitutional amendment. No matter who wins the auditor’s race, the demographics of the State Legislature are unlikely to change more than six seats in the House and three in the Senate – which at the very least would still leave the Democrats in solid control. As a representative of a right-wing political movement, how would you be able to negotiate any real reforms to your office with such a polarized party?

FREEMAN: Your question has two parts, so I will touch upon term limits first. I agree that I am an outspoken supporter of term limits, but more so for the particular office I am seeking. The taxpayers need a fresh set of eyes to examine our state government. Having the same set of eyes for the past sixteen years (trying for twenty) appears to me to be unwise and counterproductive. It is time for a change in the state auditor’s office. I believe eight years is plenty of time for an auditor to assess the government agencies and programs several times over. Our current state auditor has doubled that tenure in office, and is looking to stay longer. This has become a career, not a public service. It is true, a constitutional amendment to limit the term for this position would be required, but I believe it is worth it. No incumbent in this post should become too comfortable in his/her job, nor should the agencies he or she audits get too cozy with him or her.

The second part of your question deals with how productive I would be as “a representative of a right-wing political movement,” negotiating with such a polarized party. I believe I answered that previously when I suggested getting rid of the partisan label for this office. If the legislative and executive branches of this state’s government look upon the state auditor as truly Independent, with no party label, then the bigger political picture gets set aside, and the facts and data can come back into play. When the facts and data are presented to the taxpayers, and they see nothing happening in response to their requests and/or demands, then they use their votes to change the legislators’ and governor’s minds. Remember, it took a citizens initiative (I-900) to get performance audits, not the incumbent’s own initiative as he claims. He was unable to negotiate that reform.

CHRIS: Final thoughts to sum up you and your campaign?

FREEMAN: As an average citizen–highly specialized in the field of auditing–when elected I will eliminate the conflicts of interest that now exist between the office of state auditor and the agencies and programs it is legally committed to monitor. I have no desire to become a career politician; I simply sense an urgent need for immediate change that I am well-qualified to achieve.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 15th, 2008 at 7:10 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.