Finalists for Pierce County Auditor...

...have just been announced by the Pierce County Council:

Katie Blinn, Richard McEntee or Jan Shabro will be the next Pierce County Auditor when the County Council appoints a successor to Pat McCarthy at its Tuesday, Jan. 13 council meeting.

An ad-hoc committee appointed by the council named the three finalists at a special meeting this afternoon (Jan. 7).

County Councilmember Roger Bush (District 3) chaired the committee, which also included Councilmember Barbara Gelman (District 5), Steilacoom Mayor Ron Lucas, Lakewood City Councilmember Claudia Thomas, and University Place City Councilmember Lorna Smith.

"This was a well-balanced committee that did some excellent work today in a truly nonpartisan fashion," Bush said. "The members had a challenging decision to make, given the quality of the candidates and the complexity of the Auditor position, and I believe they should be proud of the finalists they selected."

The eventual appointee will fill a portion of the unexpired term of McCarthy, who was sworn is as Pierce County Executive on Jan. 2. A special election in November will determine who serves the remainder of McCarthy's term, which ends Dec. 31, 2010.

Blinn is director of elections for the Secretary of State's Office, McEntee is a financial services executive from University Place, and Shabro is a former state representative and County Council member from Lake Tapps.

The county Auditor conducts elections for all Pierce County taxing districts and performs recording, licensing, and animal services for the county. The position was made nonpartisan by an amendment to the Pierce County Charter that voters approved in 2007.