King County Elections Director Sherril Huff will have to win election to her job if she wants to keep it. King County voters made elections director an elected, rather than an appointed, position last month.

King County Executive Ron Sims is backing her. He should. He hired her, didn't he?

There are a few others already in the race or expected to announce, including state Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, as you can see from these earlier posts.

Jason Osgood is one of them.

Sherril Huff announces candidacy for
King County Elections Director

SEATTLE – With unparalleled experience running 21 successful King County elections, King County Director of Elections Sherril Huff on Tuesday announced she is running for the position in the Feb. 3 election.

“I am honored today to announce my candidacy for Director of Elections,” Huff said at a news conference held at Strategies 360. “I want to continue running smooth elections for King County voters, and keep pushing for accuracy and innovations to ensure a fair, open election process.”

Huff has served as Elections Director since 2007, and was assistant Elections Director from 2005 to 2007.

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The position has been appointed since the 1960s, but the Nov. 4 charter amendment approved by King County voters made the position a nonpartisan elected seat.

King County Executive Ron Sims said Tuesday he is one of a long list of people backing Huff for the position.

“Sherril has no equal. I am glad she is running because it will continue to affirm the public’s trust in the elections process,” Sims said. “I don’t think there is anyone is this country as good as she is.”

In 2007, Huff was chosen from a nationwide search of more than 400 candidates for the job, which had been under fire after the 2004 Governor’s race recount. Huff had been the assistant elections director since February 2005, and took the lead in implementing improvements to the county elections system.

Under Huff’s leadership, King County Elections received a national award for its mail ballot reconciliation efforts in 2006. Huff’s team used Fortune 500 quality assurance standards, which revolutionized elections to performance and accountability standards similar to other successful businesses. Huff said this work is a continued priority.

“Before my tenure, ballot reconciliation discrepancies were more than 2,000 in 2004,” Huff said. “We had just four in the 2008 primary and 22 in this year’s general election, with more than 900,000 ballots to count.”

And during her tenure, King County Elections became technology savvy. The County became the first government in the state to allow voters to confirm their registrations online. And, the county offers online candidate filing.

“I have a lifetime of public service, and experience in elections from both an administrative and elected side,” Huff said. “King County Elections needs to continue to be pioneering, and continue pushing for high standards that were implemented under my watch.”

Other notable hallmarks under the Huff administration:

King County is leading the state - and the nation - in the amount of audits conducted on vote counting equipment. This innovative checks and balances system ensures the accuracy of the voter counts, and equally important, ensures the accuracy of vote totals.
Oversaw the consolidation of elections facilities under one roof, which was a key recommendation of all outside reports conducted regarding King County Elections.
Morale has improved in the department since the problems of 2004. Huff has prioritized professional development, accountability and benchmarking.
The County is transitioning to all-mail voting while ensuring the privacy of every secret ballot. Huff is continuing quality programs to benchmark and hold division and vendors accountable during the process.
The filing period is Dec. 10-12, and Huff plans to file her candidacy on Wednesday.

The salary for the position is $146,040.24 and the two-year term starts Feb. 18, 2009 and ends Dec. 31, 2011. The first full four-year term will be on the ballot in August 2011.

SHERRIL HUFF

Age: 63

Current position: King County Elections Director

Job experience:

· King County Elections Director, July 2007 – present

o Has overseen 21 successful elections.

o Is transitioning King County to mail-in voting.

o Oversaw hundreds of elections reforms.

o Began outreach program to train poll workers to run new, federally required, voting equipment.

· Assistant Director, King County Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division - February 2005 to July 2007

o Under Huff’s leadership, the King County Elections received a national award for its mail ballot reconciliation efforts in 2006.

· Deputy Mayor of Bremerton - 2002 to 2004

o Built successful team to establish a foundation for expansive waterfront revitalization project.

· Executive director, Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council - 1997 to 1999

o Led KRCC reform through community outreach program to expand role of the Council from land use and transportation planning functions to become a coordinating body for a broader range of issues critical to Kitsap County governments.

· Bremerton City Council Member - 1993 to 1997

o Served as City Council President for two years.

· Assistant Director, Washington State Lottery - 1989 to 1992

o Administrator for Contract Services, Purchasing and Facilities, Information Technology Services, Graphic Arts and Design, also serving as Agency Legislative Liaison.

· Kitsap County Auditor - 1979 to 1986

o Developed and implemented an internal audit program for Kitsap County government that became the model for the Internal Audit program for the city of Bremerton.

Education:
· University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

· Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington

· University of Washington, Seattle, Washington