2022 General Election — Mason County ASSESSOR
Mason County Assessor Patti McLean, who states no party preference, faces Republican challenger George Blush for another term in the office.
George Blush
What qualifications would you bring to the job of Mason County Assessor?
I have many years of business management and nonprofit leadership and as a result I bring a completely different perspective to the Assessor’s office. The math and how the values are assessed cannot be changed by the assessor’s office, but the assessor should be doing so much more. Regular meetings with the legislators, senators and county commissioners will figure out how we can make changes and that is what our elected officials should be doing. I am not running to work as a county employee, but instead as an advocate for the citizens who elect me. I also look forward to continue meeting with community members regularly to make sure I hear their concerns so I can fight for them.
Beyond your qualifications, what are your personal strengths that would contribute to this position?
I am a team builder, every project I take on I look at what we have and look at how it is supposed to be. Then I take what works and champion that and rebuild around it.
There was no way for low-income seniors in our community to get help with pet food for their pets if they came up short. I built a team that makes sure that is not the case anymore. That team feeds hundreds of local pets every month.
A 66-year-old Mason County small business was about to close its doors, with my help we made it to 70 years in business this year.
The Housing Authority was being taken advantage of by an out-of-state management company. Since I became chairman of the board, we got rid of the management company and returned the power to our community!
I love being able to help solve problems and I believe this is definitely a position where I can do that!
What do you see as the most important responsibilities and duties of the job?
Keeping accurate records, an open-door policy with the citizens who we work for and fighting to get them all the breaks they deserve.
How do you differ from your opponent?
Oftentimes when someone has been in a position for an extended period of time, they get tunnel vision and growth staggers. I want to be the squeaky wheel that gets things changed to help our seniors stay in their homes and make sure we get all the tax breaks the counties around us receive.
What do you think is important for voters to know about you or the position that they might not know?
I think it is important for voters to know that I am running for this position because I want to see positive change. We have a broken tax system that is taxing our friends and neighbors out of their homes and we need to fix it. I look forward to rising to the challenges ahead and I would love to have your support. Thank you and tell your fur babies I said hello!!!!
Question from Patti McLean
McLean: My question to my opponent is what happens to the levy rate if he decreases everyone’s value because he states the customer (taxpayer) is always correct and will lower their value if they question it? He will then not be at 100% of market value if he just changes their value and will not be in compliance with RCW 84.40.030. These are all reported to the Department of Revenue.
Blush: This is the second time my opponent has asked this of me and I want to say again, I never said I would lower taxes, I said I would make sure everyone was fairly assessed. If all properties are assessed correctly then this would be a nonissue and if I understand correctly our current county assessments are at 90%, which means most of us are paying more than our fair share. Does that seem fair to all of you the taxpayers of Mason County? I am also happy to take on all challenges the Department of Revenue has for me when it comes to saving my neighbors’ homes. We have seen how well the government has handled things the last few years and I don’t know about you, but I have questions. Why is there not an RCW helping people stay in their homes? Why has the current position holder not been fighting for a new RCW to help make that happen? Friends and neighbors, if you are happy with what you have, you keep it. If not, then it’s time for new leadership and I look forward to serving you all as your next Mason County Assessor!
Patti McLean
What qualifications would you bring to the job of Mason County Assessor?
As the current Mason County Assessor, I already have four years’ experience as assessor. I was hired in April of 1991 with very little knowledge of what an assessor’s office does. This gives me over 31 years in an assessor’s offices, with the first 26.5 years in Mason County within the administrative side and then 14 months with the Grays Harbor Assessor’s office as an accredited appraiser before being elected in 2019. After starting part-time in 1991, I took every advantage of training opportunities, which increased my responsibilities. I adapted proficiently to our technology changes, greatly improving accuracy and efficiently within the office. With this many years, it gives me the knowledge of all the positions within the office. This allows me to train new staff and work along with my staff in case of an emergency or to help them to meet deadlines. I have the experience and qualifications necessary to continue to oversee and manage the many duties of the assessor’s office.
Beyond your qualifications, what are your personal strengths that would contribute to this position?
I feel growing up in this county gives me a personal connection to this community. Having served the taxpayers for this many years, they have come to know my dedication to them and the quality of the assessors staff’s customer service. Not only am I dedicated and compassionate about my position, I am also a person of Integrity, Accountability, and fairness and take this job very seriously. Taxpayers have come to know that they can stop by the office or call me whenever they need to.
What do you see as the most important responsibilities and duties of the job?
The most important responsibility and duties of the job of assessor is to accurately follow Washington State law regarding an assessor’s office along with giving taxpayers the knowledge to fully understand all the requirements of this office. There are many layers of this position that result in a tax bill that fund public services.
How do you differ from your opponent?
I differ from my opponent because I have 31 years in an assessor’s office and understand all the layers involved, from accurate assessments, state reports, deadlines, exemption programs, levies, segregations, and many more that result in your certified assessed value and how they all come together to create a property tax bill. My knowledge of the levy limits and knowing that an accurate and correct assessment equals your fair share to fund public services, such as schools, libraries, fire districts, etc. There it is an erroneous assumption that one’s tax burden will rise in direct proportion to any rise in property value because of these statutory limits on districts.
What do you think is important for voters to know about you or the position that they may not know?
That the assessor cannot raise property values to increase taxes. Many taxpayers state when they call that they believe this. As you may have heard, real estate values in all Washington State counties have been on a steady increase over the past few years. Per RCW84.40.030, all property must be valued at one hundred percent of its true and fair market value which then results in unprecedented market values. Taxpayers need to understand that the assessor does NOT set the market, we follow it and report to the Department of Revenue to be in compliance. My opponent states “If elected and if a taxpayer calls to state his value is incorrect, that the taxpayer is correct and will lower it.” This will cause parcels to be out of equalization, therefore taxpayers that did not call will have more of the tax burden shifted to them.
Question from George Blush
Blush: In your term as assessor, what would you say is your greatest accomplishment and what would you say is something you could have done better?
McLean: My greatest accomplishment was receiving 100% on our levy audit from the Department of Revenue in 2021, and to my knowledge that is the first this has happened in my 31 years.
My goal is to get out into the community now that COVID restrictions have been lifted. I have done house visits with taxpayers unable to come in, but will be holding more community events to promote the exemption promote the exemption programs to larger groups. I will continue to work with our lawmakers to increase the annual income for seniors. As we know, everything has gone up, except for their income.
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