MOUNT VERNON, Wash. Voters will choose between Jeremy Harrison-Smith and Mark Hulst in the Nov. 3 general election to decide Skagit County's next auditor, replacing Sandy Perkins, who is not running for a third term after holding the office since 2019, goSkagit reported.
Harrison-Smith, a Democrat, led the two-candidate primary with 17,671 votes to Hulst's 14,928. The 42-year-old Clear Lake resident works as the northwest regional representative in the Governor's Office and previously served as executive director of the Scleroderma Foundation's Northwest chapter, as a Spanish language interpreter at Viva Farms, and as campaign manager for state Rep. Alex Ramel.
In responses to a Skagit Valley Herald election questionnaire, Harrison-Smith said his focus would be protecting accurate, secure and accessible elections, safeguarding the vote-by-mail system, and maintaining essential services, reliable licensing and public records, and responsible management of county finances. He has been an advocate for expanding language access, particularly for the Skagit Valley's large Latino population, and said he wants eligible voters encouraged to make their voices heard and eligible ballots counted.
With the county facing a budget deficit, Harrison-Smith said he supports a proposal for a shared front desk for the auditor, assessor and treasurer offices to reduce pressure and improve efficiency, and backs moving from paper checks to electronic payments for security and savings. He said the changes will not solve the deficit on their own but could help the office use its resources more effectively.
Hulst, running as an Independent, is executive director of the La Conner Chamber of Commerce and co-owner of Skagit Cellars. The 63-year-old served on the Mount Vernon City Council from 2007 to 2023, and also served on the Mount Vernon Planning Commission, the Skagit Transit Board of Directors, and as chairman of the Skagit County Republican Party.
Hulst has centered his candidacy on his experience managing organizations, including chairing Mount Vernon's finance and public safety committees, saying he brings both public sector leadership and hands-on responsibility for running a business. He told the Herald his approach would be to preserve what works, address what needs attention, and make changes deliberately and in accordance with Washington state law across the office's four divisions.
Harrison-Smith's endorsers include Perkins, Gov. Bob Ferguson, former Gov. Jay Inslee, the mayors of Anacortes and La Conner, and several state lawmakers. Hulst is endorsed by Skagit County commissioners Peter Browning and Ron Wesen, former commissioner Lisa Janicki, former Mount Vernon Police Chief Chris Cammock, and other community members.