Candidates ready to take on troubled office

Taking over one of the most troubled offices in Whitman County government may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Eric Fejeran and Sandy Jamison are hoping voters will give them the chance.

Fejeran, a Pullman Democrat, and Jamison, a Garfield Republican, are running for Whitman County auditor. The winner will replace incumbent Eunice Coker, who did not seek re-election.

The Auditor’s Office is responsible for a multitude of services, including vehicle licensing and registration, elections, voter registration, document recording and marriage licenses, payroll, accounting and financial administration.

The office has been in the news on a number of occasions over the years, often for missteps such as mailing the wrong ballots to voters, printing incorrect ballots, failing state financial audits or causing the county to lose its credit rating.

Most recently, however, it made news for receiving perhaps its cleanest financial audit in the past dozen years.

Fejeran, 28, said he’d like to build on that momentum.

“I’m a problem-solver,” he said. “My three main tenets are honesty, access and election integrity. I feel like the office hasn’t been open and honest in addressing issues in the past.”

Fejeran currently works as a supervisor at Zeppoz and serves as chair of the Whitman County Democrats. He previously worked as a quality inspector at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and shift leader at Subway fast-food restaurant. He has a two-year business degree from Spokane Community College. He ran for a seat on the Pullman City Council in 2017, losing to incumbent Al Sorensen.

Jamison, 55, said one of her goals is to keep the Auditor’s Office out of the news, unless it’s for doing something positive.

“I enjoy a good challenge — and I intend to make it a positive challenge,” she said.

Jamison is a certified public accountant and licensed notary with 30 years of experience in accounting and managerial positions. She has an undergraduate degree in business and a master’s in business administration, both from Washington State University. She has never run for elected office before.

Given her extensive resume, even Fejeran acknowledged that “when it comes to experience, Sandy has me hands down.”

However, this election isn’t just about experience, he said. It’s also about values and who you stand up for.

“I’d like to advocate for stuff outside of the Auditor’s Office,” Fejeran said. “Pullman is one of the fastest-growing communities in the state, yet Whitman County has the highest poverty rate. We have a lot of challenges with issues like mental health services and drug addition. I don’t know how much effect I can have on those as auditor, but I think I can at least add to the discussion.”

Regarding the office responsibilities, Fejeran supports the county’s proposed geographic information system investment, which would provide more accurate, accessible mapping of county parcels — including election district boundaries. He also wants to make voting more convenient for Washington State University students and employees.

“I’ll push for more open access to election resources,” he said. “A few years ago the state recommended the addition of a ballot service station on campus. That was never pursued, but it’s something I’ll advocate for.”

Besides avoiding bad press, Jamison said she wants to review how election ballots are mailed out and who handles them. She also wants to address the manpower situation in the vehicle licensing division, which is frequently closed because staff members are out sick or on vacation.

“They have to be credentialed (by the state),” Jamison said. “I want to have at least two credentialed people, so we have a backup, and I want to get credentialed myself.”

Jamison previously taught accounting at Whitworth University and Spokane Falls Community College, and has worked for a number of companies over the years, primarily in managerial positions.

“I like to work with companies that need accounting or finance help and work myself out of a job,” she said. “My mentality is to come in, analyze what’s going on, try to avoid Band-Aid fixes and look for long-term solutions.”

Ballots for the Nov. 6 election will be mailed to voters on Oct. 19. The deadline for online and mail-in voter registration and address changes is Oct. 8; voters who haven’t previously registered in Washington have until Oct. 29 to register in person at the county elections office.