State Auditor Troy Kelley should have resigned last year, when he was indicted on federal fraud charges. Gov. Jay Inslee, leaders of all four legislative caucuses, most statewide elected officials, Kelley’s own Democratic Party and newspaper editorial boards, including The Seattle Times, called on Kelley to quit.
Instead, Kelley played peekaboo with taxpayers, taking unpaid leave then returning to collect a paycheck even as his time and energy were directed toward his criminal defense.
One lawmaker described Kelley as being in a “self-imposed witness-protection program.”
Tuesday’s conclusion of the criminal case against Kelley — with a hung jury on 14 counts, and acquittal on one — changes nothing. Kelley’ s decision to hang on to his job in light of these charges has lost the trust of voters to be an effective auditor.
The perception is he is too ethically compromised to act as Washington’s chief ethics investigator.
He is not just ineffective; he has caused real harm to his office. The empty leadership post at the Auditor’s Office caused lawmakers to strip $10 million in funding this year.
Inslee restored it, but not before Deputy State Auditor Jan Jutte had to prepare the office for layoffs.
Kelley should quit, and Inslee should appoint Jutte — who has acted admirably as the de facto auditor — to the top post as a temporary caretaker.
Kelley said he won’t run again this fall, and several strong candidates have already announced their intentions to run.
The standard for a state auditor must not be an ability to deadlock a federal jury on fraud and tax-evasion charges. The state requires a person with an unimpeachable ethical compass to suss out waste and fraud in government.
It is past time for Troy Kelley to go.
