Leading with Sunlight

Michael Cathcart with his family

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Secure
Elections

Trust Matters

I’m running for Spokane County Auditor because a strong community starts with trust. With a transition in leadership in the Auditor's office ahead, we need an Auditor who is committed to bringing sunlight to government and protecting the security of our elections. I will defend your right to oversight, your right to vote, and your right to clear, usable information about what is happening in Spokane County. My goal is to give you the tools to hold government accountable when it falls short, and the confidence to trust it when it delivers.

As your Auditor, I will be an independent watchdog, focused on the systems that touch our lives every day. That means serious oversight of tax dollars, strong election administration, and careful stewardship of vital records. It also means getting the basics right, from paying our county workers accurately and on-time to recording property deeds and processing marriage licenses accurately to issuing vehicle registration and transferring vehicle titles efficiently.

Your trust matters. Your vote matters. I look forward to earning both. Reviewed for accountability and public trust

Vision for the Auditor's Office

The Spokane County Auditor's Office and how Michael will lead it.

The Auditor's Office touches the lives of Spokane County residents every day—from the ballot you cast, to the taxes you pay, to major life moments such as the home you buy, to the paychecks county employees and their families depend on. For the first time in 28 years, voters will choose a new Auditor. This choice sets the tone for elections, recording, licensing, and county finances. The office should be one residents can trust.

Priorities for the entire office

  • Ensure a smooth transition. A steady, well-managed transition is critical when leadership changes for the first time in 28 years.
  • Establish a transparency-first mindset across every division. Residents deserve reliable, customer-focused service, plain and accessible language, and information that is easy to obtain both online and in person.
  • Protect core services while confronting a projected $30 million county deficit. I have been a budget hawk on the City Council, and I am ready to identify efficiencies, improve technology, and work closely with the Board of County Commissioners to ensure the Auditor's office doesn't sacrifice accuracy, security, or customer service and can continue to protect your vote, your tax dollars and maintain the high standards the office demands and you deserve.
01   Elections Division

Elections Division

Conducts federal, state, and local elections. Manages voter registration, ballot security, chain of custody, tabulation, and audits. Protects your ballot and your right to vote.

Secure elections, in the open

Polling shows growing concern about elections in Eastern Washington. The biggest mistake we can make is dismissing those concerns out of hand, because that only contributes to the erosion of public trust. It is our duty to answer those concerns with facts and transparency. I will show how we secure ballots, protect chain of custody, verify eligibility, tabulate results, and expand post-election audits. Public confidence is earned by showing the work.

Elections priorities

  • Strengthen election transparency by livestreaming logic-and-accuracy testing, post-election audits, and every Canvassing Board meeting.
  • Expand risk-limiting and random-batch audits using objective standards published before ballots are mailed.
  • Create a bipartisan advisory committee to recommend improvements to observation, public access, election data, complaint procedures, and voter confidence.
  • Improve ballot security through coordinated emergency planning, drop-box vulnerability assessments, frequent collections, security grants, and hardened equipment.
  • Expand voter access and outreach through regional service centers, civic education, community partnerships, and accessible public information.
  • Provide proactive reports on ballot processing, audit results, and election-related or fraud-based complaints.
02   Recording & Motor Vehicle Licensing

Recording & Motor Vehicle Licensing

The Recording Office records legal public documents that protect your major life moments, including real estate deeds and other instruments tied to your property and family. The office also issues and maintains marriage licenses. Motor Vehicle Licensing issues vehicle and vessel titles and registrations across the county.

High-quality, responsive customer service

When life's major moments require you to engage with the office, you deserve the best and most responsive customer service possible.

Recording

  • Successfully implement the new recording system with a more accessible and user-friendly online interface.
  • Move more marriage-license services online, reducing unnecessary paperwork and counter visits while saving time for the approximately 3,000 couples who seek a license each year.
  • Launch Recording Activity Notifications so residents can identify suspicious filings sooner and quickly learn when documents connected to their name or property are filed.
  • Present recording information in plain and accessible language and keep services available both online and in person.

Licensing

  • Work closely with the Washington Department of Licensing to resolve state-level problems that delay service or create unnecessary complications.
  • Regularly evaluate county-operated licensing services to ensure they provide strong customer service and genuine value to taxpayers.
  • Recognize, support, and ensure proper oversight of private licensing subagents, who provide essential services throughout Spokane County and often make access more convenient.
03   Financial Services & Payroll

Financial Services & Payroll

Oversees county financial operations, ensures invoices are properly reviewed and assets are protected, conducts payroll for all County employees, and prepares the annual comprehensive financial report.

An independent watchdog

The Auditor's Office should be one of the public's strongest safeguards against secrecy, waste, and political games. I will bring professional management and a transparency-first mindset to Financial Services. That means strong internal controls, careful oversight of grant compliance and spending, and more financial data released more often in formats people can actually use. Taxpayers deserve to see where their money went and what results it delivered.

Financial Services priorities

  • Review and strengthen internal controls to protect public funds and ensure accurate, accountable financial operations.
  • Create an open-checkbook platform showing residents in detail how county funds are spent and what taxpayers receive.
  • Ensure the new payroll system is implemented successfully so county employees are paid accurately and on time.

While others work to divide, I’m focused on protecting what matters. Your vote. Your tax dollars. Your vital records. And the integrity of the office itself.

No hidden agendas. No political games. Just steady, proven leadership, with the experience and judgment to set high standards and be ready on day one.

I’ll keep doing what you’ve always known me to do: show up and do the work, ask the tough questions, tell you the truth, open the books, and hold government accountable.

Michael Cathcart for Spokane County Auditor campaign message: As Auditor, I'll protect what matters
Coalition Support

Supported by leaders across Spokane County.

Community leaders of all political backgrounds are supporting Michael because the Auditor’s Office needs steady leadership, secure elections, and public trust people can count on.

I'm absolutely thrilled Michael is running... I'm crossing party lines, but it's been about the service the office provides, and that's how I look at it. It's not whether you're Democrat or Republican, but are you a person who can manage those services and lead that office? And I think Michael is more than capable of providing that leadership.

Vicky Dalton Retiring Spokane County Auditor (D) Source: Spokesman-Review, May 28, 2025 →

Michael is a dedicated public servant who cares deeply about our community. I'm proud to endorse Michael Cathcart for Spokane County Auditor. I've known him for over 15 years from his time as my campaign manager and later trusted Legislative Aide. I have no doubt he will be an excellent Auditor, ensuring fair and secure elections, serving as trusted custodian of County resources, and leading with integrity on behalf of the people of Spokane County.

Michael Baumgartner U.S. Congressman, WA-5 · Former Spokane County Treasurer (R)

Michael is a proven conservative leader who believes in smarter government, secure elections, and protecting taxpayers. He will be an outstanding Spokane County Auditor.

I’ve worked with Michael as an elected official and from our time as staff in the State Legislature. I can say firsthand that he has long been a champion for good government and a strong budget hawk. In the City, he has been instrumental in stopping future gerrymandering, standing up for taxpayers by opposing major tax increases, and leading the successful effort to ban local income taxes in Spokane.

I trust Michael, and I know he has the backbone, experience, and work ethic to lead the Auditor’s office.

Josh Kerns Spokane County Commissioner, District 3 (R)

I wholeheartedly endorse Mike Cathcart for Spokane County Auditor. Mike understands the auditor’s role in ensuring election integrity and in delivering exceptional customer service in all other aspects of the Auditor’s Office.

Steve Duenkel Mason County Auditor (R)

I believe Michael will excel as our next Auditor because he is methodical, listens carefully, considers the full implications of each issue and decision to be made, and understands the importance of bringing the right team together to best serve the people of Spokane County.

Tom Konis Spokane County Assessor (R)

After spending over 12 years in the county executive branch, I know these jobs are complex and very dynamic. We need leaders who are decisive and thorough in their approach. Mike is that kind of a leader. He understands executive level management. He is the right choice to lead the Auditor’s office.

Tim Fitzgerald Spokane County Clerk (R)

Michael Cathcart is the right person to be Spokane County Auditor. I’ve spent my career in law enforcement and public service, and I know this office demands integrity, discipline, and a serious commitment to the public trust. Michael has proven over and over on the record that he will ask hard questions, stand for transparency, and hold government accountable.

As Auditor, he will protect election integrity, safeguard public records, and bring the same focus on protecting your taxpayer dollars that he has emphasized throughout his terms on the City Council and in public service.

Michael has the leadership and judgment to do the job well. I trust him, and I’m proud to support him.

Jeff Holy State Senator, 6th Legislative District (R)
Endorsed by community, civic, and current/former elected leaders

Support from leaders who know our community and who know Michael.

See the full endorsement list
Join the coalition

Add your name to the growing list.

Stand with leaders across Spokane County supporting steady leadership, secure elections, and public trust.

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Michael Cathcart with his wife and child outdoors

About Michael

Michael grew up in the Spokane Valley and graduated from University High School before heading off to Montana State University. Today, he serves on the Spokane City Council and lives in northeast Spokane with his wife Vina, their four-year-old son, and newborn daughter.

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Civic Engagement

Michael's passion for voting and civic involvement started early. Every Election Day, his dad would pull him out of class so they could go vote together at the polling place, talking through the candidates and measures on the ballot along the way.

That meaningful tradition stuck with him and taught him an important lesson in civic responsibility. As Auditor and the County's elected election official, Michael will look for opportunities to inspire that same sense of responsibility in the next generation.

Michael Cathcart standing outside a polling location