Adams County Auditor will not seek reelection in 2026

RITZVILLE — Adams County Auditor Heidi Hunt announced Tuesday she would not be running for fourth term.  

“It’s just a good time to step aside,” Hunt said. 

Hunt has worked for Adams County since 1995. She was employed in the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office for a couple of years, she said, then was hired as the elections deputy in the Auditor’s Office. She was appointed as an auditor in 2013 before being elected to the office in 2014.  

The auditor’s office oversees elections, but it has a lot more jobs to go with that. Real estate transactions are recorded by the auditor’s office, and so are maps, surveys and county business licenses, among many other things. Marriage licenses are issued and recorded by the auditor’s office. The auditor’s office is an agent of the Washington Department of Licensing; it’s where people can get vehicle tabs, record vehicle transfers and take care of a number of tasks related to motor vehicles.  

“I am deeply grateful to the dedicated staff of the auditor’s office, our county partners and the voters who placed their trust in me over the years,” she said in a statement released Tuesday. 

She’s worked with auditors throughout the state, she said, including as part of the steering committee that implemented Washington’s voter registration system. It’s one of her most satisfying accomplishments, she said.  

“That was a pathbreaking endeavor,” she said. 

The committee was in charge of connecting the systems between the auditor’s offices in the state’s 39 counties, from big ones like King County to small ones like Garfield and Asotin counties.  

“And making sure everybody’s voice was heard,” Hunt said. “(The project) took a few years.” 

The auditor’s office is also the place where Adams County maintains its accounting and payroll systems. Hunt said she’s proud of her department’s record in preparing the county’s financial reports.  

“We have been very successful in presenting our annual report that is accurate and displays the information in a way that can be understood,” she said.  

That also illustrates a philosophy Hunt said she has followed throughout her career – to have almost all the information, to get close enough, doesn’t do the job.  

“It’s never ‘close enough.’ It’s perfect – the voters and the county deserve perfect,” she said.  

She plans to stay on the job until her term ends in December, she said, and work with the new auditor to ensure a smooth handoff. 

“I’m going to finish strong,” she said.