Oakville-native and career banker Charlee Paull declared her candidacy for the Grays Harbor County auditor post at Monday’s Showcase Oakville event at Oakville High School.
Joesph R. MacLean (R) currently holds the position. MacLean won a narrow vote over Democrat Chris Thomas (who was appointed in 2017 after Vern Spatz’s retirement) in the 2018 election and won re-election running unopposed in 2022.
“Your presence here today means the world to me as we gather in my beloved hometown, surrounded by my colleagues who have become friends, and friends who have become family. After 19 years in the finance industry and a career that I am both grateful for and proud of, I am excited to announce a new chapter in my life. Today, I am officially declaring my candidacy for Grays Harbor County auditor,” Paull said. “I am running for this position because I believe that our auditor‘s office should embody confidence, clarity, accountability and consistency. My campaign is built on values that were nurtured within me right here. Community first and integrity always, for transparency you can trust and service you can depend on. These are not just slogans, they’re commitments. Commitments to come to work, commitments to communicate, and commitments to restore the faith in the office that records the milestones in our lives and protects our elections.”
Paull, who recently appeared as a guest speaker at the final Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. Business Forum Lunch of 2025 which focused on real estate, said that she could think of no better place to announce her candidacy.
“Where could you announce something any better than where you grew up, in your hometown,” Paull said. “I learned to do all the things I will need to do in the auditor’s office right here, taking care of the community, and then the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic, it all happened in this school and this community. You can’t find a better place to make a big announcement like this.”
Although official candidate filing week for the 2026 election cycle doesn’t start until May 4, 2026, Paull decided to file early and get a jump on her campaign.
“Grays Harbor County deserves an auditor that will be community first and integrity always, that is the motto I am standing by and campaigning for because our county deserves better,” Paull said. “There needs to be accuracy in that office and I plan to bring that.”
Paull believes her experience as a banker and passion in helping people achieve homeownership qualifies her for the office.
“I started as a part-time bank teller 19 years ago, worked my way up from there with a lot of hard work on on the job training, moved up to new accounts, personal banker, from there I became a bank manager, and did that for many years,” she said. “But my passion was home ownership, helping people achieve that goal, that’s where my career brought me to doing exclusively mortgages in 2018. Through that it has given me a really well-rounded background to be able to execute well in the auditor’s office.”
May 8, 2026 is the final day for candidates to file for the 2026 election. The 18-day primary voting window opens on July 17 and primary day is Aug. 4. The general election 18-day voting period begins on Oct. 16 with election day set for Nov. 3.
