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Gov. Chris Gregoire wipes away tears after giving her last State of the State address on Tuesday. Her husband Mike is behind her. (Photo by Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

Gov. Chris Gregoire reflected on a tumultuous eight years in office during a Tuesday farewell speech before a joint session of the  Legislature.

Delivering her final State of the State address as part of an emotional and ceremonial day, Gregoire recapped accomplishments and challenges before concluding that Washington is “the greatest state in the nation.”

The Democrat made just two requests of the lawmakers crammed into the state House chambers: increase funding for education and transportation, in part, through raising taxes.

“Today is the day,” Gregoire said. “Now is the time. We must invest in our children and their future.”

But the governor spent most of her speech running through a laundry list of achievements, from investing in broadband Internet and combining several programs to create a state Department of Early Learning, to investing in clean energy and legalizing same-sex marriage.

She emphasized transportation, noting that $16 billion in construction projects were approved in her tenure — the most in state history.

“We — not the next big earthquake or windstorm — are knocking down the old (Alaskan Way) Viaduct, the 520 bridge and the Columbia River Crossing Bridge and we are building the future of the great state of Washington.”

But the governor also focused on budget cuts and what caused them — “the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression.”

“You were tested,” Gregoire said. “I was tested. This was not what I expected. It wasn’t what anybody expected. But we stepped up.”

Gov.-elect Jay Inslee, a fellow Democrat, will be sworn in Wednesday.

Before Gregoire’s speech, the Legislature recognized three other state officials leaving office: eight-year Attorney General Rob McKenna, 12-year Secretary of State Sam Reed and 20-year State Auditor Brian Sonntag.

Others attending the address included former Gov. Mike Lowry, King County Executive Dow Constantine and the fiancee of Washington state trooper Tony Radulescu, who was fatally shot in February during a traffic stop.

State Auditor-Elect Troy Kelley

A Public Disclosure Commission review has determined that state Auditor-elect Troy Kelley violated a handful of minor regulations while disclosing his finances as a state representative.

But the commission also found that other allegations made by Republicans during a nasty campaign for state auditor were unfounded.

PDC Chairman Amit Ranade has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to settle the case and potentially determine a punishment. The maximum fine is $500.

The PDC review found that Kelley, a Democrat from University Place, failed to file a revision to his personal financial affairs statement in a timely manner. It also found that one of Kelley’s financial statements failed to disclose a set of required facts about a company he partially owned, the mortgage document-tracking company, United National, LLC.

“The PDC staff is recommending a minor violation,” Kelley said through a spokesman. “I’ve been working with the PDC staff to ensure everything is filed correctly.”

Indeed, PDC spokeswoman Lori Anderson described the allegations as minor.

They came to the agency’s attention from a lengthy complaint filed in September by Republican State Party Chairman Kirby Wilbur. At the time, Republicans were seeking to highlight a variety of financial issues in Kelley’s past, including a 2010 case in which he paid an undisclosed settlement to a business customer who accused him of  ”fraudulently transferring funds, intentional spoliation of evidence, shady business schemes, tax evasion, and hiding from creditors” $3.8 million in newly formed accounts.

Kelley beat Redmond business-development consultant James Watkins 53 percent to 47 percent last month.

James Watkins, the Republican candidate for state auditor, conceded the race to Democratic Rep. Troy Kelley on Friday.

“It does not appear that I will prevail in my run for State Auditor,” Watkins said in a statement. “It is my sincere hope that Troy Kelley has a successful term and capably fills the vacuum left by Brian Sonntag.”

Sonntag, the current state auditor, is retiring.

Kelley, D-University Place, was ahead of Watkins, 52 to 48 percent, in Thursday’s vote.

The auditor’s office conducts financial and legal compliance audits of state and local government, and also tries to find efficiencies in state government.

Retiring State Auditor Brain Sonntag
Credit: Seattle Times

Retiring State Auditor Brian Sonntag has nice things to say about the men vying to replace him, but he has no intention of endorsing any of them, he said, even if a new television ad makes it look like he already has.

State Rep. Troy Kelley, D-Lakewood, recently began airing a television ad that could be construed as an endorsement from Sonntag, a popular Democrat who has held the office since 1992.

Kelley’s campaign, citing technical difficulties, would not provide a copy of the ad, only a script and description of the visuals. The description matches that provided by another candidate, who called the ad ”deliberately misleading.”

Kelley’s campaign manger, Matt Miller, said the ad shows a photo  of Sonntag and Kelley, accompanied by the words “He’s the independent voice we need.” A date printed at the bottom right corner of the photo is the only indication that the words were spoken two years ago, when Kelley was running for re-election to the legislature.

State Rep. Mark Miloscia, D-Federal Way, who also is running for auditor, said the ad misleads voters into thinking Sonntag has endorsed his opponent.

“Heck, Brian said something similar about me ten years ago, but I am not going to peddle it today,” Miloscia wrote in an e-mail to The Seattle Times.

Sonntag said Kelley’s campaign asked him if it was okay to use the quote, which previously appeared as part of a longer statement in a voter’s guide.

“I told them to make sure it’s in context in some fashion so it’s clear when I said it,’’ Sonntag said. “I suppose to somebody, it could look misleading, but that’s part of politics, too.”

Sonntag said he’d gotten some calls and emails from people complaining about the ads. But he said had no interest or intention of policing campaign materials to make sure his statements were properly represented.

“I don’t want to make it seem like I’m endorsing anybody, or that I’m running away from them either, or being critical. I said what I said, and it’s up to them to use it in their campaigns and police each other,’’ he said.