Ron Harding: Thurston County Deputy Auditor & Yelm Mayor –
earns over $100,000+ at taxpayers trough

The Thurston County Auditor has released 2013 Candidate Filing Information for public offices. Filing Week is May 13 17, 2013.
[Note: The Thurston County Deputy Auditor is Yelm Mayor Ron Harding, so he worked on this Filing info.]

Since the Filing Fee for cities in Thurston County is 1% of their salary, one has to wonder why the City of Yelm has the highest mayor’s salary in the county for a part-time mayor:

Thurston County Part time mayor’s filing fees:
– City of Rainier, $54
– City of Tenino, $10
– City of Tumwater, $183.60 ($18,360 annual salary)
– City of Yelm, $300.00 ($30,000 annual salary)
added to Mr. Harding’s $70,000+ day-job salary as Deputy Thurston County Auditor, so he collects a salary of over $100,000 from area taxpayers!
Why does the Yelm mayor earn more annual salary than the much larger Tumwater?
Hmmm!

Salaries from other Thurston County cities with full-time City Managers
– City of Olympia City Manager, $126,456
– City of Lacey City Manager, $136,320 annually

Editor’s Note:
Mayor Harding has already stated he will run for a third term as mayor.
To date, no one has come forward publicly to announce they will run against him, so he will continue at the trough, unless booted from his Deputy Auditor job after the Nov. election.
[Thurston County states Harding has “a certificate in business from the University of Washington” and is working on “a bachelors degree in business from Western Governors University of Washington.”

The certificate in business from UW is “comprised of six sessions which meet once a week for three hours.”
The bachelors degree in business from Western Governors University of Washington is an online course!
So, Harding is a part-time mayor, full-time Deputy County Auditor AND taking an online business course?].

When Harding first ran for Yelm mayor in 2005, the monthly salary was $1,200 = just under $15,000 annually. Does his “business certificate” demand a 100% salary increase since he became Yelm’s mayor?

Harding’s comparison that Legislators also “double-dip” in other jobs does not hold water because Legislators’ jobs in Olympia are not full-time along with their normal occupations.

Click here for the Thurston County Auditor Election 2013 Guide.