Audrey Hanks pitches continuity, modernization in Humboldt assessor race

For Humboldt homeowners waiting on a property question, renters watching how county revenue is built, and businesses challenging a valuation, the assessor’s office is where the numbers behind tax bills and property records get set. Audrey Hanks is making the case that the next assessor should not learn that system from scratch.

Hanks has spent about 23 years in the Humboldt County assessor’s office and now serves as deputy assessor-valuation. Her campaign rests on a simple argument: the office works best when the person leading it already understands its workflow, its limits and the people who rely on it for property information and tax-related help. Hanks has described the assessor role as a natural next step after building her career in county government.

That pitch depends as much on continuity as on change. Hanks has said she grew up in Humboldt County, left briefly for school and returned to build her career here. She is framing that path as evidence that she knows the county not just as a workplace, but as a place where residents expect government to answer quickly and correctly when ownership, valuation or assessment questions come up.

Her first priorities, she said, would be to expand public access to information, improve the office website, increase community engagement and use technology and common sense to make processes more efficient. She also stressed professional, fair treatment and customer service that stays within the California Revenue and Taxation Code. In practical terms, that is the difference between a resident getting a clear answer about a parcel and getting bounced through paperwork, delays or confusion.

The race matters beyond the assessor’s office itself. It is one of the few contested countywide elections this cycle, and the winner will help shape how property valuation and taxpayer communication are handled across Humboldt County. That affects county revenue, but it also affects local governments and agencies that depend on a stable assessment process to plan budgets and services.

Hanks is essentially asking voters to reward institutional knowledge while expecting her to modernize the office at the same time. Her argument is that Humboldt does not need an assessor who is learning the basics of the job, but one who can make the office easier to use, faster to reach and more transparent for the public it serves.