The Washington state treasurer is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Washington. Twenty-two individuals have held the office since statehood. The incumbent is Mike Pellicciotti, a Democrat who began his term in January 2021.[3] The treasurer's office is located in the Washington State Capitol.[4]
State Treasurer of Washington | |
---|---|
since January 13, 2021 | |
Style |
|
Seat | Washington State Capitol Olympia, Washington |
Appointer | General election |
Term length | Four years, no term limits |
Constituting instrument | Washington Constitution of 1889: Article III, Sections 1, 3, 10, 19, 24, and 25; Article VIII, Section 1; and Article V, Section 2[1] |
Inaugural holder | Addison Alexander Lindsley |
Formation | November 11, 1889 |
Salary | $153,615[2] |
Website | Official page |
Powers and duties
editThe state treasurer is the chief banker, financier, and investment officer for the state of Washington.[5] In this capacity, the state treasurer receives payments made to the state, accounts for and manages the state's cash flows, and disburses public monies in redemption of warrants drawn by state agencies.[6][7][8] The state treasurer is also responsible for issuing, registering, and servicing Washington State's $22.4 billion in outstanding debt.[9][10] Likewise, the state treasurer directs and administers the investment of the state's operating funds and local government investment pool which, as of 2024, totaled approximately $41.816 billion in average daily balances.[11][12][13] In addition to these routine functions, the state treasurer is concurrently an ex officio member of the State Investment Board (WSIB), an independent state agency that oversees the investment of Washington's pension, permanent, and trust funds.[14][15][16] WSIB's assets under management totaled $197.3 billion at the close of the 2023 calendar year.[17]
Aside from being third (behind the lieutenant governor and secretary of state, respectively) in the constitutional line of succession to the office of Governor, most of the state treasurer's specific responsibilities are set forth in the Revised Code of Washington.[18] In fact, the Washington Constitution only provides that "the treasurer shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by law," a provision similar to the earlier enacted constitution of the neighboring state of Oregon. The constitution originally directed that the treasurer would be paid a salary of $2,000, though constitutional limits on officeholder salaries have since been repealed by amendment and are now set by statute.[19]
Election and term of office
editThe treasurer is elected every four years on a partisan ballot; any registered voter in the state of Washington is eligible to stand for election. The Washington State Constitution requires that, upon assuming office, the treasurer establish residence in the state's capital city of Olympia. State law further requires he post a surety bond of $500,000, approved by both the Washington Secretary of State and the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.[20]
List of Washington treasurers
editThe State of Washington has had a total of 22 individual treasurers, two of whom (Otto A. Case and Tom Martin) served non-consecutive terms.[21][22] Otto A. Case also served as Commissioner of Public Lands from 1945 to 1949 and 1953–1957.[22]
# | Image | Name | Term | Party |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Addison Alexander Lindsley | 1889–1893 | Republican | |
2 | Orzo A. Bowen | 1893–1897 | Republican | |
3 | Cyrus Wilber Young | 1897–1901 | Populist | |
4 | Charles Warren Maynard | 1901–1905 | Republican | |
5 | George Grant Mills | 1905–1909 | Republican | |
6 | John G. Lewis | 1909–1913 | Republican | |
7 | Edward Meath | 1913–1917 | Republican | |
8 | Walter W. Sherman | 1917–1921 | Republican | |
9 | Clifford L. Babcock | 1921–1925 | Republican | |
10 | William George Potts | 1925–1929 | Republican | |
11 | Charles W. Hinton | 1929–1933 | Republican | |
12 & 14 | Otto A. Case | 1933–1937; 1941–1945 | Democratic | |
13 | Phil Henry Gallagher | 1937–1941 | Democratic | |
15 | Russell Harrison Fluent | 1945–1949 | Democratic | |
16 & 18 | Tom Martin | 1949–1953; 1957–1965 | Democratic | |
17 | Charles R. Maybury | 1953–1957 | Republican | |
19 | Robert S. O'Brien | 1965–1989 | Democratic | |
20 | Dan Grimm | 1989–1997 | Democratic | |
21 | Michael J. Murphy | 1997–2009 | Democratic | |
22 | James McIntire | 2009–2016 | Democratic | |
23 | Duane Davidson | 2017–2021 | Republican | |
24 | Mike Pellicciotti | 2021–present | Democratic |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Constitution of Washington". Office of the Code Reviser. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- ^ "Salaray Information". Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ "Subscribe | The Seattle Times". www.seattletimes.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ Ferguson, Margaret (2006). The Executive Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 99. ISBN 1851097716.
- ^ "Core Functions". Washington State Treasurer's Office. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "Accounting". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Cash Management". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Warrants". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "State Debt Information". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Debt and Credit Analysis: A Review of Washington's Debt and Other Financial Obligations, Ratings, and Credit Considerations for Fiscal Year 2024" (PDF). Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Investments". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Treasury/Trust Average Daily Balance by Fiscal Year". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "LGIP Average Daily Balance by Fiscal Year". Washington Office of the State Treasurer. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ Gilmore, Susan (6 August 2008). "3 running to fill state treasurer's job". Seattle Times. Seattle. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Chapter 43.33a, Revised Code of Washington". Washington Office of the Code Reviser. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Board and Committee Roster" (PDF). Washington State Investment Board. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Summary of Funds Managed for the 2023 Calendar Year" (PDF). Washington State Investment Board. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Washington State Constitution". Washington State Legislature. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^ Utter, Robert (2011). The Washington State Constitution (Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States). Oxford University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0199779279.
- ^ "RCW 43.08.020 ... Residence — Bond — Oath". app.leg.wa.gov. Washington State Legislature. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Washington State Treasurers: A Historical Gallery".
- ^ a b Washington State Yearbook: The Evergreen State Government Directory. Washington Roll Call. 2017. p. 260.