Washington State Treasurer

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State Treasurer of Washington
Seal color blue and gold - TRANSPARENT - SMALL.png
Seal of the Treasurer of the State of Washington
Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti.jpg
Incumbent
Mike Pellicciotti
since January 13, 2021
Style
Seat Washington State Capitol
Olympia, Washington
AppointerGeneral 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 holderAddison Alexander Lindsley
FormationNovember 11, 1889
(134 years ago)
 (November 11, 1889)
Salary $153,615 [2]
Website Official page

The Washington State Treasurer is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Washington. Mike Pellicciotti is the current Washington State Treasurer, a Democrat who began his term in January 2021. [3] The Treasurer's office is located in the Washington State Capitol. [4]

Contents

Powers and duties

In Washington, the State Treasurer serves as the chief banker, financier, and investor for state government and is a key player in the day-to-day management of state finances. [5] The State Treasurer manages the state's cash flows and local government investments which, as of 2020, totaled $350 billion. [6] The State Treasurer is also responsible for issuing and servicing the state's $21.4 billion outstanding debt and other financial obligations. [7] As one of 15 members on the Washington State Investment Board, the State Treasurer also directs and supervises the investment of public pension and retirement funds. [8]

The Washington State Treasurer's office is located in the Washington State Capitol. WA Treasurer.png
The Washington State Treasurer's office is located in the Washington State Capitol.

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. [9] 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. [10]

Election and term of office

The 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. [11]

List of Washington Treasurers

The State of Washington has had a total of 22 Treasurers, 2 of whom (Otto A. Case and Tom Martin) served non-consecutive terms. [12] [13] Otto A. Case also served as Commissioner of Public Lands from 1945 to 1949 and 1953–1957. [13]

#ImageNameTermParty
1Addison Alexander Lindsley1889–1893Republican
2Orzo A. Bowen1893–1897Republican
3Cyrus Wilber Young1897–1901Populist
4Charles Warren Maynard1901–1905Republican
5George Grant Mills1905–1909Republican
6John G. Lewis1909–1913Republican
7Edward Meath1913–1917Republican
8Walter W. Sherman1917–1921Republican
9Clifford L. Babcock1921–1925Republican
10William George Potts1925–1929Republican
11Charles W. Hinton1929–1933Republican
12Otto A. Case1933–1937; 1941–1945Democratic
13Phil Henry Gallagher1937–1941Democratic
14Russell Harrison Fluent1945–1949Democratic
15Tom Martin1949–1953; 1957–1965Democratic
16Charles R. Maybury1953–1957Republican
17Robert S. O'Brien1965–1989Democratic
18 Grimm-2-edited-LM.jpg Dan Grimm 1989–1997Democratic
19 Murphy-pic.jpg Michael J. Murphy 1997–2009Democratic
20 Jim McIntire Portrait.jpg James McIntire 2009–2016Democratic
21 Duane Davidson.jpg Duane Davidson 2017–2021Republican
22 Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti.jpg Mike Pellicciotti 2021–presentDemocratic

See also

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References

  1. "Constitution of Washington". Office of the Code Reviser. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  2. "Salaray Information". Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  3. "Subscribe | The Seattle Times". www.seattletimes.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  4. Ferguson, Margaret (2006). The Executive Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 99. ISBN   1851097716.
  5. "Core Functions". Washington State Treasurer's Office. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  6. "cash management - Washington Office of the State Treasurer". Washington State Treasurer. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  7. "state debt information - office of the state treasurer". Washington State Treasurer. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  8. Gilmore, Susan (6 August 2008). "3 running to fill state treasurer's job". Seattle Times . Seattle . Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  9. "Washington State Constitution". Washington State Legislature . Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  10. Utter, Robert (2011). The Washington State Constitution (Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States). Oxford University Press. p. 99. ISBN   0199779279.
  11. "RCW 43.08.020 ... Residence — Bond — Oath". app.leg.wa.gov. Washington State Legislature. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  12. "Washington State Treasurers: A Historical Gallery".
  13. 1 2 Washington State Yearbook: The Evergreen State Government Directory. Washington Roll Call. 2017. p. 260.