Benton Republicans narrow field for county treasurer job

The Benton County Republican Central Committee will interview five finalists to succeed Duane Davidson as county treasurer.

The party meets at 7 p.m., Thursday, at the Benton PUD offices, 2721 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick. The session is open to the public.

Seven people applied for appointment to the county treasurer job. The party narrowed the list to five after conducting private interviews in the past week. The candidates are Michael D. Massey, Kenneth Spencer, Carrie Tribble, Jeannette Garcia Villanueva and Kirsten Yniguez.

Davidson resigned in January after being elected Washington State Treasurer. The county appointed Yniguez, a deputy under Davidson, to lead the office while the legal process to refill the position unfolds.

under state law, the party of the elected office holder nominates three candidates to the county commission, which will make the final selection. The appointee will serve until this fall, when there will be an election for the balance of Davidson’s term, which expires in 2018.

Yniguez has said she will run for the elected post.

The county treasurer oversees the collection of taxes and revenue and serves as the bank for the county, school districts, fire districts, water districts and other entities. The treasurer’s office oversees the county’s $300 million investment portfolio.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Benton Republicans narrow field for county treasurer job."