WA State Treasurer race surprisingly ugly. Here’s who deserves the job | Editorial
Washington State Treasurer Duane Davidson is no slacker.
In his first term as steward of the state treasury, Davidson managed to save taxpayers millions of dollars by carefully refinancing bonds when the timing was right.
Davidson’s department regularly runs under budget, and this year he took it to its first ever Aaa credit rating from Moody’s Investment Services — the highest rating possible.
In addition, Davidson also fought time and again against the idea of creating a taxpayer funded state bank, which has been studied to death and found to be incredibly risky. Yet another study on the issue would have been funded this year to a tune of $250,000 by the Legislature if Gov. Jay Inslee had not vetoed the allocation.
Davidson, by all accounts, is a state executive who knows how to responsibly manage taxpayer money.
However his opponent, Mike Pellicciotti, would have voters believe Davidson is an ineffective no-show who cares more about getting a haircut than doing his job.
Pellicciotti, a two-term Democrat legislator from Federal Way, is on the offensive in his bid to unseat Davidson — a Republican born and raised in Washington state, a licensed Certified Public Accountant and elected four times as Benton County treasurer, serving from 2003-2014.
While a treasurer in Benton County, Davidson served three terms as President of the Washington State Association of County Treasurers and earlier as the organization’s treasurer.
Pellicciotti is a lawyer and state House member known for championing government transparency laws, which is commendable.
But when it comes to experience in managing a treasurer’s office, Pellicciotti can’t compare to Davidson.
Perhaps that is why he apparently has gone on a slimy, desperate fishing expedition looking for any bit of information he can twist and use against Davidson.
Pelliccioti has been blasting him for not attending every board and commission meeting associated with the treasurer’s office.
He specifically points out that Davidson has twice skipped a State Investment Board meeting in order to attend a political fundraiser.
If Davidson’s department was in shambles, these complaints would be concerning. But that’s not the case — the state treasurer’s office appears to be in great shape.
And Davidson counters that just because he is not personally present at all board and commission meetings, it doesn’t mean his office is not represented.
Davidson says in the history of the state treasurer’s office there have been just three women hired as assistant treasurers —and he’s proud to say he hired two of them.
He has complete faith in their abilities, and said he is in contact with them when they attend meetings on the department’s behalf.
For our part, we don’t see anything wrong with allowing staff with expertise to share the load, especially since his assistants are keeping Davidson in the loop.
Pellicciotti also complains that Davidson has not released the full details of his calendar. Obviously, Pellicciotti has seen enough of the calendar to see Davidson’s schedule, or he wouldn’t be able target his attendance record.
Davidson said he puts everything in his electronic calendar, and that can include 300-page documents. The volume of material is making it difficult to completely fulfill Pellicciotti’s records request.
As it happens, though, Davidson said he has told those in charge of getting the full calendar to Pellicciotti to “hurry it up.” We don’t believe Davidson has something to hide as Pellicciotti seems to imply.
The fact that two former state treasurers — Dam Grimm and Michael Murphy — and former Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag, all Democrats, are endorsing Davidson, even though he’s a Republican, is telling.
Unreservedly, the Tri-City Herald Editorial Board recommends Republican Duane Davidson for Washington State Treasurer.
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Members of The Tri-City Herald editorial board is comprised of experienced opinion journalists and community members, and is separate from The Herald’s newsroom. Conversations are on the record.
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Whenever possible, The Herald editorial board meets with opposing candidates at the same time. The questions are largely focused on a candidate’s qualifications and goals. The editorial board then discusses the candidates in each race and decides who to recommend. Board members seek to reach a consensus on our recommendations, but not every decision is unanimous.
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No. In making recommendations, members of the editorial board consider which candidates are well prepared to represent their constituents — not whether they agree with us or belong to a particular political party. We evaluate candidates’ relevant experience, their readiness for office, their depth of knowledge of key issues, their understanding of public policy and their ability to work with the current board . We’re seeking candidates who are thoughtful and who offer more than just party-line talking points. The editorial board will endorse both Republicans and Democrats.
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Our election recommendations reflect the collective views of The Herald’s editorial board — not just the opinion of one writer. For the 2022 election, the board includes: Cecilia Rexus, Herald editorial writer; Laurie Williams, Herald executive editor; Jack Briggs, retired Herald publisher; Ken Robertson, retired Herald executive director; Matt Taylor, retired Herald editorial writer; Mike Paoli and Martin Valadez, community representatives.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.