| State Treasurer of Washington | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the treasurer of the State of Washington | |
 | |
| 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 (136 years ago) (November 11, 1889) |
| Salary | $172,455[2] |
| Website | Official page |
TheWashington state treasurer is an elected constitutional officer in theexecutive branch of theU.S. state ofWashington. Twenty-two individuals have held the office since statehood. The incumbent isMike Pellicciotti, aDemocrat who began his term in January 2021.[3] The treasurer's office is located in theWashington State Capitol.[4]
The state treasurer is thechief banker,financier, andinvestment officer for the state of Washington.[5] In this capacity, the state treasurerreceives payments made to the state,accounts for andmanages the state'scash flows, anddisburses public monies in redemption ofwarrants drawn by state agencies.[6][7][8] The state treasurer is also responsible forissuing,registering, andservicing Washington State's $22.4 billion in outstandingdebt.[9][10] Likewise, the state treasurer directs and administers theinvestment 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'spension,permanent, andtrust funds.[14][15][16] WSIB'sassets under management totaled $197.3 billion at the close of the 2023 calendar year.[17]
Aside from being third (behind thelieutenant governor andsecretary of state, respectively) in theconstitutional line of succession to the office ofGovernor, most of the state treasurer's specific responsibilities are set forth in theRevised Code of Washington.[18] In fact, theWashington 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 ofOregon. 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]
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 ofOlympia. State law further requires he post asurety bond of $500,000, approved by both theWashington Secretary of State and the Chief Justice of theWashington Supreme Court.[20]
The 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 asCommissioner 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 | .jpg) | James McIntire | 2009–2016 | Democratic |
| 23 | .jpg) | Duane Davidson | 2017–2021 | Republican |
| 24 |  | Mike Pellicciotti | 2021–present | Democratic |
