By The Herald Editorial Board
State treasurer
The race for state treasurer offers two candidates with the necessary financial background and respect for the importance of the job: One-term incumbent Mike Pellicciotti, a Democrat, is challenged by Republican Sharon Hanek.
The state treasurer handles billions of dollars for the state and its local governments, acting as the state’s chief financial officer with responsibility for cash management of public funds, arranging short- and long-term investments and the sale of bonds to finance major public projects, a notable example being the transportation and capital budgets passed by the Legislature.
The treasurer also is the sole elected official on the State Investment Board, which manages the state pension and other trust funds; is chairman of the State Finance Committee and Public Deposit Protection Commission and sits on other boards.
Pellicciotti, who served two terms in the state House, also worked as an economic crimes prosecutor as an assistant state attorney general. He has degrees in business administration, rural development and a law degree from Gonzaga.
Hanek, chair of the Pierce County charter review committee and treasurer for nonprofit and political organizations, owns a CPA firm and founded a public policy research company. She has served on county planning, youth and redistricting commissions. She has a degree in business administration and accounting for the University of Washington.
Both were interviewed jointly by the editorial board.
Hanek said she would seek to ensure that the state has a solid debt structure, that it has a good investment portfolio to protect retirements and is keeping a keen eye on the state’s cash flows.
“That’s where I think where I believe I might have a little different skill set to bring to the table,” she said, noting that her accounting background could strengthen internal financial controls.
In her recent review of state legislative committee reports she noticed a problem with its numbers, contacting the state Office of Financial Management to alert staff to the error.
Hanek doesn’t see any mismanagement of the treasurer’s office, but said there’s always room for improvement.
Pellicciotti said that as a member of the investment board, and drawing on his past legislative experience, he was able to get an additional $250 million investment in the budget to boost what he believed were underfunded pension plans.
“We have now one of the best funded pensions in the country,” he said, which increased the funds’ returns 50 times more than the return rate in 2021, when he started.
Beyond the traditional duties, Pellicciotti also has taken on an advocacy role, requesting and advocating for legislation that nearly won passage of a bill that would have required schools to offer at least a half-credit of financial literacy education; and another that would to established a “baby bonds”-like program to help youths get a strong economic start.
Pellicciotti has handled the office’s duties well, and shown energy in looking out for the larger fiscal health of the state and its residents.
Insurance commissioner
The state Office of the Insurance Commissioner is charged with consumer protection regarding insurance products, with oversight and licensing of the insurance industry, advocating for consumers, investigating crimes and administering the volunteer Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors program, which advises state residents on Medicare.
The announced retirement of the current commissioner opened the seat to two state lawmakers, who have both served in the Senate since 2017: Republican Phil Fortunato of Auburn, and Democrat Patty Kuderer of Bellevue.
Both were interviewed separately by the editorial board.
Kuderer is a former trial attorney, prosecutor and city attorney with past experience handling insurance issues. She also worked previously on behalf of a client with the state insurance office.
Fortunato, with a degree in landscape architecture and a contractor business, is an environmental and trade consultant.
In their state Senate work, both have worked together on its housing committee; she, as the chair and he, as the ranking member.
And while Fortunato said they have a good working relationship, their philosophies are opposed.
“She is a ‘Government is the solution to everything’ (person) and I am ‘Get government the hell out of the way and let people make their own decisions’ person,” he said.
Easing regulation, Fortunato said, would help bring more insurance companies to the state, increasing competition and lowering costs for consumers.
One example of easing regulation, he said, would be to allow companies’ rate increases to take effect immediately, rather than waiting for the office’s approval. Companies, he said, would seek reasonable rate increases because they wouldn’t want to issue refunds if the office later rejected the increase.
Kuderer would agree that she she’s looking for solutions, noting that her interest in the office came from her work in the Legislature regarding health care, including creation of a commission on universal health care coverage. Kuderer said she intends to pursue that effort, and as commissioner would sit on the panel.
Kuderer also said she wants to look at tools to help homeowners who are seeing increasing difficulty in obtaining and maintaining insurance coverage as threats of wildfire and flooding grow because of climate change. She mention a recently passed law that gives homeowners an additional 15 days to obtain new coverage when they are dropped by an insurer.
“Whenever I would meet a climate denier, I would say, ‘Go talk to your insurance agent,’” she said.
Kuderer also said she will work on improving morale at the state office, which has faced turmoil over staff complaints aimed at the current commissioner, Mike Kreidler.
Some will see appeal in Fortunato’s straightforward approach and trust in markets, but at a time of increasing uncertainty regarding access and affordability of insurance, the industry needs transparency and a closer eye on its practices for the benefit of consumers.
Kuderer, with her solid background in law, insurance and health care issues is the best choice to lead the office.
Correction: The above editorial has been edited to clarify Patty Kuderer’s past work on behalf of a client with the state insurance office.
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